Signed scope, a payment gate and a clean handover, so freelance work does not turn into unpaid work with borrowed IP.
Freelance work runs on trust and moves on invoices. The gap between the two is where scope creeps, payments stall and rights get handed over before money arrives.
The freelancers who survive year after year are not the fastest or the cheapest. They are the ones with a signed scope, a clear payment schedule and a record of what was actually agreed.
Add the brief, the deliverables and the price.
Deed flags open ended scope, missing kill fees and rights that transfer too early.
Signed SOW with staged payments, kill fee and IP transfer conditional on final payment.
Follow up on late invoices with a paper trail, and licence reuse that goes beyond scope.