Proposal and contract template
- Deposit due at signing
- $1,800
- Computed on this page from the inputs below
- Due at the milestone
- $2,400
- Computed on this page from the inputs below
- Due on delivery
- $1,800
- Computed on this page from the inputs below
- Owed if the client cancels after the milestone
- $450
- Computed on this page from the inputs below
Every figure on this page is computed from the inputs you enter, by the method stated below it. Scopedly publishes no market rates and quotes no survey: the defaults are a worked example to replace with your own.
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The figures above start from a worked example ($1,800). Change any input and the answer updates as you type.
Download the Proposal and contract template worked example (CSV)
The proposal gets the job and the contract keeps it paid, and the two should share a page. This tool takes the agreed price and works the payment schedule a small agency or a freelancer actually needs: the deposit due at signing, the milestone payment at the mid-point review, and the balance on delivery. It then works the two clauses that only matter when something goes wrong: what the client owes if they stop the work after the milestone, and what a late final payment costs them per month. Putting those figures in the proposal, before anyone signs, is what turns a difficult conversation later into a line item now.
Three payments, not one
A deposit, a milestone and a final payment spread the risk between you and the client. The deposit commits them and funds the start; the milestone pays for work they have already seen and approved; the final payment is small enough that a delay does not sink you. Set the deposit and milestone percentages and the final falls out. A single payment on delivery means you have financed the whole job and the client has all the leverage at the end.
The cancellation fee protects the time you have reserved
When a client stops a project after the milestone you have turned other work away and planned the weeks around theirs. A cancellation fee, stated as a share of the unpaid balance, is the honest price of that. It is much easier to collect when it was in the proposal the client accepted than when it is first mentioned in the email that says they are stopping.
Late charges work because they are written down
A late payment charge is rarely collected and is still worth stating, because a client who knows it exists pays on time. The tool works it as a monthly rate against the final payment for the number of days late, so you can show the figure rather than threaten it. In the United Kingdom statutory interest on late commercial payments exists in law even where a contract says nothing, and in New York the Freelance Isn't Free Act requires written terms and payment within 30 days for freelance work; the sources below carry both.
Where the constants in this tool come from
GOV.UK: Late commercial payments, charging interest and debt recovery. The statutory right of a UK business to charge interest on a late commercial payment when the contract is silent, and the rate it runs at.
New York State Department of Labor: Freelance Isn't Free Act. The New York requirement for a written contract on freelance work above a value threshold and payment within 30 days of completion, which is why the payment schedule belongs in the proposal itself.
Proposal and contract template: common questions
What should a proposal and contract include?
The scope in enough detail that both of you can tell when it is done, the price and how it is split into deposit, milestone and final payment, when each is due, what counts as a revision and how many are included, who owns the work and when, what happens if the client cancels, and what a late payment costs. The tool works the money lines; the wording around them is yours.
How much should the deposit be on a project?
The worked example takes thirty percent at signing, forty at the milestone and the rest on delivery, which suits a project of a few weeks with a review in the middle. Shorter jobs can take half up front and half on delivery. What matters more than the split is that it is stated before the client accepts.
Can I charge interest on a late payment?
In the UK a business can charge statutory interest and a fixed recovery cost on a late commercial payment even if the contract does not mention it, and a contract may set its own rate instead. In the US it varies by state, and a rate stated in the signed proposal is far easier to rely on than one asserted afterwards. The late charge field here is a contractual rate you set, and a lawyer should confirm it is enforceable where you are.
Is this a legally binding contract?
No. It works the numbers that go into one. The clauses that make a proposal enforceable, and the consumer rules that apply if your client is an individual rather than a business, vary by country and state and are worth an hour with a lawyer once, for terms you will then reuse on every job.