For an IT consultant, the contract details can have a big impact on the project they plan to undertake. That is why you should be very careful when signing your consulting contract. Here are a few tips that will help you.
• This may sound as very obvious, but never sign a contract that is incomplete or is a standardized contract. The reason for this is that every project is different and has specific requirements. If the company is offering you a standardized contract then you can safely assume that the terms are going to favor the company. Make sure that the contract is tied up with your service level agreement and addresses situations specific to your project.
• It is very important that you go through the contract to check for all the incentives and penalties mentioned. Make sure that the requirements from the consultant are mentioned clearly. Look at the penalties and the situations which can lead to a penalty. Also, since not meeting the expectations leads to a penalty, a clause for incentives should also be there if the work is better than expectations. If such incentives are not present, make sure that you limit your work to only what the contract says, or you might have to bear the cost of over-delivering on a project.
• It is perfectly reasonable for you to ask for a part of the revenue from the project. Also, make sure that you have a post notice period in the contract stating that the company must abide by the contract.
• A lot of times, you will find that the relationship between you and the company does not progress smoothly. This also ends up affecting your motivation and performance for the project. To deal with such scenarios, make sure that you have a clause in the contract which states that you can leave the project if certain standards are not maintained.
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