What's Inside

This chapter covers the core features and capabilities of Proposal & Contract Templates.

What's Inside

Templates (Fill-in-the-Blank Documents)

Guides (Pages)

Reference (Docs)

Features

• 11 complete templates — not outlines, not skeletons. Real documents with realistic structure, clause language, and professional formatting
• 4 industry-specific proposals — Web dev, consulting, design, and copywriting, each tailored to that discipline's typical scope and deliverables
• 4 contract types — Service agreement, fixed-price, hourly, and retainer to cover every engagement model
• Change order template — Protect your scope and get paid for additional work
• Statement of work — Detailed deliverables document that attaches to any contract
• [PLACEHOLDER] system — Every variable is wrapped in brackets for easy find-and-replace: [CLIENT_NAME], [PROJECT_FEE], [START_DATE], etc.
• Plain-language clauses — Written to be understood by clients, not just lawyers
• Pricing guide included — Research-backed guidance on what to charge for different services

Quick Start

Follow this guide to get Proposal & Contract Templates up and running in your environment.

Quick Start

1. Pick the right template — See the table above or pages/how-to-use-these-templates.md

2. Find and replace placeholders — Use Ctrl+H / Cmd+H to replace [PLACEHOLDER] values with your details (see docs/placeholder-reference.md for the full list)

3. Customize the scope section — This is the part that changes most between projects

4. Review payment terms — Adjust milestone percentages, payment timing, and late fees to match your preferences

5. Export to PDF — Use any Markdown editor (Typora, VS Code, Notion) or paste into Google Docs

6. Send for signature — See docs/e-signature-tools-guide.md for options

Template Selection Guide

Not sure which template to use? Here's a quick decision tree:

Are you pricing the project?
├── Yes, quick estimate → project-quote.md
├── Yes, detailed proposal → project-proposal-[your-discipline].md
└── No, client already approved → Skip to contract

What pricing model?
├── Fixed price → fixed-price-contract.md
├── Hourly → hourly-contract.md
├── Monthly retainer → retainer-agreement.md
└── General / mixed → service-agreement.md

Need detailed deliverables?
├── Yes → statement-of-work.md (attach to your contract)
└── No → The contract's scope section is enough

Client wants to add scope mid-project?
└── Always → change-order.md