Why a freelancer needs more contracts than an employee
When you work as an employee, HR writes the employment contract, the labour office validates the payroll and Social Security takes care of the rest. When you go freelance, all that shifts onto you. Every new client is a negotiation, every project is a risk and every payment is a small battle.
The numbers are stark: 47% of Spanish freelancers had a late-paying client in the last year (ATA 2025) and the average time to collect an invoice is 75 days (European Commission, 2024). The difference between those who sleep well and those who do not is, literally, a signed PDF.
Here are the seven contracts you need ready to send the moment a new client comes in. All are available in Runican as free templates (free plan, no credit card), drafted under current Spanish law and reviewed in 2026.
1. Freelance services agreement
When to use it: ALWAYS when providing a service to a client. Whether it is a 200€ gig or a 15,000€ project, this is the baseline contract of your activity — the equivalent of the employment contract in the salaried world.
It covers the key points: scope of work (to avoid dreadedscope creep), payment milestones, deadlines, intellectual property, exclusivity, applicable jurisdiction. The most expensive mistake is not pinning it down in writing: verbal disputes are the #1 cause of unpaid invoices according to freelance associations.
Critical point: include clauses that demonstrate there is NO disguised employment relationship (the famous "false freelancers"). Spain's Labour Inspectorate reclassifies thousands of freelance contracts as employment relationships every year, which means fines for the client and tax problems for you.
2. NDA / Non-disclosure agreement
When to use it: before the client shows you their roadmap, financial data, client list or any sensitive information. And before you show them your unique methodology or proprietary tools.
A well-written NDA defines: what information is confidential (everything or only certain material), for how long (typical 2-5 years), exceptions (public or independently developed information) and consequences of breach (penalty clause in euros).
Important detail: the NDA must be signed BEFORE the first substantial meeting. If it is signed after the client has already shown you information, technically that info is not protected (it was not confidential when you received it).
3. Collaboration agreement
When to use it: when you work with another freelancer (without forming a company) on a one-off or recurring project. For example: you do design, another does development, you split revenue; or three of you serve a shared client billing separately.
It is different from a founders agreement (that is for incorporating a company). The collaboration agreement sets who contributes what, how income and expenses are split, who invoices the client, what happens if someone leaves, IP of joint work and exclusivity in the niche.
Most important: define the decision matrix. Without a prior agreement, any difference between collaborators ends badly — and because there is no formal corporate bond, there is no governance body to arbitrate.
4. Professional quote (presupuesto)
When to use it: ALWAYS before starting work, even if the client says "just send the invoice at the end". Without a signed quote, you have no proof of the agreed price, scope or deadlines.
A professional quote is NOT an email saying "3,000€". It has: freelancer and client identification, line-by-line breakdown, payment terms (advance, milestones, final deadline), applicable VAT, quote validity (typically 30 days) and acceptance signature.
Trick: a quote signed by the client acts as a binding contract under art. 1262 of the Spanish Civil Code (offer + acceptance = contract). It is the fastest way to protect yourself without drafting a long contract every time.
5. Image rights assignment
When to use it: if you work with photographers, videographers, talent, models, actors or any person whose image will appear in material you create for a client (web, social, ads, videos).
Three rights are in play here: image rights (Spanish Organic Law 1/1982), copyright on the photo/video (LPI) and, if minors are involved, reinforced rights (Organic Law 1/1996). Without an express assignment contract, the depicted person can request removal of the material at any time — even years later.
The contract must specify: scope of use (territory, time, formats), exclusivity or not, consideration (free or paid), right to revoke, what happens if the image is modified with AI. The last point is especially relevant in 2026 with the European AI Act now applicable.
6. Burofax claim letter (when things go wrong)
When to use it: the client is 60 days late on payment and polite emails no longer work. Burofax is the step any judge expects to see before admitting a lawsuit — it interrupts the statute of limitations and shows you tried to collect amicably.
Structure: identification of the parties, background (when the contract/quote was signed, what was done, when payment was due), amount owed broken down, default interest (art. 7 of Spanish Act 3/2004 against late payment), deadline to pay (typical 10-15 days) and warning of legal actions if not paid.
Practical cost: burofax with delivery receipt and content certification at Spanish Post = ~30-40€. Average recovery after burofax: 35-40% of cases without needing trial (freelance associations 2025).
7. Debt acknowledgement (when the client offers instalments)
When to use it: after the burofax, the client acknowledges the debt and proposes paying in instalments. Do NOT do them the favour of accepting it verbally. The written debt acknowledgement gives you three critical advantages.
First, it restarts the statute of limitations (art. 1973 CC): from the date of signing, a fresh 5-year window starts to claim, even if the original debt is 4 years old. Second, it serves as enforceable title in a small-claims procedure (fast and cheap court process up to 2,000€ without mandatory lawyer). Third, if the client misses the agreed instalments, everything becomes due automatically and you can claim the full amount.
Key detail: the acknowledgement must include the cause of the debt (which invoice, which service rendered). Without a cause, a judge may consider it an abstract document with weaker probative force.
How to organise your freelance legal kit
Serious people do not improvise contracts at each new client. Having this kit organised saves 80% of the time and makes you look professional from the first email:
- Templates saved in an accessible folder (Drive, Dropbox, Notion or your Runican account).
- Pre-filled data: your name, ID number, fiscal address, IBAN, bank details — all preloaded so you only change client data each time.
- PDF + editable version of every template. The signed PDF is the proof; the editable is what you send to the client.
- Tracking system: simple sheet (Excel, Notion) with client, signed contract yes/no, amount, expected collection date, actual date.
- Deadline calendar: 60 days unpaid = burofax. 90 days = acknowledgement or court. Automate it or you will forget.
Actionable summary: the 5-minute rule
If a new client comes in right now, this is what you should do in the next 5 minutes before accepting:
- Send an NDA if sensitive info will be exchanged (1 min).
- Send a detailed quote with payment terms (2 min).
- Ask for quote signature before starting work (1 min).
- Log payment deadline in your calendar (30 s).
- If long project, also send the full services agreement (30 s).
Five minutes today. Zero sleepless nights tomorrow.
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