What documents accompany the work?

After the client agrees to the commercial proposal, the following documents may accompany the freelancer’s work.

Agreement for the provision of services.This document contains information about who signed it and when, who is responsible for what, who does what within what time frame, and what will happen in case of unforeseen circumstances. My contract consists of two parts: the main text and an appendix detailing the scope of future work. In the case where the service is not voluminous, I can do without an application by inserting its description into the main text.

I remember how much I was worried about the question: how to assign numbers to contracts? I expected that there was some kind of standard, requirements. But in reality everything turned out to be simple. The number can be almost any combination of letters, numbers and special characters. And the numbers can be repeated throughout the year, this is also not scary. The main thing is that the uniqueness of the contract is confirmed by two things at the same time: the number and the date.

By the way, if at the beginning of the next year my first client appeared in February or March, I could come up with a contract number that would say that this is actually not my first project this year (for example, P-005-15; the type of work, contract number and year are encrypted here). For some reason, it seemed to me that clients would treat me worse if, based on the contract number, they suspected that I had been unemployed for several months.

First, I took the contract of my former employer as a basis. Then it changed a little from client to client. It was simplified, became more beautiful in terms of formatting, and was supplemented with new points that concern my customers.

If I started my business today, I would easily find a suitable sample contract on the Internet and take it as a basis.

Clients, having received a contract, often send it to their lawyers. It is interesting to see how in some cases the document is simply not read and no feedback is given. Sometimes, on the contrary, they comment on it too zealously, fearing for many things: whose work can be used, what fines must be paid in case of violations, who owns the exclusive rights to the result of the work. At the beginning of my journey, when I had to “live from project to project,” I was very worried about such edits, and every time I received them, I was upset. I was afraid and worried that in this way the client was “preparing for war” and was actively expressing distrust. Plus, each such iteration with edits delayed the start date of work.

Later, when I no longer depended on the money of each next client, I was not only calm about edits and comments, but also showed sincere curiosity. The lack of fear of being deceived was sobering and made it possible to understand that clients and their lawyers were not at all trying to find a way to get the maximum from me, but wanted to protect themselves from the incompetence of an unfamiliar performer. When the same client ordered something for the second and third time, they no longer read the contracts (only the annexes to them).

For the agreement to come into force, it must be printed and signed in two copies. Today, services are already widespread that allow the use of digital signatures and electronic signatures in document flow, so that there is no need to send signed documents back and forth by mail, but, to my shame, I have never used them yet. However, due to the duty of the profession, I still had to figure out how it works.

In my practice, contracts signed before the start of work appeared no more than three times out of ten. Typically, the client got acquainted with the document in electronic form and paid the invoice, leaving other formalities “for later.” This is an unsafe approach, but it’s common in freelancing. In my case, the true guarantee that the client accepted the terms and was ready to work was the advance payment transferred to my account.

Check. This document contains the details of the contractor, the name of the work with reference to the contract and the amount to be paid. Working on a 100% prepayment basis, I send the client an invoice immediately along with the contract and begin work when the money arrives in the current account (and sometimes earlier, when the client sends a payment order with a bank mark, that is, a document confirming that he has instructed the bank to transfer money to me).

Previously, when I divided the work into stages and charged for them separately, I had to generate and send several invoices. It wasn't very convenient. It seems to me that if the client does not pay the last money, it is easier for him to pay right away. In any case, I myself, acting as a client, do just that.

It is enough to send the invoice to the customer electronically. It is not necessary to sign and store it in paper form.

Certificate of completion of work. After everything is completed and the client is satisfied, it is necessary to sign a certificate of completion of work. This document lists the details of the contractor and the customer, the name of the work with reference to the contract, the total amount of the transaction and the text stating that the customer has no claims against the contractor and everything was delivered on time. The phrase from the client “everything is ok, send the document” is almost as pleasant for a freelancer as “I looked at the contract, send the invoice - and let’s go!”

The act is important for accounting. It must be printed, signed and exchanged with the client (or use EDI and EDS for this, that is, electronic document management and electronic digital signature). It confirms the completion of the work under the contract and the completion of the transaction.

The act appears at the moment when everything is done and the client and the performer have relaxed. So no one has the motivation to mess with it. At first, I simply did not pay attention to this document, and after six months or a year sad accountants of clients came knocking on the door. They explained that they needed the act to confirm the funds spent. That the entire set of documents must be stored for five years. And that I immediately send them a signed copy.

One of these accountants independently printed out the report, signed it with his supervisor and sent it to me by mail, enclosing another envelope with the return address already written. I liked this kind of care, and after that incident I began to do the same. And at some point, I introduced it as a mandatory rule to take on the work on all accompanying documents, so that my clients and their accountants would feel comfortable working with me.

By the way, I realized the practical importance of the act when one of my old clients knocked on the door one day. He prepared a set of edits to the project, which I handed over to him the year before. And I didn’t find a single justification why I shouldn’t make these changes. I had to remember the project, make changes and send the client a completion certificate.

Additional agreement to the contract. If as a result of the work some additional tasks arise or the scope of the initial work changes, then an additional agreement to the contract can be drawn up. Or you can sign a new one. It depends on who is more comfortable.

Work under an additional agreement is also accompanied by issued invoices, if necessary, and can be closed with its own separate act.

Reconciliation report. I learned about this document quite by accident, having worked as a freelance entrepreneur for more than five years. The accountant of one of the clients sent me a letter with a document that listed all the contracts and acts between the client’s LLC and me as an individual entrepreneur. He asked me to check if everything was correct. Moreover, the letter was formulated in such a way that the absence of a response on my part would be interpreted as a tacit confirmation that the reconciliation report contained reliable information. Of course, I checked everything. There were no mistakes. And after that I ran to the Internet for detailed information about what it had just happened.

Reconciliation reports are needed to ensure that the information about transactions between the customer and the counterparty (that is, the contractor) is correct. We are talking about their quantity and amounts of money. The reconciliation report can be prepared by the client’s accountant, or he can ask a freelancer to do it. Over all the years of work, I have encountered this document three times. And for the third time I found several errors in the act. There were errors both in the composition of the contracts and in the amounts of transactions. Fortunately, I had all the necessary documentation for this client on file so that the accountant could get things in order.

With all the above documents, I worked as an individual entrepreneur on a freelance basis. However, their essence is relevant for any transactions between people. An email or a message in a messenger can be used as an agreement. As an invoice - the same message with details and amount. Instead of an act, there are the client’s written words stating that he accepts the work and has no complaints about the result. Even a reconciliation act is, in fact, a set of all previous agreements recorded somewhere in writing, which you can refer to to remember what was there.

The more agreements are written down, the easier it is to avoid conflict situations. Over time, people not only forget many things, but also form false memories about them. And documentary records are the surest way to solve this problem before it arises.