What should be in a contract with a client?

Scope is the clause that prevents the most common problem, and it needs to be specific enough that both of you would agree whether a given request is included. Vague scope is where projects expand quietly, each request too small to raise until the total is substantial. State what is included, and separately state what is not, because the exclusions are what make the boundary usable.

Payment terms should cover the amount, the schedule, and what triggers each stage. Tying payments to milestones rather than to dates means money moves when work does, which protects both sides. Include when payment is due after invoicing, and what happens if it is late, because having that written removes the need to invent a position while you are annoyed.

Changes need their own clause, because they are certain to happen. State that work outside the agreed scope is quoted separately and agreed before it begins. That single sentence converts an awkward conversation into a reference, and most clients accept it immediately because they had no idea there was a line.

Ownership determines who holds the result, and the default is probably not what either party assumes. Absent a written assignment, the person who created the work retains the copyright, which means a client may not own what they paid for. State that rights transfer on final payment, which protects the client and gives you a reason to be paid.

Then cover the ordinary endings. How either side terminates, what notice is required, what is owed for work completed, and what the client receives at that point. Confidentiality if either party will see anything sensitive. And a straightforward statement of what happens if there is a dispute, which for small engagements is usually a conversation before anything formal.

Keep it to a page or two in plain language. A contract nobody read protects nobody, and the version that gets signed and understood prevents more problems than the version that is comprehensive and ignored. This is general information rather than legal advice, and anything with substantial money attached is worth professional review.