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For independent contractors

Before you sign that independent contractor agreement, check these four things.

An independent contractor agreement can look standard and still leave your status ambiguous, your ownership of the work unclear, or your ability to take the next client restricted — the fair-vs-unfair line usually comes down to four things: classification, IP, what happens after the contract ends, and how payment and exit are handled.

The four things worth checking before you sign

  1. Status & classification — The agreement should confirm you're an independent contractor, not an employee — the label alone doesn't settle it, but a contract that's silent or inconsistent on control, tools, and schedule is worth a second look before you rely on your 1099 status.
  2. IP & work-for-hire — Ownership should transfer on payment, not the moment you create it — “work made for hire” language can hand over rights before you're paid, and a contract with no background-IP carve-out can sweep in tools and templates you brought with you.
  3. Non-compete & non-solicitation — Check the scope, duration, and geography of any restriction on your future work — an unbounded “any competing business” clause, or one that reaches clients you already had before this contract, is worth negotiating down before you sign, not after.
  4. Payment, liability & exit — Look for a real payment schedule with late-payment interest (not just “net 30” with no teeth), indemnification that runs both ways instead of making you the client's insurer, and a notice period or kill fee if either side ends the contract early.
Illustration of a calendar grid merging into a document, with one date marked in orange
Contractor Agreement.pdfPage 1 of 6
Example
Medium risk— a few terms deserve a closer look

This agreement reads as standard until the restrictions.

Lower riskHigher risk
Against youHigh · Restrictive covenants

Non-compete reaches clients you already had

There is no boundary here worth the name: “any competing business” in “any territory”, for two years after the work ends, can cover clients you were already working for before this contract existed.

Ask for

Narrow it to named competitors, a defined region and a shorter period, and carve out clients you had before the start date.

  • Work made for hire — ownership leaves you on creationHigh · Intellectual property
  • Status language sits oddly beside the control claimedMedium · Classification
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