10 Business Contract Templates: Save, Print and Download (2024)

As a business owner, there’s always that moment in developing a new relationship with a client when it comes time to sign a contract.

As expensive, boring, and confusing as they can be at times, contracts ensure everyone is on the same page. Cementing the terms of your deal in writing means you can refer back to them at any time—and gain clarity that can prevent issues from cropping up later on.

If you’re in need of a business contract template to get you started, you’ve come to the right place.

What is a business contract template?

A business contract template is a ready-made document that lays out the basics of a business agreement. As a starting point for creating contracts, it helps you save time and avoid missing any important details.

Templates provide a handy starting point for owners, managers, legal teams, and businesses large and small. Many legal websites, business software programs, and law firms offer templates for common business documents.

What makes a good contract template?

A good contract template covers everything to guarantee a smooth transaction, whether you’re sealing the deal with a new supplier or bringing on a freelancer.

In general, a good contract template will include:

Names and contact info of everyone involved
Details about the goods or services being offered
How and when payments should be made
How long the agreement lasts
What each party needs to do
How to end the contract if needed
Ways to solve disagreements

Templates can be great starting points, but they all need adjusting to fit your situation. It’s always a good idea to have a legal expert review the final document before using it to facilitate a business deal.

Here are 10 business contract template platforms to explore:

1. SignWell

SignWell is an electronic signature software program that offers a ton of business contract templates. Its templates come from analyzing more than 25,000 sales documents representing $2 billion in winning sales. You can find templates for:

Marketing agreements
Web design contracts
Retainer agreements
Sales contracts

Pricing: There is a free plan available that comes with one template and three documents a month. Paid plans start at $15 a month.

2. Legal Templates

Legal Templates is a website dedicated entirely to contract templates. In addition to offering templates for real estate, personal, and estate planning purposes, Legal Templates has business contracts such as:

Partnership agreements
Limited liability company (LLC) operating agreements
Non-disclosure agreements
Employment contracts

They also offer templates for other business-related documents, such as business plans, memorandums of understanding (MOUs), and business proposals.

Pricing: You can sign up for a $9.99/month plan that’s billed annually, or pay $49.95 on a monthly basis following a free trial. Both plans provide full access to more than 140 legal forms.

3. Signaturely

Signaturely is another online signature software with a wide range of free contract templates. Its templates cover various business needs and have been reviewed by legal experts and proofreaders.

On it’s website, you’ll find templates for:

Digital marketing proposals
Owner financing contracts
Termination letters
Shareholders agreements
Rental agreements

Pricing: The Personal plan offers one template per month for $25/month and the unlimited Business plan for $50/month following a free trial.

4. Rocket Lawyer

Rocket Lawyer offers an interactive, guided system for creating customized business agreements. The template starts by asking you a series of questions. It will gather specific information about the business transaction, such as:

The type of agreement (sale of goods or services)
Details of the parties involved
Specific terms of the transaction (e.g., payment terms, delivery details)

As you answer these questions, Rocket Lawyer generates the appropriate clauses and populates the contract with your information.

Pricing: Rocket Lawyer has plans starting at $19.99/month (billed annually) following a free trial. It also has other add-on services for additional costs.

5. ClickUp

The project management software ClickUp has more than 1,700 business templates available for download. You can find contracts for everything from simple business contracts to addendums and employment contracts. To use these templates, you’ll have to sign up for a free ClickUp account.

Pricing: ClickUp offers a free plan with limited features. Paid plans start at $10/month.

6. The University of Texas at Austin

Whether you need a speaker agreement or interagency cooperation contract, The University of Texas at Austin has free templates to cover it. On its website, you’ll find more than 20 business contract templates for download. To use them, you’ll have to make a Box.com account.

Pricing: Free.

7. Jotform

Jotform has more than 200 contract templates you can build and sign within the platform. From influencer contracts and loan agreements to requests for proposal (RFP) and nonprofit donation contracts, Jotform has a free contract template for most business situations.

Pricing: The free plan comes with five forms a month. Paid plans with more features start at $39/month.

8. PandaDoc

The document automation platform PandaDoc has a library of standard contract templates to save you time. Want to secure an AI partnership? There’s a contract for that. Planning to work with an artist on your next project? There’s also a contract for that.

To use the PandaDoc templates, you’ll need to create a free account. No credit card required.

Pricing: The Starter plan comes with five templates a month and costs $35/month after a free trial.

9. Bizee

Bizee is an online platform designed to help new business owners form LLCs, S corps, C corps, and nonprofits. It offers a contract template library with common legal contracts, partnership agreements, and employment agreements.

Pricing: Bizee’s template library offers nine free templates with its free plan. The price of paid plans depends on your business’s state and structure.

10. Oneflow

Oneflow’s free business templates cover categories like:

Service contracts (e.g., accounting services, agency agreements)
Vehicle-related contracts (e.g., car rental, car sales)
Business agreements (e.g., partnerships, non-disclosure agreements)
Employment contracts
Lease agreements
Proposals (e.g., marketing services, web design)

Pricing: Free PDF contracts with a Oneflow account. You’ll automatically get a 14-day free trial. When it’s over, you’ll get all the basic features, like e-signing and uploading PDFs, free forever.

Advantages of business contract templates

While each business deal is unique, templates help speed up the creation of legally binding agreements. Having a reliable contract template can make a big difference.

Here are some advantages of using them:

Saves you time. Templates cut down the time it takes to create contracts from scratch. You start with a pre-made structure and just fill in the specifics.
Makes contracts consistent. Using templates helps keep all your contracts similar. This makes them easier to understand and manage across different deals or partnerships.
Highlights important details. Templates often include all the necessary parts of a contract. You’re less likely to forget important details that could cause problems later.
Can be cost-effective. When you use templates, you don’t need to pay lawyers to write every contract from the beginning. This saves lot of money, especially for smaller companies.
Easy to customize. Good templates are flexible. You can adjust them to fit different situations without having to rewrite the whole thing, which is handy when dealing with various contract agreements.

Disadvantages of business contract templates

It’s easy to turn to online contract templates as a quick and cost-effective solution for your legal needs. However, this approach has its disadvantages:

Unknown authorship. With free templates, you often don’t know who drafted the contract or their qualifications. Someone without proper legal training or industry expertise may have created the template.
Potential industry mismatch. The template may not be specific to your industry, potentially missing crucial provisions or including irrelevant ones that don’t apply to your business.
Potential jurisdictional issues. The contract may be written for a different legal jurisdiction, making it potentially incompatible with the local laws and regulations where your business operates.
Outdated content. Without a date on the template, you can’t determine how old it is. This is problematic because laws, industry standards, and business practices change over time.
Complex legal language. You may not fully understand what the contract says due to complex legal terminology. Even small words can significantly change the meaning of clauses, which can be risky if you’re not trained in legal language.

Bottom line on business contract templates

Business contract templates save you from writing everything from scratch, keep your agreements consistent, and cut down on legal costs. That said, it’s always wise to have a legal professional review any finished contract before you sign it. That way, you can deal with fair, enforceable contracts and avoid legal troubles down the road.

Business contract template FAQ

How do you write a legal agreement between two parties?

Writing a legal agreement involves clearly defining the parties involved and outlining the agreement’s terms, including obligations, rights, and relevant dates. Both parties should then review and sign to make it a legally binding document.

Is it legal to write your own contract?

While writing your own contract is legal, as long as it doesn’t involve illegal activities and meets basic contract law requirements, seeking legal advice is recommended for complex agreements.

What is an example of a business contract?

A common example of a business contract is a service agreement between a company and a freelancer. Such contracts typically outline the scope of work, payment terms, deadlines, and any relevant confidentiality or intellectual property clauses.