Hello All-
I intend to use a client agreement contract along with an NDA, but get confused about the purpose of an Independent Contractor Agreement. Would a VA use the later at a client's request, or is it what I should lead with instead of my client agreement?

Thanks in advance,
Teri

Hello Teri,

Generally, the NDA is the first agreement that the two parties should sign. The NDA sets the ground rules regarding how a company's confidential info is handled (i.e. what is considered confidential, what's not, how you'd handle a breach of confidentiality, etc.) and the Client Agreement establishes the terms and conditions surrounding the project(s) and the relationship between the parties.

The Independent Contractor Agreement is usually utilized to establish that, although you are performing a service for your client, you are not an employee of the client's company. A company needs to clearly delineate this point to avoid penalties from the IRS. An employee carries more responsibilities/burdens for an employer, especially from a tax perspective, versus an independent contractor.

Also, to avoid using an excessive number of contracts relating to one client/project, you can always create independent contractor language and insert that language into the Client Agreement.

In my experience, the following independent contractor language works best inside of the agreement that will govern the terms and conditions of the relationship, in this case, the Client Agreement:

"The Virtual Assistant is and shall perform services under this Agreement as an independent contractor and, as such, shall have and maintain complete control over all of its employees, agents and operations. Neither the Virtual Assistant nor anyone employed by it shall be, represent, act, purport to act or be deemed to be an agent, representative, employee or servant of the Acme Corporation."

Hope this helps!

This is very helpful indeed. I actually do have language similar in my Agreement & felt the Ind Contractor would be redundant. But since I haven't the benefit of bringing on a new client yet, I want to be sure I do it right when I do.

Most important to me is a streamlined & clear statement of the working relationship with my clients, avoiding an excess of formalities.

I noticed you're new to the forum - welcome! What's your name?

Teri

Teri,

I am so glad that the info was helpful!

My name is Melanie and I will be launching my start-up business in the very near future. I plan to make my grand entrance on the forum soon. Thanks so much for the warm welcome! If ever you (or anyone on the forum) has any questions regarding contracts, feel free to tap me as a resource. I am not an attorney, however, I have a paralegal certificate and experience working with attorneys and in corporate legal/trust departments. So I've seen my fair share of contracts and currently negotiate the terms and conditions of various contracts in my current position.

Hi Melanie,

I also am launching my own business very soon and I was wondering if you have any resources for templates for VA contracts?

Thanks,
Evelyn

Hello Evelyn,

Thanks for your response. I do not have any agreements specifically tailored for a VA just yet. In preparing for my business, I've been gathering Service Agreements, Consulting Agreements, NDAs, etc. and plucking provisions from each agreement that fits the bill for my services. I am pulling the different agreements from my current employer as well as scouring the net for examples of agreements (Google/Yahoo/Lycos - Consulting Agreements, Non-Disclosure Agreements, etc.)

When I finally get my agreement finalized, if you'd like, I could send it to you via email or post it here. Just give me a PM if anyone is interested.

That would be great...I could share what I have if you are interested???

Thanks,
Evelyn

By all means! Thanks so much for your support.

I apparently have not posted enough times to be able to send you a private message, so unless you know how I could send an attachment, it will have to wait.

Evelyn

Interested here! Thanks for your generous offer.
Janet

I purchased a set of contracts ... made for VAs - i have to try to remember where I got them from ... but it was complete set. I'll look for them and see if I can post the link as a resource.

Tonja,

That would be great.

Melanie,

Welcome to the forum. Nice to meet you. I'm also currently in the process of setting up my business. Great clause in your client agreement. I'm definitely making a note of this!

Evelyn, Janet and Colleen,

Thanks so much for the warm welcome. You all have started a fire (which is exactly what I needed, as I had been dragging my feet about finalizing the agreement) under my rear end to get this agreement finalized and ultimately to formally launch my biz.

I think we all know how life just happens and as it was happening, I had been putting my goals/aspirations on the back burner. No more! I pledge to finalize the agreement and post it here on the forum within the next five days.

Definately interested in contract templates. Thanks!

Interested here too. I have been working to consolidate all the forms I have found -- it is a long process. Would you be incorporating your rates also or would this be an additional piece?

Cindy

Hi Ladies,

I've been absent from these forums for awhile but I wanted to let you know that we have a great library of free forms here in the VAF document library. These forms are courtesy of other VAs.

I have more "official looking" forms that I purchased elsewhere but I don't use them. The service agreement form I use was found right here at VAF.

I am definately interested.....

Originally Posted by "Virtually There"

That would be great...I could share what I have if you are interested??? Thanks, Evelyn

Cindy,

I grappled with that question too. I decided to include the pricing inside of the agreement. In my experience, separate exhibits to the agreement tend to get "lost" by the client. For instance, in Article 1 of the agreement, I will list all of the duties that I am to perform for the client. Just to the right of each particular duty, I plan to add the rate. So, just as an example, Article 1 will look like this:

"1. Engagement. Client engages VA to render, and VA agrees to render to Client, certain office management services as follows:

a) Website Maintenance $35.00 per hour (minimum 1 hour)
b) Preparation of Policies and Procedures Manual $45.00 per hour
c) Internet Research $25.00 per hour (minimum 1 hour)

In the event that I perform a duty in the future that was not listed on the original agreement, I plan to confirm all pricing via email and to send an amendment to the agreement that includes pricing for the new duty. That way, I have email confirmation/documentation AND an amendment, in case of any disputes up the road.

Just curious,

How do you feel about making your client agreement available for download on your website?

OK Ladies,

I've finished the Agreement, however the file exceeds the storage limit set by this forum. I would truly love to receive feedback regarding the Agreement, so if you care to review please send a PM and I will email it to you.