Over the years, I’ve learned that a lot of stressful client situations happen simply because something was never clearly discussed upfront.

 

Things like:

• Clients disappearing mid-project

• Confusion around payments or timelines

• Requests for “just one more thing”

• Misunderstandings about source files or ownership

• Projects dragging on for months

 

Every time I ran into a new awkward situation, I updated my contract so I’d be covered the next time around.

 

I’m sharing here the editable InDesign version of the invoice + contract template I personally use with my own clients. It’s simple, straightforward, and written in normal human language — not overly corporate legal jargon.

Inside you’ll find:

• An invoice template — just update with your branding and it’s ready to use

• A payment schedule setup — to protect you from doing unpaid work

• A project details section — so both you and your client know exactly what’s included in the scope, from formats to sizes and revisions to resizes

• Terms & Conditions covering cancellations, stalled projects, ownership, approvals, and more — so you’re not scrambling to figure things out in the middle of a stressful client situation

 

Feel free to reuse it as-is, customize it to fit your process, or copy/paste pieces into your own contract.