Legal · Free forever · A guide, not a generator
Contract red flags
Someone sent you a contract and you've never had to negotiate one. Open it next to this page and work down the list — you'll know what to ask for by the end.
Asking for changes is normal. Nobody is going to be offended.
Somebody sending you a contract isn't trying to trick you. Most brand and agency contracts are a template that's been reused for years, written by their lawyer to protect them — nobody in that chain was thinking about you.
That's why reading it matters, and why asking for changes is completely normal. Clients ask for changes to contracts every day. You're allowed to as well, and doing it politely rarely costs you the job.
Run through this before you sign
Thirteen things to look for. Tick them off as you check the document in front of you.
- 1Don't sign as-is
"Unlimited, perpetual, worldwide usage across all media"
What it means: They can use the content you make anywhere, forever — social, paid ads, billboards, packaging, TV — with no further payment.
Why it matters: Usage is the thing you're really selling. A video priced as a month of organic posting can run for three years as a paid ad campaign, and you'll never see another penny. Every renewal you give away for free is money you'd otherwise have earned for work you already did.
What to ask for
“Could we scope the licence to the channels and time period you actually need — for example 12 months on your own social channels, with paid usage available as an add-on? Happy to quote for wider rights.”
- 2Don't sign as-is
"All work shall be considered work made for hire" / "you assign all rights"
What it means: You're not licensing the work, you're handing over ownership. Legally, it becomes theirs as if they made it.
Why it matters: Ownership is bigger than usage. It can mean they can edit, resell or license your work to others, and in the strictest versions it can affect whether you can show it in your own portfolio. For most freelance jobs, a licence gives the client everything they genuinely need — full ownership is a premium they should pay for.
What to ask for
“I usually license work rather than transfer ownership. I can grant you a broad exclusive licence for what you need — or quote a buyout fee if full ownership is important to you.”
- 3Worth pushing back
"Contractor shall not disclose or display the work"
What it means: A confidentiality or ownership clause that quietly stops you posting the finished job anywhere.
Why it matters: Your portfolio is how you get the next booking. A clause like this turns a well-paid month into work you can never show anyone, which makes it worth considerably less than the fee suggests.
What to ask for
“Could we add that I may show the finished work in my portfolio and on my own channels once it's publicly released?”
- 4Don't sign as-is
No cancellation or kill fee mentioned at all
What it means: If they cancel the week before the shoot, nothing in the contract says you get paid anything.
Why it matters: You'll have turned down other work, blocked out days and possibly bought or hired things. Cancellations happen constantly for reasons that have nothing to do with you — a budget freeze, a change of marketing manager. A kill fee is what stops their internal reshuffle becoming your unpaid month.
What to ask for
“Could we add a cancellation clause? My usual terms are 50% if cancelled within 7 days of the shoot date, and 100% on the day, plus any costs already committed.”
- 5Don't sign as-is
"Payment upon completion" / "net 60" / "once the campaign goes live"
What it means: No firm date you can hold them to — or a date so far out that you're funding their cash flow.
Why it matters: "On completion" is whoever decides the job is complete, which isn't you. "When the campaign launches" can slip by months for reasons you can't control. Freelancers go under from late payment far more often than from low rates, and a specific number of days is the difference between chasing and simply invoicing.
What to ask for
“Could we set payment at 50% up front and the balance within 14 days of delivery, rather than tied to launch? Delivery is something we both control.”
- 6Just check it's there
Nothing about what happens if they pay late
What it means: No interest, no late fee, no consequence for missing the date.
Why it matters: A late fee is rarely about collecting the fee — it's about being the invoice that gets paid first in a finance queue. Without one, there's no cost to leaving you until next month, and chasing becomes your unpaid admin job.
What to ask for
“Could we add that overdue invoices carry a small late fee or interest after 14 days? Standard terms in my contracts, and it rarely comes up in practice.”
- 7Worth pushing back
"You will indemnify and hold harmless the Company from any and all claims…"
What it means: You promise to cover their legal costs and losses if something goes wrong — sometimes for things that were never your responsibility.
Why it matters: Some indemnity is reasonable: if you use music you didn't clear, that's on you. What isn't reasonable is covering claims about their product, their own advertising claims, or how they later edited your work. Unlimited indemnity in a $2,000 job can theoretically expose you to costs many times your fee.
What to ask for
“Could we limit the indemnity to claims arising from my own work and materials, and cap total liability at the fees paid under this agreement?”
- 8Worth pushing back
"This agreement shall automatically renew for successive 12-month terms"
What it means: It rolls over unless you cancel inside a specific window — sometimes 60 or 90 days before the end.
Why it matters: Auto-renewal on a retainer isn't automatically bad; it can be steady income. The problem is renewing at last year's rate, or missing the cancellation window and being locked in for another year with a client you've outgrown. Renewals should be a decision, not a default.
What to ask for
“Could we make renewal by mutual written agreement instead of automatic, so we can review scope and rates each term?”
- 9Don't sign as-is
"You shall not work with any competing brand or in the same category"
What it means: You're blocked from working with a whole category of clients — sometimes broadly defined, sometimes for a long time after the job ends.
Why it matters: Exclusivity has real value and should be paid for. If you shoot for one coffee brand and can't touch any food or drink client for a year, you've handed over most of your possible income for the price of one job. Watch how wide the category is and how long it runs after delivery.
What to ask for
“I'm glad to offer exclusivity — could we define the category narrowly, limit it to 3 months from delivery, and add an exclusivity fee?”
- 10Don't sign as-is
"Revisions until the Client is satisfied"
What it means: There's no end to the work. The job finishes when they say it does.
Why it matters: This is the clause that turns a five-day project into a two-month one at the same fee. Not usually malicious — feedback simply expands to fill whatever space it's given. A fixed number of rounds protects the client too, because it makes them consolidate their notes.
What to ask for
“Could we set two rounds of revisions, with any further rounds billed at my day rate? Keeps the timeline predictable for both of us.”
- 11Worth pushing back
"…and other duties as required" / "any reasonable additional assets"
What it means: An open door for extra work that isn't described anywhere or priced.
Why it matters: You can't quote for something undefined. Once this phrase is in, every extra cutdown, alternate ratio or bonus story frame is arguably already included in the fee you agreed.
What to ask for
“Could we replace that with the specific deliverables list, and handle anything additional as a separate quote?”
- 12Worth pushing back
"The Company may terminate at any time for convenience" (and you can't)
What it means: They can walk away whenever they like; you're bound until the end.
Why it matters: One-sided termination is worth spotting because it usually sits next to a missing kill fee. Together they mean the entire risk of the project failing sits with you.
What to ask for
“Could termination rights be mutual, with payment due for all work completed and committed costs up to the termination date?”
- 13Just check it's there
No named parties, dates or signature block
What it means: An unsigned document, a brand handle instead of a company name, or a contract that never says when it starts.
Why it matters: If it ever goes wrong, you need to be able to say which company owes you and from when. Brands often operate through several companies, and agencies book on behalf of clients — the one who signs is the one who owes you money.
What to ask for
“Could you confirm the full registered company name and add a signature block with dates? Happy to sign electronically.”
The five-minute version
If you read nothing else before you sign, read these.
Read the money and the rights first
Find four things before anything else: the fee, when it's paid, what they can do with the work, and what happens if they cancel. If any of those four are missing or vague, that's your conversation — everything else is detail.
Search the document for a few words
Use find-in-page for: perpetual, exclusive, work for hire, indemnify, terminate, renew, unlimited. Those seven words sit inside most clauses that cost freelancers money.
Ask everything in one friendly message
One email with three or four numbered requests reads as professional. A drip of separate objections over a week reads as difficult. Say yes to the job first, then list what you'd like adjusted.
Silence isn't agreement, but signing is
You don't have to sign on the day it arrives. "I'll read this properly and come back tomorrow" is a complete, normal answer — and it's the sentence that saves people the most money.
Know when to pay for an hour of a lawyer
For a big budget, exclusivity, a buyout, or a client you'll depend on, an hour of a lawyer in your country is cheap next to signing away rights for years. For everyday jobs, this checklist is usually enough.
Writing the agreement yourself instead?
Reviewing someone else's contract is the harder position. When you send the paperwork, the terms start where you want them — usage scoped, kill fee included, revisions counted, payment dated.
Contract templates
Services, licensing or single-project agreements with usage and kill-fee terms already in place.
NDA generator
Mutual or one-way, for pitches and unreleased work — with a term that actually ends.
Scope of work
Send this first: what's included, what isn't, and what it costs — before any contract exists.