Create an Invoice for Graphic Design Work for Engineering with Ease

Invoice for graphic design work for Engineering

[Music] hey everyone Megan here and in today's video I'm going to share with you some important things that you need to know when it comes to graphic design contracts [Music] all right you guys before I jump into the video I am so excited because I have an actual wine to taste with you all so if you have not watched my previous wine and design videos the whole concept is to enjoy a glass of wine talk about graphic design or do some graphic design projects so today I finally have a wine to taste with you all it's been some time since I've done this on my channel so I'm very excited this is a wine from Trader Joe's and it is a New Zealand wine which I've heard is really really good it's a suavignon Blanc a Suave I always say it wrong but I figured let's try it out together I'll pour myself a glass and then we'll jump into all my tips about graphic design contracts cheers okay that's like a perfect Summer Wine it's very refreshing okay so now that we have our glass of wine poured and I hope you guys poured yourself something as well your favorite beverage because we're gonna talk all about contracts as graphic design business owners so before I jump into those tips I really want to make sure it's clear that no matter what part of your journey you're on whether you're freelancing whether you have a business whether you are maybe just starting a contract is so important no matter which stage you're in it has saved me so many times and it's just really important to cover your business and your butt but also to make sure you and the client know exactly what to expect when working together so there's many benefits to having a contract but it's so important to have at least something so I'm gonna give you guys six different things that I have included in my contract that I've added over the years and that have really helped save me in times where things might be a little difficult or if I just need something to reference if the client also asks me what to expect so another thing I wanted to mention is I do have a project management system that I started investing in about three years ago and it has really really helped me make sure that the clients know how to sign the contract also it just makes sure that they can clearly see everything listed out and initial it digitally um and it also just combines everything together so everything's in one place the contract the invoice The Proposal all in one place so it really really helps I do love dibsado and I recommend it and I have a link down below if you want to join at a smaller discount but I also am currently working on a course all about dubs Auto um so I'm very excited about that it should be launching this fall um so just want to give you guys a little Shameless plug there but number one thing to always include on your contract is your name as a business and your client's name if you don't have those names it really the contract's really not going to work it needs to be very clear that this is directly for them and directly for you so the reason I love dubsado is it automatically actually plugs their names in when I have their names in their profile and I also put on the contract that I will now be known as the designer throughout the contract and they'll be known as the client so that throughout the contract I don't have to mention their name all the time as long as the very initial paragraph has their name in it somewhere that's really key and really important second important thing that I include on my contract is I name out the revision limit that I do have for my branding and my website design so this is actually kind of a controversial topic I know some designers don't have revision limits some designers do have revision limits I am one of those designers that does have a limit to it having those revision limits make sure that I not only make every single round of revisions really really crucial to nailing it so I like to ask a lot of really great questions when it comes to like the feedback that way I can make those revision rounds really count and work towards the goal but having that limit has helped me because I've had some clients in the past that we get to like the eighth version just because they can't decide even though they all were good and they liked them they just couldn't decide so I like to have that limit just so they know that they have kind of that's that chance to say what they need to say right then and there before we reach that limit so it really helps me my clients seem to be totally fine with that I've never had anyone complain about it I have had moments where I have to tell them that we're near the end of the revisions just so they're aware that the additional cost is coming up so on the contract I like to include the revision limit which for me is for revisions that goes for the logo design as well as the initial website design that I do on Adobe XD um I don't have revision limits when it comes to like picking out fonts picking out colors things like that I feel I don't really need a limit on it um those are kind of things they trust me to pick but the logo is typically where the revisions kind of need some guidance so logo design and the website design is four rounds of revisions and then I also have in my contract that if we exceed those four rounds that they will need to pay my hourly rate and I list out the actual number of my hourly rate and I do have them initial right underneath this paragraph because it's a really important part of the contract and I want to make sure they read it and that they don't skip over it but that is a really important thing and that's helped me a lot in my business is having this piece on my contract third important thing to have on your contract is a information about the deposit so I do require a deposit from my clients this deposit locks them into my calendar and make sure that I know that they're serious about working with me and also it covers me just in case if they ghost me in the middle of the project or if something happens where they decide they can't do work with me anymore at least I have that deposit from the very beginning that is non-refundable so I really want to make that clear in my contract that it is a non-refundable deposit that way there's no questions if they decide like for example let's say someone wants to work with me in three months then they pay they pay the deposit right now if the three months come and they're not in the right place to work with me typically that deposit is just not going to go back to them and I really want to make sure they know that um kind of similar to like when you move into apartment you pay a deposit sometimes you don't get it back if you don't clean properly or sometimes Apartments just don't give it back so I do like to make sure they know all of those guidelines about my deposit I only require my clients to pay a 25 deposit I used to do 15 and I definitely increase that but I know a lot of designers also do 50 which I think works wonders but for me 25 works pretty well and I'm totally fine with that for now fourth important thing to have on your contract is ownership rules because sometimes your clients might be wondering do they have the rights to the designs are the designs theirs afterwards and do they have to pay to you know keep those files so I like to make sure that they know I have a big long paragraph all about ownership and that they are going to be the owners and they have all the rights to the to the designs after I hand it off to them but I do have a line item in there that says even though they are the owners and have the rights they give me permission to use the logo and everything on my portfolio or on social media or YouTube for example so I do like to make sure that I have that there so there's no confusion on either end I mean I've never had a client want to be confidential so I just like to have that in there as well so they know that they have the rights once I hand it over to them along with that I also for website design clients in particular will make sure that I put in there that they do allow me to put my name at the very bottom of the website for credit on who designed it unfortunately I've had a client in the past not want my name on there because they thought it looked like messy or something it was very unfortunate um but I do like to have that in my contract now because of that experience that way they know that I can put that credit at the bottom not only does that help you with SEO for backlinks but it also can drive in some new clients and it's a really great way for people to find you the fifth important thing is having a piece of text in your contract that mentions that you might pause the project if you don't hear back from them or if they do not pay their installments so this is a very important one you want to make sure that you're covered in this area because if for whatever reason the client doesn't pay their invoice on time or they just don't respond to you you should not continue working on their project until you hear back this will just protect you from working and not getting paid for that work and also just make sure that if for whatever reason something goes on in the client's life I mean after all we're humans some sometimes things happen at least they know that if you send them an email mentioning that you're pausing the project until everything comes back um at least they know that you have that in the con track so that is a potential to happen but it is important to make sure that they know that the pausing means that they have to pay the invoice for you to pick the work back up so make sure you have that written out in those contract terms and then also another thing that I include on my contract is that if they do not pay after a certain amount of time that I will add on a leafy so this isn't important it does help me if I am afraid or if something happens and they just completely forget to pay I do add on that late fee which is like 10 or 15 a day every day until they pay it so it can definitely add up and it kind of scares them a little bit but also you're doing the work and you should get paid for that so don't be afraid to actually put those terms into action um so yeah that's definitely something that has helped me in the past as well sixth thing that you should have on your contract is making sure that your contract has an expiration date this is something that I used to skip over and kind of forget to do um but with dubsado I'm able to actually set an expiration date as soon as I send that out so I give my clients about 15 days 14 days which is like two weeks to decide whether they want to move forward with my proposal and contract um that way if they decide not to move forward it kind of saves me because if two if in two months they can still access my contract and my proposal and sign it I don't want to be like trapped into something that I don't even I can't take on anymore so it is important to have that expiration for both the proposal and the contract and also have that very clearly listed on there so that they're more likely to sign it right away and it's kind of like one of those marketing tactics where it's like buy now or like Memorial Day sales or whatever the sale is having like that time period to purchase or sign the contract really helps the clients actually move forward so that also does help me quite a bit which you guys those are all of my six tips for graphic design contracts like I mentioned earlier they're so important to have no matter which stage you're in whether you're freelancing whether you have a business already maybe you're just doing projects here and there it's important to have a contract even if you're working with friends family people you know it really saves your butt and it saved mine many times I do have a contract template on my website um if you do want to have like a good starting point you just have to plug in your name your business all those things but I do recommend investing in a project management platform or even having something like where they can digitally sign the contract and so that you can have that in your files make sure that they initial and sign those important areas and having that dubsado really helps me make sure that I am notified when they sign and that they can have that copy sent to their email as well so it really helps definitely go check out dubsado I'll have that link down below and I also have those contract templates for you guys down below as well but thank you guys so much for watching this video it was nice to bring back my little wine and design videos I'm so excited to continue doing that with you all tasting out the wine and yeah I'm so excited but thank you guys so much for watching this video If you enjoyed it and appreciate it so much if you give it a thumbs up subscribe down below and I'll see you guys in my next video [Music] thank you [Music]