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If you’re not sure why you might need a virtual assistant contract template, read this article, because we unpack the many benefits and considerations of using a virtual assistant contract template.
A virtual assistant contract is crucial when it comes to defining the professional relationship between an assistant and their clients. Using a template when drafting not only saves time, it provides a comprehensive scope of work and reduces disputes and misunderstandings.
In this article, we’ll cover:
Let’s jump into it!
A virtual assistant contract governs the relationship between the client and the virtual assistant. It outlines and assigns the duties of the assistant and specifies the payment terms to help you collaborate and ensure both parties adhere to their full obligations. Using a contract ensures confidentiality between both parties and protects business information.
A contract provides a scope of work for the assistant and includes clauses to negotiate and terminate. It also highlights the rights and responsibilities of each party involved. A good contract can be customized to fit specific needs and offers protection to both parties.
In essence, it serves as a legal agreement between the client and the virtual assistant.
It is designed for remote professionals, incorporating clauses that relate to the intricacies of remote work. In the case of changes to the role (which should be monitored), it can be amended based on mutual consent, ensuring it is up to date with the current circumstances.
There are many benefits to having a virtual assistant contract in place. It is a great way to make sure everyone is on the same page — using one ensures that all parties have a clear understanding of the scope and expectations of the work that they need to fulfill, as well as confirms and finalizes these expectations. This binds both parties and reduces the chances of misunderstandings within the business relationship.
Another benefit to using a contract is that it specifies payment terms and delineates the deliverables expected from the assistant. This helps in maintaining a high level of clarity and efficiency in the assistant’s operations.
A contract also clarifies dispute resolution procedures and provides a framework for a secure exchange of services and payments. By utilizing these provisions, a virtual assistant contract offers protection to both parties in the case of disputes and unforeseen events.
Another benefit is that the contract details the communication protocols for all projects, and mandates the conditions for renewals with the service provider. This supports business continuity and paves the way for a long and fruitful partnership.
Virtual assistants offer a myriad of services designed to suit the needs of their customers. These can range from standard administrative services to specialized support, and everything in between!
Personal assistance services usually involve managing schedules, making appointments, and organizing travel arrangements. The virtual personal assistant handles the client’s affairs to keep their life organized and efficient.
Administrative services cover things like email management, meeting scheduling, and data entry. These tasks help to maintain the flow of a client’s business operations and are a great option for businesses who want administrative support without the cost of a full-time employee.
Creative tasks like graphic design, content writing, and editing can also be done by a virtual assistant. These services are often used to support a client’s marketing and branding.
More specialized virtual assistants may offer technical services. These could include IT support, website management, or other technical roles that require specific types of experience. These services are specialized, and so will require more detailed contractual agreements.
Social media management is increasingly important and is often the purview of a virtual assistant. A virtual assistant may be in charge of maintaining a brand presence or engaging influencers to run brand promotions. When engaging influencers, a virtual assistant may make use of a social media contract template, such as the one available from Bonsai.
Using a template for your virtual assistance contract provides peace of mind, as you can be confident your contract includes all the necessary information. Contract templates are specifically designed to reflect the unique challenges of the virtual assistant position and are also fully customizable.
A contract template is essential when beginning a new engagement. The template sets the duration of the engagement with the assistant and the client and highlights the rights and responsibilities of both. It ensures roles and expectations are fully understood right from the beginning.
Using a template clarifies the roles and responsibilities of the assistant, making sure all of the expected tasks are understood. This also clarifies dispute resolution procedures in the contract, which protects everyone involved.
A contract template specifies the payment terms, including details of compensation, payment schedules, invoices, and other financial arrangements. It mandates the conditions for renewals with the service provider, which provides stability for the client and assistant.
A contract ensures confidentiality between the assistant and the client. A contract template usually includes confidentiality clauses to protect sensitive information and trade secrets. This offers protection to both parties against disclosure and unauthorized access to information. It protects information from being accessed by users or employees who don’t have permission.
Using a contract template prevents misunderstandings and disputes by creating unambiguous terms, expectations, and rules. It binds both parties to an agreement, so everyone understands their role.
Are you looking to begin a new working relationship, and want to ensure you cover all your bases? Download Bonsai’s virtual assistant contract template now! It’s free — just sign up for Bonsai and you’ll have access to their entire range of free contract templates. They have contract templates for freelancers, independent consultants, and project managers — there’s something for everyone!
A virtual assistant contract template can vary depending on the services being provided, but there are certain sections that every contract should include. The perfect contract details the communication protocols for the relationship and highlights the rights and responsibilities of both parties.
This part of the contract delineates the deliverables expected from the assistant and documents the duties of the assistant and the scope of services. It can also designate the tools, resources, or materials that will be used by the assistant. It can be amended based on mutual consent as the needs or requirements change.
A contract template sets the duration of the engagement and specifies the start and end dates. A comprehensive contract also mandates the conditions for renewals with all parties.
This aspect of the template specifies the payment terms for services, including pay rates and payment methods. It binds both parties to a schedule of task completion and also ensures that compensation is delivered on time.
This clause ensures confidentiality between the client and contractor, protecting proprietary information. It offers protection to both parties and is an essential part of a virtual assistant contact.
This is where the contract highlights the rights and responsibilities of both parties regarding intellectual property ownership. It governs the relationship between client and assistant and clearly states how intellectual property will be handled.
A comprehensive contract includes termination clauses for a variety of situations, including a roadmap for exiting the engagement. This is essential, as the contract serves as a legal agreement between the client and the assistant.
Virtual assistants have a variety of different working arrangements, and different types of contracts are needed to accommodate them. All virtual assistant contracts are designed for remote professionals, and each contract binds both parties to a professional relationship with the other party.
Project-based contracts are used for specific, self-contained projects. A contract for a project details the communication protocols for milestones in the project and delineates the deliverables expected. It also sets the duration of the engagement and includes a clear end date.
Retainer agreements ensure a certain number of hours or tasks will be done by the assistant on a monthly basis. This creates stability for the assistant and ensures the client’s needs can be consistently met. A contract like this often includes provisions for regular review and updates.
Hourly contracts are used for assistants who provide services as needed. This type of contract specifies the payment terms for services rendered based on an hourly rate.
Long-term collaboration agreements are used for developing longer-term working relationships. It is essential that this type of agreement includes termination clauses and mandates the conditions for renewals so that the partnership has a clear framework.
A contract template serves as a legal agreement between the assistant and client, so it’s essential to ensure it serves your needs.
When choosing the right template, make sure you assess your business requirements and the nature of the client/assistant relationship. The best template can be amended based on mutual consent so you can ensure it aligns with the specific needs of the service provider and client.
Ensure your chosen template has space to provide a detailed scope of work for the assistant that details the communication protocols for the tasks to be completed.
The ideal contract outlines the duties of the assistant that they will perform and delineates the deliverables expected. Ideally, anyone engaging in assistant services should clearly outline the scope of work to avoid confusion among others and the individual contractor.
Tasks to define within your scope of work may include:
Ensure that the contract specifies the payment terms for the services that will be provided. This offers protection to both parties and ensures a smooth financial transaction.
Confidentiality clauses in the contract ensure confidentiality between the parties and protect sensitive information. This protects both the client and assistant and binds both parties to discretion.
Make sure you don’t leave yourself unprotected! Download the free virtual assistant contract template from Bonsai to ensure expectations are clear and that all parties are on the same way — it’s the best way to ensure clarity in your business relationships.
Creating a winning contract requires regular review and updates to stay relevant. The ideal contract serves as a legal agreement between the assistant and the client and has clear provisions for services and expectations.
Clarity and simplicity are key elements of all legal communication and communication skills. Ensure your contract avoids legal jargon and that it is to the point and easy to understand.
A successful contract provides a scope of work for the assistant and their obligations. Be sure to be detailed and thorough so that there’s no room for misunderstanding.
Including performance metrics and benchmarks shows accountability and increases trust between client and assistant. This approach binds both parties to a standard of work, which increases confidence in the partnership.
Ensure the template clarifies dispute resolution procedures within the document, so you have a roadmap for handling disagreements. Make sure it includes termination clauses in case unforeseen circumstances occur and the relationship needs to be ended early.
Virtual assistants offer a range of services that suit a number of client needs, including technical, administrative, creative, and social media management tasks. A virtual assistant contract is a legal document that outlines duties, specifies payment terms, and ensures confidentiality between a virtual assistant and their client.
Virtual assistant contract templates can be used to streamline the contract signing process. They can be used when establishing a new relationship and when you want to ensure clarity regarding payment terms, scope of work, and confidentiality.
Contract templates usually include detailed information regarding the scope of work, and cover payment and intellectual property rights.
The type of virtual assistant contract that you use will depend on the type of work you’re doing. Contracts can range from short-term project contracts to retainer agreements.
The best way to use a virtual assistant contract template is to find one that is customizable and that clarifies the roles and responsibilities that are to be performed.
To increase your chances of winning contracts, prioritize clarity and simplicity and ensure your contract is comprehensive when it comes to scope, performance metrics, disputes, and payment terms.
To get access to a huge range of free contract templates, why not sign up for Bonsai for free? Our contracts are all comprehensive and legally vetted by attorneys, so you’ll have peace of mind knowing you’re covered for any eventuality!
Once you’ve chosen your contract, it can be downloaded and customized — you can then convert it to a PDF to send to your client, all from within Bonsai.
Give yourself peace of mind and streamline your contract process by signing up for Bonsai today!
Yes, a good virtual assistant contract template should be customizable for your needs. At Bonsai, you can tailor any component to fit the unique requirements of your business relationship.
A virtual assistant contract requires regular review and updates to reflect changes in services offered, company needs, or payment information. Good times to update include after the completion of a big project or on an annual basis.
Yes, a virtual assistant contract is legally binding — that’s why it’s so important to ensure you’re signing a comprehensive contract that offers protection to both parties in the case of disputes. You can have your assistant agreement checked over by a lawyer before signing, or you can use one of the many legally vetted templates from Bonsai!
Virtual Assistant Contract Template
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THIS VIRTUAL ASSISTANT SERVICES AGREEMENT (hereinafter referred to as the "Agreement") is made and entered into on [DATE BOTH PARTIES SIGN] (the "Effective Date") by and between Acme LLC (hereinafter referred to as the "Contractor") and Client (hereinafter referred to as the "Hiring Party", collectively referred to as the "Parties"), both of whom agree to be bound by this Agreement.
1.1 Contractor shall provide the following Services to Hiring Party (collectively the "Services"), or other such services as mutually agreed upon in writing by the Parties: Contractor shall serve the Hiring Party as a "Virtual Assistant." As such, Contractor shall be responsible for providing remote assistance to business management professionals. Such duties include, but are not limited to, the following: (a) conducting research and organizing data; (b) interacting with clients on behalf of the Hiring Party; (c) performing clerical duties; and/or (d) performing any other tasks as assigned by Hiring Party.
1.2 Hiring Party may engage Contractor to perform additional services, if agreed upon by the Parties (all services performed by Contractor hereunder shall be referred to as the "Services"). All Services will be performed to the best of the Contractor's abilities in accordance with generally accepted professional standards and in an expeditious and economical manner. Contractor agrees that Contractor shall submit any and all documentation and/or files as required by the Hiring Party in connection with the services (i.e., identification, tax forms, etc.).
1.3 The Contractor's schedule shall be as follows: Contractor shall render Services as required for the successful operation of the Amazon store. The Contractor's schedule shall be subject to Contractor's availability provided the Amazon store is operating successfully and tasks associated with the management of the Amazon store are completed on a timely basis as needed.
Contractor acknowledges that Contractor's Services are being provided as an independent contractor, and that nothing in this Agreement shall create an employer-employee, partnership or joint venture relationship between Contractor and Hiring Party. Contractor further acknowledges that Contractor will be under the control of Hiring Party only as to the results of the Services that Contractor performs under this Agreement, and not as to the means by which such results are accomplished. Contractor shall have no claim against Hiring Party under this Agreement or otherwise for workers' compensation insurance, unemployment insurance or compensation, paid time off, vacation time, vacation pay, sick leave, stock options, stock benefits or other ownership rights, retirement benefits, health or life insurance, social security benefits, disability insurance benefits or any other employee benefit. Contractor and Hiring Party understand that the Services are not the exclusive activity of Contractor, and that Contractor may undertake other business activities during the term of this Agreement that are not in conflict with Contractor's Services to Hiring Party.
The Parties agree that the term of this Agreement shall begin as of [PROJECT START DATE] and shall be effective for an initial term of one (1) month (the "Initial Term"). The Agreement shall renew automatically for subsequent one (1) month renewal terms (each a "Renewal Term") until terminated in accordance with the terms of Paragraph Four (4) of the Agreement.
3.1 Survival. Contractor's obligations under Sections Seven (7), Eight (8), Nine (9) and Ten (10) shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
Contractor may terminate this Agreement at any time, with or without cause, upon thirty (30) days' prior written notice. Hiring Party may terminate this Agreement, at any time, with or without cause, immediately upon written notice. Upon any such termination, Contractor will deliver to Hiring Party all Materials (as defined below) in their current state of completion. Contractor understands and agrees that if this Agreement is terminated by Contractor pursuant to this Section 4, Contractor will have no right to any compensation other than undisputed compensation for Services that Contractor has already performed, and for which Contractor has not been paid, at the time of such termination. Thereafter, Hiring Party shall have no further obligations to Contractor under this Agreement.
Payment for the Services will be made on the following basis:
5.1 Contractor Compensation. As compensation for the Services rendered by the Contractor pursuant to this Agreement, Contractor shall be paid as follows: [PAYMENT TERMS]
5.2 No Withholding. Contractor acknowledges and agrees that Contractor is solely responsible for payment of Contractor's taxes incurred in connection with any compensation received hereunder. Contractor acknowledges that Hiring Party shall not withhold on Contractor's behalf any sums for any applicable tax.
6.1 To the extent applicable, Contractor agrees that the results and proceeds of Contractor's Services and all work product resulting therefrom, including videos, ideas, concepts, writings, images, artwork, designs, formats, the Amazon store and all files, data, materials, manuals, design notes and other items and documentation (related thereto or associated therewith) and all other materials, written or oral, which Contractor has created for or submitted to Hiring Party at any time, whether past, present or future in connection with the Services or Hiring Party's business (collectively, the "Materials") are "works-made-for-hire" (as defined in the United States Copyright Act of 1976, as amended) for Hiring Party. As "works-made-for-hire," Contractor agrees that Hiring Party shall be deemed the author of the Materials and the sole and exclusive owner of all right, title and interest in the Materials, including all copyrights therein, and all derivative works thereof, throughout the universe in perpetuity. Contractor also expressly waives any and all so-called "moral rights" or any similar rights or principles of law which Contractor may now or later have in the Materials throughout the world. Hiring Party shall have the right to utilize (or not utilize) the Materials in such manner as Hiring Party, in its sole discretion, shall determine, with the right to make such changes in and uses of the Materials as it may choose and the right to exploit the Materials by any and all means, in any and all media, whether now known or hereafter devised, throughout the universe in perpetuity.
6.2 To the extent, if any, that the Materials are not deemed "works-made-for-hire" under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, as amended, and/or involve rights other than copyrights, and/or Contractor owns or controls any rights in the Materials, Contractor irrevocably and unconditionally grants, transfers, assigns, quitclaims and sets over to Hiring Party all rights of every kind and nature in and to the Materials, including without limitation all copyrights, trademarks, patents, intangible property rights, and all other property or intellectual property rights, throughout the universe in perpetuity. Contractor hereby waives any and all rights known as "moral rights" and any similar rights which Contractor may have in connection with the Materials.
6.3 All Services shall be performed by Contractor, employees of Contractor or independent contractors of Contractor who have entered into or will enter into agreements providing that such Services are being provided on a "work for hire" basis and/or containing any such other provisions as necessary to fully vest ownership of all intellectual property rights in the Materials to Hiring Party in accordance with Section 6.1 above and to comply with all confidentiality and non-disclosure obligations of Contractor hereunder.
6.4 Nothing herein shall grant Contractor any rights in or to any intellectual property owned or controlled by Hiring Party ("Hiring Party IP"), including any and all of Hiring Party's ideas, concepts, writings, images, artwork, designs, formats, software, business models, trade secrets, copyrights, patents or trademarks, other than the right to incorporate such Hiring Party IP into the Materials, if necessary.
7.1 Confidential Information. The term "Confidential Information" as used in this Agreement shall mean any data or information that is competitively sensitive material and/or not generally known to the public and/or information containing information regarding any client and/or potential client of Hiring Party. Any and all source code developed by Contractor for Hiring Party shall also be considered Confidential Information for purposes of this Agreement.
7.2 Treatment of Confidential Information. In consideration of the disclosure of proprietary information by Hiring Party, Contractor hereby agrees: (a) to hold the proprietary information in strict confidence and to take all reasonable precautions to protect such information (including, without limitation, all precautions the Contractor employs with respect to its own confidential materials); (b) not to disclose any such proprietary information or any information derived therefrom to any third-party individual and/or entity; (c) not to make any use whatsoever at any time of such proprietary information except to utilize such information in accordance with its engagement with Hiring Party; and (d) not to copy any such proprietary information in any manner whatsoever.
7.3 Return of Materials. Immediately upon the written request by the Hiring Party at any time, the Contractor will return to the Hiring Party all proprietary information and all documents and/or media containing any such proprietary information and any and all copies or extracts thereof (collectively the "Materials"), whether created by Contractor or not, save that where such proprietary information is a form incapable of return or has been copied or transcribed into another document, it shall be destroyed or erased, as appropriate. Contractor acknowledges and agrees that it shall delete any and all copes of any source code created by Contractor for Hiring Party after submitting such source code to Hiring Party and Hiring Party confirming receipt of such source code.
7.4 Survival of Contractor's Confidentiality Obligations. The obligations of this Section 7 with respect to Confidential Information shall be in effect during the term of this Agreement and shall continue indefinitely after the termination of this Agreement.
Contractor represents and warrants that: (a) Contractor has the right to enter into this Agreement and grant the rights granted herein; (b) Contractor is the sole author of Materials and sole owner of all rights thereto; (c) no third parties contributed to the creation of the Materials; (d) the Materials are original and are not derived from or based upon any other works created by Contractor or any third party (other than the materials provided to Contractor by Hiring Party); (e) the Materials do not and will not violate any intellectual property or other right of any third party; (f) there has not been a claim or litigation about the Materials; and (g) Contractor will comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations relating to the Services, including those regarding safety and required licenses and permits. Contractor agrees to indemnify, defend and hold Hiring Party, its licensees, successors and assigns harmless from and against any and all claims, damages, costs, expenses, losses or liabilities (including, without limitation, attorneys' fees and costs, whether or not litigation is commenced) that may be asserted against or incurred by or imposed upon them at any time arising out of any breach of Contractor's representations, warranties, agreements and/or covenants in this Agreement or (ii) Contractor's fraud, negligence or intentional misconduct. This indemnification includes, without limitation, any loss incurred by Hiring Party as a result of Contractor, or any person or entity engaged or employed by Contractor, breaching any obligation of confidentiality in violation of Section 7 herein or claiming ownership of Pre-Existing Works in violation of Section 6 herein.
During the term of this Agreement and for a period of twenty-four (24) months after the expiration or termination of this Agreement for any reason, Contractor agrees that it shall not: (a) offer services to any third party individual and/or entity utilizing information and processes that are unique to Hiring Party and/or Hiring Party's operations; (b) directly or indirectly induce by any means any customers or clients of Hiring Party to patronize any similar business; (c) directly or indirectly request or advise by any means any customer or client of Hiring Party to withdraw, curtail, or cancel such customer's or client's business with Hiring Party; or (d) directly or indirectly disclose to any other person, partnership, corporation or association, the names or addresses of any of the customers or clients of Hiring Party.
Contractor acknowledges that in order to effectuate the promise to hold Confidential Information in trust for Hiring Party, it is necessary to enter into the following non-solicitation covenant. As such, Contractor agrees that during the effective term of this Agreement and for a period of twenty-four (24) months after the termination of this Agreement, for whatever reason, Contractor shall not, directly or indirectly, without written approval of Hiring Party, solicit or induce, or attempt to solicit or induce, any current employee, contractor, customer and/or client of Hiring Party to alter, leave, or cease their relationship with Hiring Party for any reason whatsoever.
Contractor's obligations under Sections Six (6), Seven (7), Eight (8), Nine (9) and Ten (10) shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with, and governed by, the laws of the United States of America
This Agreement constitutes the entire and complete understanding between Contractor and Hiring Party concerning the subject matter contained herein. All prior and contemporaneous representations, agreements, arrangements and understandings between or among Contractor and representatives of Hiring Party, whether oral or written, have been fully and completely merged herein and are fully superseded by this Agreement.
Contractor may not transfer or assign this Agreement or its rights or obligations under this Agreement without the prior written consent of Hiring Party which may be withheld in Hiring Party's sole discretion. Hiring Party may assign, transfer, delegate and/or grant all or any part of its rights pursuant to this Agreement to any person or entity. Subject to the foregoing sentences, this Agreement will be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the Parties, its successors and assigns.
This Agreement and any of the terms herein may be amended, supplemented, waived or modified only through an express written instrument signed by both Contractor and Hiring Party. Neither the waiver by either of the Parties hereto of a breach of or a default under any of the provisions of this Agreement, nor the failure of either of the Parties, on one or more occasions, to enforce any of the provisions of this Agreement or to exercise any right or privilege hereunder, shall thereafter be construed as a waiver of any subsequent breach or default of a similar nature, or as a waiver of any provisions, rights or privileges hereunder.
Should any provision(s) of this Agreement for any reason be declared invalid, void or unenforceable by arbitration or a court of competent jurisdiction, such adjudication shall in no way affect any other provision(s) of this Agreement or the validity or enforcement of the remainder of this Agreement, and the provision(s) affected shall be curtailed only to the extent necessary to bring the Agreement within the applicable requirements of the law.
This Agreement may be executed in counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument. Signatures transmitted by facsimile or electronic transmission by .PDF or otherwise shall be considered valid, binding and effective for all purposes.
Contractor acknowledges and recognizes the highly competitive nature of the Hiring Party's business, that access to Confidential Information renders Contractor special and unique within Hiring Party's industry, and that Contractor will have the opportunity to develop substantial relationships with existing and prospective clients, accounts, customers, consultants, contractors, investors, and strategic partners of Hiring Party during the course of and as a result of Contractor's engagement with Hiring Party. In light of the foregoing, Contractor recognizes and acknowledges that the restrictions and limitations set forth in this Agreement are reasonable and valid in geographical and temporal scope and in all other respects and are essential to protect the value of the business and assets of Hiring Party. Contractor acknowledges further that the restrictions and limitations set forth in this Agreement will not materially interfere with Contractor's ability to earn a living without violating such restrictions is a material condition to Contractor's engagement with Hiring Party.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have executed this Virtual Assistant Services Agreement as of the date first written above.
