Quotation and Confirmation
I shall, if required, provide a quote by letter or email, with a full breakdown of costs, based upon your brief. Quotations are valid for 30 days. All quotations are based on my understanding of the project and that the scope of the work will not change during the course of the job. Should any change in scope occur during the course of the job, I shall discuss any potential change in costs with you before carrying out the extra work.
Contract
Before a job begins, a formal contract may be drawn up, incorporating these terms and conditions. Clauses will include defining the work to be completed, agreeing a fee to be paid and a delivery date, and establishing in what circumstances expenses will be paid.
The contract will normally be based upon these Terms and Conditions. If you require any variation from these Terms and Conditions, this must be negotiated before the contract is signed.
Your signature on the contract will be taken to mean that you accept these Terms and Conditions, subject to any agreed variation.
Your signature on the contract will be taken as a warranty that you are authorised to enter into a contract on behalf of any company or group of individuals which are party to the agreement.
If agreed by both parties, the contract may be waived in favour of an exchange of emails or letters stating both parties’ understanding of the terms of the job.
Fees
Fees will be quoted either as a single amount for the whole job, or as an hourly or daily rate. This will depend on the nature of the job and will be agreed with you before the contract is signed.
Fees may include time spent in meetings, telephone or email conversations to discuss the brief; researching, planning, writing and submitting the first draft; discussion, evaluation and integration of up to two sets of revisions; submission of the final draft.
Any variation on the above will be negotiated and agreed before the contract is signed.
Revisions
My quotation will include revisions to my first and second drafts, provided that revisions are requested within 14 days of your receipt of the copy and are not based on the inclusion of substantially new material. An extention of the 14 days deadline may be negotiated, if there are particular reasons why more time is required.
Further revisions, or revisions that involve requests to include substantial new material, will be subject to an extra charge, to be negotiate before such revisions are made.
Payment Terms
Payment is to be made within 14 days of your receipt of my final draft and invoice. For large jobs, I may request a deposit of up to 30% of the total sum, payable on signing of the contract.
I currently accept payment by direct bank transfer, PayPal, cheque or cash.
If payment is not made with 14 days, as specified above, a late payment charge of 10% of the total sum will apply, unless late payment has been negotiated in advance.
Cancellation
You may cancel the contract up to delivery of the final copy and invoice without penalty, except that any money paid prior to cancellation will not be returned. Once the final copy and invoice have been sent, full payment is required.
Deadline
I guarantee to deliver the copy within the deadline agreed in the contract. Should circumstances beyond my control prevent this, a revised agreement can be negotiated. This may or may not include a refund.
Errors, Omissions and Indemnity
I shall make every effort to ensure that the copy is free of errors and omissions, including errors in spelling and content, but ultimate responsibility lies with the client to check the copy before payment is made.
I shall not be liable for any losses to the client or any legal action taken against the client in connection with the work provided. The client is responsible for ensuring the factual and legal content of the work, and will indemnify me against any claims or legal proceedings brought against the client.
Non-disclosure and Confidentiality Agreements
I am quite happy to sign any confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement you might require. However, you agree to indemnify me against any action by you or a third party associated with the accidental disclosure or loss of this information.
Copyright
Until full payment has been made, I retain full copyright on any work I produce on your behalf. On your final payment, full copyright will transfer to you. In the event of cancellation or non-payment, you will not have any rights to use the copy in question.
If you provide me with any materials created by someone else to include in the copy I produce for you, it will be your responsibility to ensure that you have full right or permission to use these materials, and you agree to indemnify me against any action arising, directly or indirectly, as a result of use of these materials.
I shall retain the right to use excerpts from the work I produce for you for means of self-promotion or advertising. If the nature of the work makes this inappropriate, this should be specified in the contract, and I shall be happy to waive the right.
I shall normally be willing to waive my moral rights in relation to the copy produced, if required, but this must be specified in the contract.
Governing Law and Jurisdiction
This agreement is governed by the laws of England and Wales. The English courts shall have jurisdiction.