Using Contracts

How They Can Help You Avoid Headaches

As an artist, are you in the habit of using contracts for commissioned work? If not, you might consider using them regularly. It’s an extra step, but it can save you so much stress and frustration when you have the pleasure of dealing with difficult clients. You know the ones…the nitpickers who want change after change or the ones who will go along and approve all of your progress shots, but then want to make a change after the work is complete.

The age old adage, ‘The customer is always right’ should be the general mindset for all people in business. We want our customers or clients to be happy because a happy client means a return client and possibly many referrals. However, there is a fine line between keeping your clients happy and letting them walk all over you. “Time is money” applies to everyone. If you’re being kept busy (or held hostage, depending on your viewpoint) by one nit-picky client, then you’re not free to move on and accept other work. This is where using contracts can help you avoid all of that frustration. It holds you to your word to create a work of art. It also holds your client to certain ‘rules’ which are designed to protect you.

What’s In a Contract?

Contracts can make your life easier.

What should the contract consist of and what bases should be covered? Since each artist is unique, your contract should reflect those points unique to your work. For a baseline example however, you can do an internet search for ‘artist contracts’, find one that closely matches what you do, and tailor it further to suit your needs as closely as possible.

In a nutshell, each contract should cover these basics:

• Details of the job
• Dimensions
• Total price (itemize if necessary)
• Space to indicate deposit paid to begin work and how much
• Space to indicate final amount paid before work can be picked up or delivered (very important)
• Timeline for getting the job done
• Materials used
• Number of revisions covered under the initial price
• Cost per revision beyond the covered revisions (this is crucial!)
• Space for both you and your client to sign

Additional Things to Consider Including

As you create your contract, add things specific to whatever your specialty is or whatever you feel is important between you and your client. Some of these things might include:

• The number of progress pics you will send and how often (this step can be a lifesaver)
• Whether the final product will be shipped or picked up (if shipped, your price should include and clearly indicate postage and shipping supplies!)
• What happens in the event the shipped item is damaged, insurance coverage, etc.
• A disclaimer that some variations may occur for handmade items (color, patterns, etc. as in the case for hand-blown glass or jewelry)

The Crucial Stuff

Nit-picky clients will have you jumping through hoops unless you take simple measures.

Stating in your contract that there is a cost per revision beyond the covered number of revisions (I allow for 2), will 99% of the time protect you from the nit-picky clients who want to make dozens of changes throughout the process. If and when they get to the last covered revision, you can politely advise them that the next one will be at whatever price is stated in the contract they signed.

Regularly scheduled progress pics will also help here. In any of my portraits, I send on average 3-4 progress pics to my client. This gives them the opportunity to look things over and alert you to anything that might be an issue before you get to a point where making any adjustments might be too difficult or not glaringly obvious in the final piece. This will often help to avoid major revisions altogether.

Deposits

I also find it crucial to take a partial payment as a deposit to begin work (I take 50% for a deposit). When the work has been completed, I wait to receive payment for the remaining amount before the final piece is delivered. I can’t tell you how many artists have been left hanging, waiting for payments that will never come. Send the final pic of the completed piece and inform your client that the item will be delivered as soon as their final payment is received. This method circumvents that unfortunate tendency that some people have of taking what they didn’t pay for.

Here’s an example of my own contract.

Using contracts or not is entirely up to you. But I find that people generally respond well to that added touch of professionalism. Suddenly, you’re more than “just an artist” that’s grateful for any job they can get. You are a professional. As a professional, you have the ability to do something that most people can’t. You’re offering your skills as a professional and you expect to be treated as one. Yes, it’s an extra step. But it’s one that can save you a ton in headaches and lost revenue.

.

.

.