Agreements

A Project Agreement serves as a work contract between you and your Employer. The agreement allows both parties to define a project’s scope, timeline, deliverables, deadlines and payment terms. Avoid ambiguity and prevent disputes by setting clear expectations in your Project Agreement.

We strongly recommend that you upload a detailed Project Agreement for all of your projects.

If you’re using SafePay, you must upload a Project Agreement before creating a SafePay request and before project work begins. If there is a dispute and the case goes to arbitration, the arbitrator will examine the Project Agreement in rendering a decision.

It is your task as a Freelancer to submit a Project Agreement for the Employer’s review, although it is a best practice to work out the terms jointly.

A Project Agreement consists of three main sections — the comprehensive project plan, project delivery date and total project value, and the payment schedule. The documents you upload as your project plan are critical. You can upload a simple legal contract or a thorough document covering scope, milestones, payment, ownership, confidentiality, contract termination and dispute resolution. When deciding between a simple and a thorough document, keep in mind that if a dispute arises, the burden of proof falls on you, the Freelancer.

Two topics we discuss fairly often with our users are copyrights or ownership and confidentiality.

• Copyright & Ownership
  In a contract work relationship, as opposed to a standard employment situation, the ownership of the work products should be specifically defined in writing. Unless specifically designated otherwise, the creator of the work (the Freelancer) is usually considered the owner. If, however, an item is considered a work “made for hire,” then the requestor (Employer), not the creator (Freelancer), is considered the owner. If the project is not designated as a work “made-for-hire” (according to the U.S. 1976 Copyright Act) or if there’s no written transfer of ownership, all rights relative to the project work belong to you, the Freelancer. Projects such as logo designs, illustrations, ecommerce websites, and computer programs are not considered works “made for hire.” Employers do not own the rights relative to these projects and cannot reproduce or use the work completed outside the initial project scope. If an Employer wants to gain ownership and copyright protection for works not declared as works “made for hire,” he or she must request that the Freelancer sign a written transfer of copyright ownership. This document should be part of the Project Agreement discussed with and completed by the Freelancer before beginning any work.
• Confidentiality
  If your Employer believes that you will be exposed to any proprietary or confidential information during the project, he or she may require you to sign a confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement (NDA). This clause or agreement holds you responsible for the security of confidential data during and after the project. It protects the Employer’s company and trade secrets.

Read Project Success with Project Agreements for more information on composing a Project Agreement.

You can also check out these sample project plans: Sample 1, Sample 2, Sample 3, Sample 4, Sample 5

It is your responsibility to submit a Project Agreement for the Employer’s review and approval, although it is a best practice to work out the terms jointly before uploading the documents.

You can upload up to five files of up to 3 MB each. Acceptable file formats include .DOC, .DOCX, .PDF, .TXT, .XLS, and .XLSX.

To create and upload a Project Agreement,

1. On the top navigation bar, click “Projects.”
2. From the Overview tab, click the “Define Project Agreement” link.
3. Click the “Browse” button to locate and upload files.
4. Enter the total payment amount, final delivery date and a detailed payment schedule.
5. Click the “Confirm Agreement” button.
6. Review the Agreement. If no changes are needed, click the “Send to Employer” button.

The Employer will receive an alert to review the agreement.

• If the Employer declines the agreement, you can modify it and resend it to the Employer for review.
• If the Employer approves the agreement, you can no longer modify the terms. To make changes to the agreement, submit a Change Order.

A Project Agreement can be updated if the Employer has not yet approved it. Once approved, the original Agreement cannot be changed. Changes are appended to the original Agreement in the form of Change Orders.

To update a declined or pending Project Agreement,

1. On the top navigation bar, click “Projects.”
2. Find the project, and click either “Agreement Declined – Modify” or “Agreement Pending – Modify.”
3. Make the necessary changes, and click the “Send to Employer” button.

To change an approved Project Agreement,

1. On the top navigation bar, click “Projects.”
2. Click “Agreement Approved – View.”
3. In the “Write Change Order…” text box, describe the changes to the Agreement.
4. Click the “Send to Employer” button.

After the Employers approves the Project Agreement, changes to the agreement require the submission of Change Orders. Contact your Employer to discuss and draft the needed Change Order via Project Messages.

To upload a Change Order,

1. On the top navigation bar, click “Projects.”
2. Click “Agreement Approved – View.”
3. In the “Write Change Order…” text box, describe the changes to the Agreement.
4. Click the “Send to Employer” button.

As with the original agreement, the Employer must review and either approve or decline the order. Modifications can only be made to pending or declined Change Orders.

To updated a declined or pending Change Order,

1. On the top navigation bar, click “Projects.”
2. Find the project, and click either “Change Order Declined – Modify” or “Change Order Pending – Modify.”
3. Make the necessary changes, and click the “Send to Employer” button.