I finally read the fine print on a client contract and found a 90 day payment term

So I'm doing this project for a medium sized agency client and I was about to sign their standard agreement. I skimmed it like I always do but something felt off so I actually read the whole thing carefully. Buried on page 4 was a clause that said net 90 payment terms unless we opted out in writing within 10 days of signing. I almost missed it completely because it was in the middle of a paragraph about data handling. My last two jobs were small local places that paid net 15 so I never looked for stuff like this. I actually sent a screenshot to my buddy who runs a freelance design shop and he said he got burned by the same thing with a different agency last spring. Has anyone else found shady payment terms hidden in a contract that you normally would have signed without reading?

3 comments

3 Comments

oliviagrant1mo ago

60 days always seemed standard to me in this industry, but 90 is basically asking you to be their bank. Your buddy's story makes me wonder how many freelancers just sign that page 4 stuff without catching it. That is a nasty little trap to hide in a data handling section.

lilykelly9d ago

The "page 4 trap" is real and it gets so many people because contracts are already boring enough without having to decode hidden clauses. Its messed up that companies bank on freelancers being too tired or trusting to catch that stuff. Your buddy got lucky but yeah a lot of people probably just sign and never find out until its too late. Really makes you wonder how many other nasty little surprises are buried in standard contracts that no one talks about.

derek6561mo ago

You ever sign something and then three months later find a $500 charge you forgot about? Thats basically what happens with 90 day terms, except the charge is your paycheck. @oliviagrant is right that its a trap, and Ive definitely been the guy who skims page 4 because my eyes glaze over on data handling stuff. Next time I sign a contract, Im reading every line like its a ransom note.