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Write a contract

Create a legally binding contract to protect you and your business and set up clear expectations for your clients.

Michelle Lee avatar
Written by Michelle Lee
Updated over a week ago

In this article you’ll learn about building contracts with Moxie and sending them to clients before you begin work.

Creating a contract

First, navigate to the client you’re planning to send a contract to (or add them as a new client), then open their agreements tab. Use the + in the upper right and choose agreement then contract. You can also quickly add a contract from homebase in the focus tab when you click the agreements icon.

You'll see several agreement options here. This article will focus on contracts. You will have an option to "Start from your library." Read more about agreement templates here.

Styling your contract

By default, a contract includes a heading (with title and "By" and "For" fields auto-populated with your client information), contact information, legal terms, and e-signatures. All text can be edited. For text other than the legal terms, just click on the text and start typing.

You can also add a header image if you'd like. Make the contract fit your business by adding and reordering content blocks. Edit the font as well using the edit pencil in the header or the "Font settings" button at the top.

You can add several content block types to your contract

  • Text blocks are used to share information about you or your work with the client.

  • File attachments can be used to attach any file type, with a size limit of 50mb.

  • Images can include captions (“Image with caption”), or stand alone (“Image centered”).

  • Contract terms are legally-binding terms that lay out payment expectations.

  • Integrated payment allows you to require payment before a contract is fully executed.

  • Fees & tasks show the work you’re offering the client, along with the cost for that work. You can include multiple projects (and their associated tasks and details); the client will be asked to choose one, select multiple, or choose all before signing. You will also be able to choose if you want to automatically send invoices based on your contract and/or create a project.

Click the "Insert block" button between any existing content blocks, then click the icon for the content type you’d like to add. You can use the arrows to the left of the block to place it elsewhere or delete it.

Must-have details

You'll want to set up these 2 things in your contract to keep clear communication and define expectations.

  1. Legal terms

  2. E-signatures

  3. Optionally, you can add projects with fees and tasks.

Legal terms

The legal terms included were written by an attorney based on common requirements for freelancers in the US. It is recommended that you check with your own attorney, especially if you have questions.

Common edits to the default legal terms will pop up in a modal when you click on the legal terms block. Edit each block to fit your preference. Or scroll to the bottom to convert the entire block to editable text so you can write your legal language yourself.

E-signatures

Before you send the proposal to your client, make sure to sign it. You can do this right in the editor, using the “Sign” button in the signatures section.

Sending your contract to a client

Once you’ve signed, it’s ready to send! Use the "Share" button in the top right corner to email a link to the contract to your potential client.

You’ll be asked to finalize the contract before you send it; click the "Finalize" button if it’s ready to go. You can choose to print or download, copy a link to send to the client manually, or send it through a Moxie email. If you’ve set a default contact for the client, their email will populate automatically. If not, you can use the dropdown in the "To" field to select the correct email or add a new contact.

The subject line and message in the Moxie email is fully editable; just click to edit. Then hit send to share your contract with the client!

Comments and edits on contracts

Ideally, your client will sign the contract right away. However, some clients will have specific needs, and may ask for a contract to be amended before they sign. If so, they can leave a comment on the contract directly. When this happens, you’ll get an email notification with the comment they added.

In order to make changes to the contract, you’ll need to unlock it. Click the 3 dots in the upper right corner and click "Return to draft" to make edits.

Signed contracts

You can view all of your agreements under a client's agreements tab.

A signed contract means it’s time for you to get to work, so you can deliver a high-quality, on-time project to the client. If you’re not sure where to start, learn more about project management. If you'd like to add more blocks to a contract, see what it looks like to add text and project blocks in this article.

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