Practical guide
How to make a collaboration contract with a freelancer?
Short answer
- 1Go to 4mycontracts.net and select "Freelancer collaboration contract".
- 2Fill in party details: freelancer entity type and client company.
- 3Define scope: deliverables, deadlines, and agreed rate.
- 4Add optional clauses: NDA, IP assignment, late-delivery penalties.
- 5Send the contract for signing through a link; the freelancer signs from the browser, without an account.
What the law says
- Romanian Civil Code art. 1651-1660 — service contract, written form strongly recommended.
- Fiscal Code art. 7 pt. 3 — freelancer vs. employee reclassification risk if criteria overlap.
- eIDAS Regulation (EU) 910/2014 — qualified electronic signature equals handwritten signature.
- GDPR art. 28 — data processing clause required if freelancer handles personal data.
- Law 8/1996 on copyright — IP/patrimonial rights assignment must be explicitly stated.
Practical examples
- UI/UX design contract with a Cluj-based freelancer, per-deliverable payment, full IP assignment.
- SEO content writing collaboration (6 months, per-article rate, niche exclusivity clause).
- Mobile app development contract with sole trader, monthly milestones and 0.1%/day late penalty.
- Outsourced bookkeeping for startup, financial data access — with GDPR art. 28 processing clause.
Common mistakes
- Missing copyright assignment clause — deliverables legally remain the freelancer's by default.
- No acceptance criteria defined — client cannot legally reject a non-conforming delivery.
- No explicit payment deadline — raises reclassification risk as employment by tax authorities.
- No NDA clause when freelancer accesses internal or strategic business data.
How 4mycontracts helps
- Collaboration contract template with fields to fill in, based on the Civil Code.
- Simple electronic signature through a secure link — the signer needs no account.
- A signature certificate as PDF, with the IP address, time of signing and SHA-256 fingerprint of the document.
- Archive in your account, with the event history of each contract.
- Reminders for signatories who have not signed yet.