Contract Considerations

A contract is a legal agreement that contains three elements: offer and acceptance, time, and consideration — in the simplest terms, this means that it states what will be done, when it will be done, and how much will be paid. If any of these elements is missing, no contract exists. Contracts can be verbal, but it is much safer to put them in writing. You may need to make contracts with clients, freelancers, and various facilities.

Client Contracts

If you are working for or with a public relations firm, it is important that a contract or letter of agreement be signed. This is a good idea at two levels of the process.

The first level is the request by the client for a proposal of ideas from the public relations firm. Public relations firms often complain that prospective clients go fishing for ideas and then implement the best ones without retaining the firms that suggested them. To preclude this, a firm should draw up a letter of agreement in which the prospective client promises not to use any of the ideas presented without payment. Recognize, however, that ideas must be truly novel or original to warrant such protec­tion.

The second level is when the public relations firm actually begins working for the client. A contract or letter of agreement should spell out exactly what is to be done, in what time period, and for what amount of money.

If you are charging the client for mileage or working by the hour, this should be specified. If you are charging by the job, say, for writing a news release, make sure that you specify a fee that will cover your time and energy for several rewrites. A thorough discussion of billing procedures and fees at the beginning of a client relationship will save much agony and recrimination later.

Freelancer Contracts

More and more companies are relying on temporary help to balance their work­load. If 20 hours' work a week is needed on an account, it is more cost-effective to use a freelancer for 20 hours a week than to hire a full-time employee who is busy only half the time. The drawback is that some firms use temporary help to get around laws and regulations that apply to employees. The firm may save money, but the "temporaries" are denied regular employee benefits.

Generally, a freelancer is not expected to conform to the rules governing regular employees. A freelancer is an independent contractor. Among the matters covered in the freelancer's contract should be ownership of work produced by the freelancer, maintenance of confidentiality, terms of payment. The job should be paid per unit or item produced, not per hour worked. Also, it is customary to bar the freelancer from being employed directly by the client but not by a competing agency.

Facilities Contracts

Meetings, conventions, meals, and outdoor activities are typical occasions where you will need to negotiate a contract with a restaurant, caterer, or hotel. For your own financial safety, any contract should be written so that you thoroughly understand basic costs as well as add-on costs.

For example, a restaurant may quote you $25 per person for a meal but neglect to tell you that this does not include taxes and a gratuity for staff. On top of this, you may even find yourself paying a basic rental charge for the banquet room if this isn't clarified in your negotiations.

In sum, know exactly what you want and how much the restaurant or hotel will charge. Ask a lot of questions, and get all price quotations in writing.