What should a contractor get in writing before starting a job?

1. Scope: what exactly you are doing

Arguments on small jobs usually start with something nobody wrote down, not with something written badly. Five short lines cover the gaps that cause most of them: what you are doing, what you get paid and when, how changes get priced, when it is done, and what happens if someone quits. Each one can be a single sentence you send before you pick up a tool.

The scope is the list of work you are responsible for, and by implication the work you are not responsible for. Vague scope is the most common source of "I thought that was included." Name the areas, the materials, who supplies what, and what is excluded.

Paste-ready example: "Scope: remove and replace the kitchen backsplash (approx. 40 sq ft) with client-supplied tile, including demo, thinset, grout and cleanup. Painting, electrical and plumbing are not included."

2. Price and payment schedule

The price line states the total, whether tax is included, and when each payment is due. A schedule tied to milestones works for both sides: the client pays for work they can see, and you are not carrying the whole job on your own money.

Paste-ready example: "Price: $3,200 plus tax. 30% ($960) due before start, 40% due when tile is set, 30% due on completion and walkthrough. Payment by e-transfer within 2 days of each invoice."

3. Change-order rule

A change-order rule says how extra work gets approved and priced before it happens. Without one, every "while you're here, can you also" turns into a dispute at the final invoice. The rule can be one sentence: nothing outside the scope starts until both sides confirm the price in writing.

Paste-ready example: "Changes: any work outside the scope above is quoted separately and starts only after you confirm the quote in writing. Extra hours are billed at $65 per hour plus materials."

4. Deadlines

Deadlines cover the start date, the expected completion date, and what counts as an acceptable delay. Weather, back-ordered materials and client-side holdups happen, so say how they move the date instead of pretending they will not.

Paste-ready example: "Timeline: start Monday, June 8; expected completion Friday, June 12. Delays caused by material back-orders or client changes push the completion date by the same number of working days."

5. What happens if either side walks

The exit line says what is owed if the job stops early, in either direction. It covers work completed so far, materials already bought, and any deposit. Writing this down while everyone is friendly is much easier than negotiating it during a walk-out.

Paste-ready example: "If either of us ends the job early, the client pays for work completed and materials purchased to that date, and any unused deposit is refunded within 7 days."

A text message is better than nothing, but worse than a signed record

A text message with these five lines is a real improvement over a handshake. It shows what was discussed and roughly when. Keep sending them; they beat silence every time.

A text message has three weaknesses as a record. Either side can delete their copy, edit a screenshot, or claim the wording changed in a later message. The timestamp lives on a phone that one party controls. And nothing in a text proves who was holding the phone when it was sent.

A signed record closes those gaps. Both parties are identified, both sign the same final text, and neither side can edit it afterwards. Anchor it, and a later change would no longer match its public fingerprint. That is the difference between "here is what I remember" and "here is what we both signed."

Turn the five lines into a signed record

TrustChain takes the same five lines you would text and turns them into a signed, dated record. The steps:

After signing, either party can download their own record, certificate and PDF on any plan. Anyone with the public link can check the record without creating an account.

What TrustChain does not do is decide who is right. If the record is anchored, anyone anywhere can check its fingerprint and Polygon date on a public block explorer. Whether the agreement is enforceable depends on where you and your client are and what you agreed, so a local professional is the right person to ask about that. TrustChain makes the record of the deal hard to dispute; it does not chase the money.

Start on the Free plan at trustchain.biz: 1 agreement a month, no card required.

1. Create the agreement, paste your five lines, and invite the other party by email.
2. If you both have TrustChain accounts, you can talk through the terms in an end-to-end encrypted chat inside the agreement. The text is fixed when the agreement is created, so if the terms change, create a new agreement.
3. Both parties verify identity with a photo ID and a selfie. An unverified account can't sign.
4. Both parties e-sign. Each signature gets a timestamped entry in the audit trail.
5. Optionally anchor the signed agreement on Polygon: TrustChain computes its fingerprint and writes it to a public transaction.