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Offline Question

by Ethan F.
16 replies
Hey,

If one was planning to tackle the offline business world and bring them traffic from the interwebs, will they need to sign some form of "scope of work" agreement or can one get by without it?

Ethan
#offline #question
  • Profile picture of the author Ralf Skirr
    You definitely need some agreement.

    Major points:

    - liability, make sure you don't take any liability for their content, their legal text and the media they give you.

    - how and when to pay. make sure you get advance payments, at least partial, and then monthly payments. some clients have the bad habit of delaying projects for many months. so if you can make monthly invoices, that's fine.

    - scope of work, yes, customers tend to bring in new ideas and requirements after the project is started. Then you need to make sure you can ask for extra money for the extra work.

    There's more of course, but those are the 3 most important things.

    Ralf
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    • Profile picture of the author Keith Boisvert
      You COULD do an assignment without a scope of work, but you are setting yourself up for a potential disaster by not using one.

      As Ralf mentioned above, there are many issues that can come up, all of which could have an impact on you getting paid.

      The scope itself is something I have all of my clients sign, as it outlines what they want and what I am going to do to achieve it. It never fails, somewhere during the project they want to "add" something in, and I always can refer to the initial scope, and create a "change order" which I also submit to them for approval. This way there are no surprises, and you don't do work they wont pay for in the end because they didn't know that more work was going to actually cost more $$.

      And just as Ralf, I get a deposit up front(50%,which is listed in the contract), 25% when I am half done, and the balance on completion.(again, all listed out).

      No one likes surprises, so the scope certainly, when done right can eliminate them.

      Keith
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      • Profile picture of the author Frank Murphy
        Originally Posted by Keith Boisvert View Post

        You COULD do an assignment without a scope of work, but you are setting yourself up for a potential disaster by not using one.

        As Ralf mentioned above, there are many issues that can come up, all of which could have an impact on you getting paid.

        The scope itself is something I have all of my clients sign, as it outlines what they want and what I am going to do to achieve it. It never fails, somewhere during the project they want to "add" something in, and I always can refer to the initial scope, and create a "change order" which I also submit to them for approval. This way there are no surprises, and you don't do work they wont pay for in the end because they didn't know that more work was going to actually cost more $$.

        And just as Ralf, I get a deposit up front(50%,which is listed in the contract), 25% when I am half done, and the balance on completion.(again, all listed out).

        No one likes surprises, so the scope certainly, when done right can eliminate them.

        Keith
        I totally agree, a scope of work is critical when it comes to marketing to offline businesses. I have done up a few scripts related to the theme. Feel free to download them.
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        • Profile picture of the author Ralf Skirr
          Originally Posted by Lady NaNa View Post

          I have done up a few scripts related to the theme. Feel free to download them.
          Thanks for the offer, where would we find them to download?

          Ralf
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          • Profile picture of the author Ethan F.
            Thank you very much for your input guys. I read through each post and took something from it. Now after I get these legalities in place, I will be ready to take massive action. And I will be downloading your manifesto Lady NaNa

            All the best,

            Ethan
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            "Money grows on the tree of persistence"

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            • Profile picture of the author joshril
              Here are several free and a few paid "scope of work" agreements. You can find all sorts of contracts on this site.

              scope of work - docstoc

              Originally Posted by Ethan F. View Post

              Thank you very much for your input guys. I read through each post and took something from it. Now after I get these legalities in place, I will be ready to take massive action. And I will be downloading your manifesto Lady NaNa

              All the best,

              Ethan
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          • Profile picture of the author TommyBussey
            Originally Posted by Ralf Skirr View Post

            Thanks for the offer, where would we find them to download?

            Ralf
            They're in her signature...the "Manifesto" link
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            - Meet Tommy Bussey -

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          • Profile picture of the author Frank Murphy
            Originally Posted by Ralf Skirr View Post

            Thanks for the offer, where would we find them to download?

            Ralf
            Oh, it is somewhere below my post in this thread..lol..
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            • Profile picture of the author globalpro
              Originally Posted by Lady NaNa View Post

              Oh, it is somewhere below my post in this thread..lol..
              I must be missing it, I don't see a link

              Thanks,

              John
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  • Profile picture of the author DogScout
    For tiny businesses that I 'target', I actually usually do handshake deals! If it is $500/mo at no time can I lose even if they stop paying. I might not be paid a lot because much of the actual work is in the front of the time period, but I A) believe in helping tiny businesses, many of which cannot pay 50% upfront and B) I prefer to do business with people I trust (and trust me). If they flake, I can hand over their info and say adios.
    If they WANT a contract, it will contain less than I will actually do. I have yet to talk to an off-line business that knows every piece of the puzzle. I have seen contracts from other SEO website building 'experts' that just amaze me. (I saw one that seemed to think meta keywords were a HUGE part of what they were going to do. Lol. That contract contained no off page work and was so vague about what on page work they were going to do, the contract was essentially worthless to the business. I walked in, did a handahake deal for more than they were charging. (He'll get 3x what he pays for, because that is how I do things.)
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  • Profile picture of the author L.James
    my question is what kind of invoices do you all use?
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  • Profile picture of the author Hugh
    Like Mark, I do handshake deals. However, later with check in hand,
    I email the client with "just to keep my mind clear, we discussed blah,
    blah..... Did I forget something? Just want to be sure we are on the same
    page."

    Not really a legal document, but shows a commitment.

    Hugh
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    "Never make someone a priority in your life who makes you an option in theirs." Anon.
    "Some see private enterprise as a predatory target to be shot, others as a cow to be milked, but few are those who see it as a sturdy horse pulling the wagon." -- Winston Churchill

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    • Profile picture of the author DogScout
      Originally Posted by Hugh View Post

      Like Mark, I do handshake deals. However, later with check in hand,
      I email the client with "just to keep my mind clear, we discussed blah,
      blah..... Did I forget something? Just want to be sure we are on the same
      page."

      Not really a legal document, but shows a commitment.

      Hugh
      I do that to, usually around 8:45 PM on the nearest Saturday, opening with": "I was thinking about your job." or working on your job" along with a few questions I invariably have and that shows "RUST NEVER SLEEPS!"

      lol

      The invoice is for their accountant or if they have a bookkeeper that insists everything be in black and white.
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  • Profile picture of the author DogScout
    If the client whats an invoice for their records, just google 'free invoice templates', add your info, save a copy for future use then fill out and email to them.
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  • Profile picture of the author cityofangels
    Agreements are absolutely necessary. Ralf is right on the money. Agreements need to spell out everything so there are no misunderstandings. It happens. You need to have them just in case something happens. Rather safe than sorry.
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  • Profile picture of the author Nic Lynn
    Yes, yes, yes you need a SOW. If for nothing else, just to help protect your own time and workload. Even with a signed SOW, I'll occasionally get a client that demands, say, 4 website updates per month instead of the 1 we documented. Pulling out the SOW usually fixes that (and sometimes adds to a higher fee as I accommodate their "extra" needs). Without a SOW and just a verbal agreement it can get into a he said/she said that either hurts your customer relationship, forces you to walk away or forces a compromise that costs you time or money.
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