WebJunction

Negotiating a contract with a technology consultant will allow you to make your needs heard and to get the most out of the relationship. Do it for your own protection. Don't hesitate to ask questions about anything you don't understand before you sign off.

Your contract should include:

• Project Description: What is the overall goal of the consultant's work? The project description should be a global description of what the consultant will do. It's important to be absolutely clear about these goals, so that the consultant knows your vision of the end result, and you get what you're really looking for.
       
• Project Objectives: What are the products (called "deliverables" in the trade) of the consultant's work? Make it clear how you will know when the work is accomplished, and who gets to declare it finished.
       
• Consultant's Responsibilities: What are the consultant's specific tasks? Identify the major steps the consultant will take to complete the project. It may be useful to include checkpoints and signoffs (and perhaps even payments) at the conclusion of each major step, to make it easier to monitor progress and direction.
       
• Nonprofit's Responsibilities: What is required from the client for the consultant to be able to do his/her job? Agreeing on your responsibilities will help you budget staff time and also protect yourself from an endless stream of requests further down the line.
       
• Fees: What are the fees for different phases of the consultant's work? It may be helpful to arrange a fixed price rather than an hourly rate. This section should also identify payment times and terms.
       
• Time Schedule: This section identifies the phases of the project. It includes starting times, any intermediate benchmarks and anticipated completion dates. Defining different phases of the consultant's work can save you from being locked in to an expensive long-term project that isn't going well. If the consultant doesn't meet deadlines or doesn't communicate, you should have a way to pull the plug.
       
• Legal Terms: This section should include a discussion of the consultant's non-employee status, confidentiality, the ownership by the agency of products developed under the contract, a bar on subcontracting if applicable, and a clarification of circumstances under which the contract may be canceled by the parties.
       
• Copyright: Will the consultant be developing a database, a website or customized software application? Be sure to define who has the ownership of anything new created as a part of the project.

Most importantly, both parties must sign the contract.

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