CONTRACTS

Contract Maker: Create, send, and sign contracts in minutes

Button up the formalities and lock in your rate with a variety of legally-sound freelance contract templates. You're just a few steps away from getting the electronic signature you need so you can get to work.

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contracts

Create contracts in a flash

With our simple contract management tool, you can setup, sign, and send your contracts in just a few minutes.

Customize flexibly

You can use the templates we provide for the quickest setup, or you can copy and paste your existing contract into the editor and send it out for signing.

Make an impression

Create and store your signature online for quick reuse, or upload your own. Your clients can also easily sign online—they don’t even need an Indy account.

Monitor your contracts

Keep track of each contract’s status, including Draft, Sent, Viewed, and Signed. You’ll know who you need to remind — resending is simple.

Contract creation made simple

A lot can go wrong when working with clients—from late payments to additional work you didn’t agree upon. Keep your work, your time, and your money protected with legally-vetted contract templates that bring security and clarity to every project.

Choose your template
Add project details
Define payment terms
Choose your template.
Add project details.
Define payment terms.
Define payment terms.
Define payment terms
Choose your template.
Choose your template
Add project details.
Add project details
Define payment terms.
Define payment terms
Choose your template.
Choose your template

Easy for you, effortless for your clients

Why spend hours trying to draft a contract when you can have a fully customized, tailor-made contract in minutes? Save time with flexible templates that fit your unique business needs, whether you want a standard contract at the snap of a finger or need full control over every detail.

Sign and send
Templates built right in
Legalese never looked so good
You’re in control
Sign and send

Sign and send

Sign your contracts using our built-in electronic signature feature or upload your own. Send your contract to your client with a custom message for a personalized touch.

The best part? Your client doesn’t need to create an Indy account to sign.

You can even send to multiple parties at once, so you can get all the approvals you need to begin a project.

Templates built right in

Templates built right in

Our contract creator was made with flexibility in mind. Choose from a variety of vocation-specific, lawyer-made contract templates you can customize and apply to your work.

There's also a custom option for when you'd like to use a contract your lawyer made for you.

Legalese never looked so good
New

Legalese never looked so good

You can add some personality to your contract by selecting from over 50 fonts.

You’re in control

You’re in control

With Indy, you can monitor the current status of all your contracts in one list, from Draft to Viewed to Signed. Still need a signature from someone? No problem, resending is easy.

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“It’s a really great tool that helps me put together contracts really easily. I feel safer and more secure when taking on new clients. The interface is very easy to use. It has really impressed me.”

Emily Fesler-Young
Creative Director
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WHAT’S INCLUDED

Contracts made easy

Create contracts
  • Choose from a variety of freelance templates
  • Add client information and freelancer information
  • Description of services
  • Project timeline
  • Payment terms, including your currency of choice
  • Define who will pay for expenses
  • Ownership and attribution
Make a signature
  • Auto-generate your electronic signature from text or upload it from your computer
  • Save your signature for easy reuse
  • Your client doesn’t need an Indy account to sign online
Available templates
  • Consulting Agreement
  • Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)
  • Subcontractor Agreement
  • Custom (Create or use your own)
  • Vocational contracts: Designer, Developer, Photographer, Videographer, Copywriter, Search Engine Optimization, and more
Plus...
  • Choose from over 50 fonts to customize your contract
  • Track the status of each contract
  • Send your contract straight from Indy or download it as a PDF to email to your client
  • Attach contracts to projects to further organize your freelance life
  • Give each contract a unique name for easy identification

Contracts can be daunting. They don’t need to be.

Start for free
Indy Contracts

Contract templates

Our free contract templates are perfect for when you need to create a contract in a pinch. Secure your business and bring clarity to projects with professional contracts designed for most industries.

Contracts FAQs

Why do freelancers need a contract?

A contract is a legally enforceable agreement that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations among its parties. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to transfer any of those at a future date. By creating a contract, you can explicitly define the working conditions with your client, providing clear terms to protect you from any problems that can happen at any moment during your working relationship. Contracts are crucial for freelancers to protect themselves and their business from things like scope creep, disputes, or even worse, a lawsuit.

Does Indy provide e-signature?

Yes, contracts created with Indy include an e-signature block. Signatures can be added easily. Indy's e-signatures make it a breeze to get the sign offs you need from clients, so that you can lock in the agreement quicker and get to work.

Why is online contract management good for my business?

Managing your contracts online is really useful for a few reasons:

  • Online contract management makes record-keeping much simpler because it helps you organize your contracts in one place and associate them with clients and projects. It helps you stay organized automatically without needing to do extra work, giving you time back to work on other things.
  • Offering e-signatures to your clients improves the acceptance rate from clients and increases the speed at which they are signed and returned to you.
  • The contract's status is tracked automatically within the Indy app and can be reviewed at any time for peace of mind.
  • Online contract software like Indy Contracts is built to help you create contracts faster than doing it manually. This makes it easier to manage multiple contracts and take on more clients, setting your business up for growth.

What contract templates does Indy provide and when do I use them?

Indy provides three professional contract templates to cover the most important aspects of your business:

The Contractor project agreement helps you define the terms of service between you and another party. Whether you're a photographer or a writer or any profession that requires a contract within a set project scope, you can customize it to fit your needs.

The Non-disclosure agreement (NDA) establishes a confidential relationship to protect intellectual property from being stolen or shared with competitors or other parties.

The Subcontractor agreement solidifies a business arrangement between you and a subcontractor you hire. Or, if you're the subcontractor, between you and the primary contractor. It includes payment terms.

All of our contracts are legally-vetted. Indy's got you covered at every level of your business, whether you're just starting out or looking to scale up.

How does Indy’s contract maker work?

Indy's contract maker streamlines the contract creation process by providing a platform where you can input your project details and generate online contracts with ease. Whether you’re looking to craft a detailed agreement for a complex project or need a simple contract for a one-time gig, Indy's tools ensure that your documents are thorough and tailored to your specific needs. With this system, you are equipped to manage all aspects of your contracts in a highly efficient and organized manner.

How do I create project agreements specific to my profession?

Indy Contracts lets you effortlessly customize a project agreement to fit your profession. Just open up a new Contractor Project Agreement and choose your role on the left side of the document. And voilà! The agreement will automatically update to reflect your profession throughout the entire contract in seconds. Now all that's left to do is add your client's name, fill in the details about your business, and you're ready to go!

Can I customize Indy's contract templates?

Absolutely! During the review stage, just click the Customize Contract button for Indy's customization to kick in. This allows you to add or delete anything to the agreement terms so that all of your contracts fully represent your business in the ways that you want. And with our visual customization tool, you can choose from a list of fonts so that even your contracts can fit your branding. Then when you're finished, you can enable e-signatures or upload your own to ensure that your unique signature makes it into each of your business contracts.

Can I use my own existing contract?

Yes, you can copy and paste text from your current contract into Indy's contract creator. Then, you can add addendums. Plus, an e-signature section is included automatically. Your contract will be saved, tracked, and available within the app.

Does Indy have free contract templates?

Definitely! Indy's free contract templates can be downloaded as a non-editable PDF. While it's a legally binding document, you won't be able to edit the contract with any additional terms you may want to add. You also won't have the ability to customize contracts, monitor their status, or send automated follow-up emails to clients. We recommend signing up for Indy's Free plan so that you can create free contracts and have access to all these great features that make the contract creation process easy. You'll also get access to the rest of Indy's core tools for absolutely free.

Who should use online contract software?

Anyone who is making a deal with clients that involves money needs a legally binding contract! A legal agreement protects you from clients piling on more work than you initially agreed upon, paying invoices late, and provides the proof you need to show that both parties involved have agreed to these terms. At the end of the day, verbal agreements aren't enough to protect you if a client decides to change the terms, or worse, back out of the deal completely. You need a legal document. Online contract software makes this process much easier by giving you a contract template that can be sent in just minutes.

Are online contracts legally binding?

Absolutely, online contracts have the same legal validity as their physical counterparts, provided all parties involved have the opportunity to review and sign the contracts knowingly and willingly. When executed properly, digital contracts are considered legally binding agreements. It's important to ensure that all parties involved fully understand the terms and conditions before appending their e-signatures. With robust security measures and adherence to relevant e-signature laws, digital contracts can offer a convenient and enforceable means of establishing a contractual relationship.

What are the benefits of using an online contract maker?

Using an online contract maker simplifies the entire contract creation and signing process, making it a popular choice for professionals across industries. With an online contract maker, users can create a contract effortlessly, tailor it to specific needs, and invite clients to sign contracts digitally. This streamlined approach significantly reduces the time and complexity typically associated with manual contract building. Moreover, digital solutions for contracts enhance the signing process's efficiency by facilitating electronic signatures, ensuring that all parties can sign contracts regardless of their location. Such innovations in the realm of online contracts not only accelerate deal closures but also enforce the same legal standards as traditional paper agreements.

How do you write a contract?

Professional contracts have these essential elements:

  • Scope of Work: Outlines the services, deliverables, and expected outcome of the project. It will also include the timeline of the working relationship and any milestones (for larger projects).
  • Payment: This section helps to outline payment terms, including how much you will get paid, when you will get paid, and which methods you will accept payments.
  • Termination: A list of agreed-upon circumstances in that a contract may be terminated.
  • Confidential information: This clause protects the private information of the client and states who will own the work that you create.
  • Independent contractor status: As a freelancer or independent contractor, you will agree to supply your own benefits, equipment, and work schedule, unless agreed upon otherwise.
  • General Terms: There are many more clauses that you can (and should) add to a contract, including Force Majeure, Severability, Non-Solicitation, Arbitration, Indemnification, and Limitation of Liability, to name a few. These terms will give you a comprehensive, legally binding agreement that prevents many issues that freelancers could face.
  • Signatures: It may sound obvious, but you need to have your and your client's signature for it to be a binding agreement.

Indy's contract templates make it easy to get a signed agreement, giving you all the clauses you need to protect your business and start projects fast. Just sign up for a free Indy account and you can send contracts in minutes.

How do I ensure that my contract protects my rights as a freelancer?

The best way to ensure that your contract protects you is to seek legal advice—have a lawyer read through the agreement. That's why all of Indy's contract templates have been legally vetted and include every clause an independent worker needs to be protected from every angle—your time, your money, and your work—throughout the entire agreement.

What happens if a client doesn't pay me? How can I address this in my contract?

Having a contract is one of the best ways to protect yourself from late payments. You can address this by having a legal contract that outlines:

  • Payment deadlines: Your contract template should have a due date for the payment.
  • Late fees: Your contract template should have a late fee penalty if a client doesn't pay the invoice on time.
  • Upfront deposits: Your contract template should include a deposit upfront to encourage clients to pay in full by the end of the project. This also helps to spread invoice payments across multiple weeks, so that you can have a steady flow of income instead of waiting until the end of each month to receive payments.

Indy University

Explore our blog to learn more about contracts, negotiation, and more.