Working short contracts

[Choc Drop]

I would like to advertise my services in marketing and admin to small businesses in my area, in the form of short contracts. Something like a consultant. Can anyone tell me the best way to go about this legally?

[Miss Zippy]

I'm not clear from your question on the kind of information you are after, but here are some pointers: make sure you have appropriate insurance in place (professional indemnity etc), make sure you draw up/get a solicitor to draw up a standard contract and terms and conditions. Make sure you this contract is agreed and signed before you undertake any consultancy work for anyone. A solicitor can probably draw one up for you for minimal cost, as it need only contain standard terms or you can have a go at drafting it yourself making sure to cover things such as - definition of your services, performance of services, charges/fees, exclusion clauses/limitation of liability, confidentiality, data protection notice (if appropriate), duration, termination, intellectual property (applicable if, for instance, you will be creating marketing material - need to make it clear who owns the moral rights to that material, you, as creator, or your customer).

[Miss Zippy]

P.S. needless to say, if you're going to be self employed then you'll need to make sure you keep accurate financial records, particularly for tax purposes. Also, even if your business is below the VAT threshold (c. �50k I think), it may be advantageous for you to be VAT registered, so it might be worth looking into this.