Sign a consulting agreement online

How consulting differs from other contractor work

A consultant is usually paid for judgement rather than output: a strategy review, an audit of a sales process, a technical architecture opinion, interim leadership. That changes what the agreement needs. Deliverables may be a report and a series of workshops, not a finished product, and the risk is more about reliance on advice than about defects.

Consulting agreements also tend to be longer-running, on a retainer or a day rate, with a senior individual named as the person who does the work.

Clauses specific to consulting

These are what separate a consulting agreement from a generic contractor template.

• Key person: the named consultant who will do the work, and what happens if they become unavailable.
• Fees: day rate, monthly retainer or fixed fee per phase, plus how travel and expenses are approved.
• Reliance on advice: the client remains responsible for its own decisions, and liability is capped, often at fees paid.
• Conflicts of interest: whether the consultant may work for competitors at the same time.
• Non-solicitation of each other's staff for a set period.
• Ownership: the client owns the report; the consultant keeps its methods, templates and know-how.
• Professional indemnity insurance, with a minimum cover figure.

Status and tax, briefly

A long, exclusive engagement with one client can raise the same employment status questions as any contractor arrangement. In the UK that means the IR35 off-payroll rules; in the US, the IRS and state tests for worker classification. Consultants operating through their own firm, with several clients and their own methods, are generally on safer ground. If in doubt, take tax advice; this page is general information.

Who signs, and in what order

If the consultant trades through a company, a director of that company signs; the named individual may also sign a short undertaking on confidentiality. The client signs through someone with authority over the budget.

Consultants usually send their own terms and sign first, so the client sees a document ready to accept. In Sign PDF you can add yourself as the first signer and sign before it goes out.

Common mistakes

No cap on liability for advice, which leaves a solo consultant exposed to a claim worth many times their fee. Retainers with no stated number of days, which turn into unlimited availability. Scopes so broad that a 'review' becomes implementation without any change to the fee.

How to send a consulting agreement with Sign PDF

Upload the agreement and Sign PDF places the 'Consultant' and 'Client' signature, name and date boxes. Ask the assistant to 'add client initials beside the fee schedule' if you want it acknowledged separately.

The client confirms a six-digit email code and signs in a browser. The sealed PDF includes a certificate of completion with a hash-chained audit trail, so the agreed fee schedule cannot be quietly altered later without the seal breaking.