Your Guide to Simple Freelance Terms and Conditions

Protect your time, manage expectations, and get paid without the stress. Here’s how to create simple freelance terms and conditions that work.

Let’s talk about something that sounds a bit dry but is one of the most important things you’ll do as a freelancer: setting up your own freelance terms and conditions (T&Cs).

I’ll be honest, I learned this the hard way. You only get burnt once by a client who wants endless changes or disappears when the invoice is due before you realise, “Oh, my T&Cs really need to be spot on!”

When you start working directly with a client, they might send you their contract. While that’s all well and good, remember this: their contract is written to protect them. That’s why I am a huge advocate for having your own simple, clear freelance terms and conditions ready to go.

Why You Need Your Own Agreement

A client’s contract is designed to serve their interests. Your freelance agreement is designed to create a clear, fair, and professional arrangement for both of you. It’s your professional safety net, and it protects you from misunderstandings, manages expectations, and makes you look like the legit business owner that you are.

This became even more important once I started writing for bigger outlets like National Geographic Travel, Business Insider, BBC Travel, GritShift Media and We Are Explorers. Comparing their contracts to my own T&Cs is exactly what showed me what I needed to cover for my own direct clients.

What to Actually Include

They don’t need to be “lawyer-proof*” or a 50-page document. For most freelance gigs, a simple agreement you can pop into an email is all you need.

If you’re not sure, there are a few online companies that can help with the Ts and Cs.

*If you are doing any specialist freelance work, you may need a legally drawn up set of Terms and Conditions. Please check first within your specific industry.

At its core, your T&Cs just need to clearly and simply answer four questions:

1. The Scope of Work: Be ridiculously specific here. Not just “a blog post,” but “one 1,500-word blog post on the topic of [X], optimised for the keyword [Y].” This is the most critical part of the whole thing.
2. Payment Terms: State the exact payment amount and, crucially, when it is due (e.g., “50% upfront, 50% on completion,” or “Net 14 days after invoice”).
3. The Revision Process: This is where you save yourself from the dreaded “endless revision loop.” Your T&Cs should state clearly how many rounds of revisions are included (I recommend one or two). I go into much more detail on how I actually handle this in my guide to managing client revisions.
4. Key Deadlines: Note the date for the first draft and the final delivery date to keep the project on track.

Having a template ready to go means you can send a professional agreement to every new client. It protects your time, your money, and your sanity.

Ready to set up your freelance business the right way? My Freelancing Fundamentals for Travellers course walks you through all the essential steps, from creating T&Cs to getting paid.