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Consulting agreement template

A consulting agreement sets out what advice or work the consultant will provide, how it is paid for, and who owns what comes out of it. Fill in the details and the agreement is laid out as a PDF with a signature block for the consultant and the client.

This template is a general starting point, not legal advice. Laws differ between countries and states, so have it checked before signing anything important.

Fill in the details

Anything you leave empty becomes a blank line in the document, to fill in by hand or during signing.

Opens the signature request with this document and a signature box for each party already placed.

Preview

Consulting Agreement

This Consulting Agreement (the "Agreement") starts on __________ between __________ (the "Consultant") and __________ (the "Client").

1. Services

The Consultant will __________ (the "Services").

2. Fees and Expenses

The Client will pay __________. The Consultant will invoice monthly and the Client will pay __________. Expenses: __________.

3. Independent Consultant

The Consultant is an independent contractor, not an employee, partner or agent of the Client. The Consultant decides how the Services are performed, provides its own equipment, and is responsible for its own taxes, insurance and benefits.

4. Confidentiality

The Consultant will keep the Client’s non-public information confidential and use it only to perform the Services, during this Agreement and afterwards. This does not cover information that is public, already known to the Consultant, or received lawfully from someone else, and it does not prevent disclosures required by law.

5. Work Product

Reports and other materials created specifically for the Client under this Agreement belong to the Client once paid for. The Consultant keeps its pre-existing know-how, methods and general tools, and grants the Client a non-exclusive right to use any of them that are built into the work product.

6. Term and Ending Early

This Agreement runs until __________. Either party may end it earlier with __________ written notice. The Client will pay for Services performed and approved expenses incurred up to the end date.

7. Limits

The Consultant will perform the Services with reasonable skill and care. Recommendations are advice; decisions on whether to act on them remain the Client’s. Neither party is liable to the other for indirect or consequential losses.

8. General

This Agreement is governed by __________. It is the entire agreement between the parties about the Services, may only be changed in writing signed by both, and may be signed electronically.

Consultant

__________

Client

__________

Make the scope measurable

Most consulting disputes start with a vague scope. Name the deliverables and the limit on hours or meetings.

  • List what you will hand over — a report, a plan, a number of sessions.
  • Put a cap on hours before written approval is needed.
  • Say which expenses are covered and whether they need approval first.

Frequently asked questions

They overlap. A consulting agreement is usually about advice and recommendations; an independent contractor agreement is usually about producing work. Both treat the provider as independent, not an employee.

No. Tax and labor authorities look at how the work is actually done — who controls it, who provides the tools, whether the person works for others. The label in the agreement does not decide it on its own.

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