Shortly after launching my business 7-years ago I realized that a simple handshake was not the smartest approach to managing a client project. It’s absolutely imperative that anytime a service provider is engaged that directly effects a client’s business, especially in the Web space, that both parties enter in to and execute a detailed and comprehensive agreement.

Over the years I have revised my “Master Service Agreement“ to protect the interests of both parties and sought legal counsel to ensure my contracts were bullet proof. The purpose is to ensure that all the project’s requirements, deliverables and responsibilities are clearly outlined in a concerted effort to avoid any misunderstandings during the project’s life cycle. Of course, additional requirements inevitable creep up, but that potentiality should also be included in your agreement.

The real benefit is documenting everything both parties have agreed to in writing that definitively states the specifications and overall project scope, which will significantly minimize, if not potentially eliminate, any possible misunderstandings pertaining to each parties respective obligations. The bottom line is it may not prevent honest discord, but if your agreement’s on paper it will in all likelihood prevent frivolous litigation, which is the best reason of all to enter in to a formal agreement.