Updated · 3 min read
In short
- Even a one-page written agreement beats a verbal one.
- Include the scope, total price and payment schedule, timescale and both parties' details.
- Add how defects are reported at handover and how quickly they're fixed.
Why a simple contract is better than none
Many small or medium jobs go ahead on a verbal agreement, considered enough for a relationship of trust. But even a minimal written document of one page gives both sides a clear reference if a misunderstanding arises — something a verbal discussion, however clear at the time, can't guarantee later.
The essentials that shouldn't be missing
An exact description of the work, the total price and how it's paid (deposit, instalments, final payment), the estimated timescale and both parties' contact details form the minimum core of a working contract. Each of these, left verbal, becomes a possible point of dispute if the two sides later remember or interpret it differently.
The handover and remedy clause
A simple clause on the handover process — how a defect is reported and within what period it's put right — protects both sides from ambiguity at the most sensitive moment of the collaboration, the end of the job, when tensions about quality or deadlines are most visible.
A simple contract doesn't replace basic checks
A written contract reduces the risk of conflict but doesn't replace the steps in the other guides of this series — checking previous work and a detailed quote remain just as important. The contract records in writing what those steps established; it doesn't replace them. Consumer protection rules in your country may give you additional rights regardless of what the contract says.