What is a Virtual Assistant Client Agreement?
A Virtual Assistant Client Agreement is your MOST important legal document. If you only have one contract in your business, this is it!
It covers your terms of business, including scope, deliverables, payment terms and termination. Your clients will love our template because it includes protections for their intellectual property and confidential information as well.
For every new client engagement, you can customise this template to suit your requirements.
Do I need a contract?
Yes, absolutely! A contract protects both you and your clients.
You should always have a contract signed before you start a new virtual assistant job for a client.
Putting things in writing protects both parties and gives certainty.
Contracts are about more than wrapping your clients up in red tape and telling them what they can’t do. Think of your contract as relationship insurance: it does all the hard, boring work of keeping the relationship on rails, so you can focus on the fun part – the actual business.
Other names for this contract
- Virtual Assistant Contract
- Virtual Assistant Agreement
- Service Agreement
- Virtual Assistant Terms and Conditions
- Terms of Business
- Retainer Agreement
What does this Virtual Assistant Client Agreement template include?
Our Virtual Assistant Client Agreement template covers everything you need:
- Schedule – table with summary of the assignment (deliverables, deposit, fees, expenses etc) on the first page
- Type of engagement and working hours – the type of services you will provide and working hours
- Scope – the scope of your services
- Deliverables – specific items or quantities or projects
- Equipment and place of work – VAs provide their own equipment and work virtually
- Client Responsibilities, Warranty and Indemnity – what you need the client to do, plus important legal terms to protect you
- Fees – how much you will be paid, as per the schedule
- Expenses – process for dealing with any extra expenses incurred
- Payment Terms – covers your payment terms, including how you will deal with overdue amounts
- Term – how long you will be engaged for
- Extension – covers the possibility to extend the agreement (both parties need to agree in writing)
- Promotion – allows you to use the client to promote your business
- Confidentiality – both parties agree to keep confidential information private
- Intellectual Property – this covers intellectual property rights for the works you create
- Limitation of Liability – to protect you against claims for losses and damages
- Termination – this explains how either party can terminate the agreement
- Dispute Resolution – process to deal with any problems that may arise
- General – standard contract clauses such as Assignment, Severance, Entire Agreement, Waiver and Governing Law
I’m just starting my Virtual Assistant business, do I really need this?
Yes, you should have a contract for ALL client engagements.
You will appear more professional and it will help protect both you and your clients.
Can’t I just copy this from another website?
Don’t do this.
1. This is copyright infringement and is against the law.
2. You might accidentally copy terms and conditions from another country – if you end up in court for some reason it might be on the other side of the world!
3. Our template has been drafted by an Australian lawyer to make sure it’s legally binding here in Australia.
If I subcontract some of my work to other Virtual Assistants, can I still use the Client Agreement?
Yes, you can! This Client Agreement allows you to subcontract one or more aspects of the services you provide to the client but requires you to remain the head contractor (meaning that you will remain responsible for the subcontractor’s services).
What do Scope and Deliverables mean?
Scope means the type of services you will provide (e.g. social media posts, call answering, document proofing etc)
Deliverables means any specific items or quantities or projects (e.g. 5 hours per week)
Can my client just type their name in the signature box, or do they have to print it off and sign it?
We recommend that you only send the contract to people in PDF format. Ask them to sign the contract and return the signed copy to you for your records. If they just typed their name, it wouldn’t be possible to prove they had signed the contract if a dispute came up later on.
Why should I invest in a quality Virtual Assistant Client Agreement template?
You’ve spent countless hours dedicated to learning how to attract the right clients.
Your heavy financial investments in your own personal growth are slowly but surely paying off.
You’re not going to let all that go to waste with a crappy contract, are you?
The booking process is the most fragile part of the selling process. Don’t let your future clients slip away with a shady contract, pieced together like Frankenstein.
With this contract template, your clients will know you take your business seriously. You’ll stand out from your competition, but best of all, your clients will trust you right from the start.
Is this template legally binding?
Absolutely!
All of our templates have been drafted by qualified Australian lawyers who hold an Australian legal practicing certificate.
We are affiliated with a commercial law firm based in Sydney.
