A complete interior design letter of agreement covers: the parties and project, scope of services, the design fee and its basis, payment terms and retainer, procurement and markup disclosure, purchasing, freight and reimbursable terms, a revisions policy, timeline and delay language, a third-party contractor disclaimer, client responsibilities, cancellation and kill-fee terms, photography and publication rights, ownership of documents, limitation of liability, and governing law.
State it plainly in the contract. Specify that goods purchased on the client's behalf are billed at the designer's net trade cost plus a stated procurement markup (commonly 20 to 40 percent) and that this compensates for sourcing, order management and claims handling. Transparent, written markup disclosure is what keeps affluent clients comfortable with procurement and prevents disputes later.
A kill fee, or cancellation fee, compensates the designer if the client terminates the project early after the designer has reserved time and capacity for it. It is typically a percentage of the remaining unbilled design fee. It sits alongside payment for all work already performed and for any orders already placed, which remain the client's responsibility.
Not quite. A proposal presents the scope and fee to win the work; the letter of agreement or services contract is the binding document both parties sign. This builder produces a letter of agreement you can also use as a proposal by generating it, sending it for review, and executing it once the client accepts.
Yes. This builder produces an educational starting draft, not legal advice, and contract law varies by state. Have an attorney review your standard terms once, then reuse them across projects. A single review pays for itself over every agreement that follows.