The Contract Signing Checklist

1. The clause checklist

Go through your current contract and tick what's there. Anything missing is a conversation you'll have later, usually at a bad time.

The basics

• Your business name and contact details
• Client name, email and phone, and who is allowed to make decisions
• Event date, start and end times, and setup and pack down times
• Venue name and address, plus any venue rules you need to follow (power, space, load in)

What they're getting

• The package by name, with what's included
• Add ons, listed separately with their prices
• Backdrop, print layout or design choices, and the date they must be confirmed by
• Anything that's not included (for example, extra hours, travel beyond a set distance, custom props)

Money

• Total price
• Deposit amount and that the date is held only once it's paid
• Balance amount and due date
• Accepted payment methods (for example, card and bank transfer)
• Late payment terms

Changes and cancellations

• What happens if the client moves the date
• What happens if the client cancels, and what's refundable
• What happens if you can't provide the service
• Overtime: how it's requested on the day and how it's charged

On the day

• Guest conduct and damage to equipment
• Safety: your right to pause if the setup becomes unsafe
• Weather plan for outdoor events

After the event

• When and how photos, galleries or files are delivered
• Image use: whether you can share event photos for your own marketing, and how a client can opt out

Signing

• Space for every person who needs to sign
• Date of signing
• A line saying this contract, together with the proposal or invoice, is the full agreement

2. More than one contact, more than one date

Two situations often slow signing down.

A planner and a client. The planner books you, but the client pays. Or the client signs, but the planner needs every detail.

• Name both people in the contract and say what each one is responsible for (for example, the planner confirms timings, the client pays).
• Decide who must sign. If both, send it to both at the same time, not one after the other.
• Copy both on every reminder so nobody waits on the other without knowing.

One booking, several dates. An activation that runs over a few days, or a few dates across a month.

• List every date, time and venue in one table inside the contract.
• Say whether the deposit covers all dates or each date separately.
• Say what happens if one date is cancelled but the others go ahead.

One contract that covers everyone and every date is easier for the client to sign than a stack of separate ones.

3. Send it in one step

The longer the gap between "yes" and "here's your contract", the more likely the client gets distracted.

• Send the contract with the proposal or booking link, not days after.
• Put signing and the deposit in the same step, so the client does both in one visit.
• Keep the contract readable. Short paragraphs and clear headings get read and signed. Walls of text get "I'll look at it this weekend".
• Tell the client how long it takes: "It takes about five minutes to read and sign."

For more, read our guide: How to get clients to sign a contract and pay a deposit. For event planners, see also: What should an event planner contract include?

4. Three nudges for unsigned contracts

Nudge 1: helpful (a couple of days after sending)

Nudge 2: specific (a few days later)

Nudge 3: final (on your hold date)

If a planner and a client are both involved, send each nudge to both.

5. When to release the date

Decide this before you send the contract, not when you're anxious about it.

• Set a hold date for every unsigned booking and tell the client what it is.
• If another inquiry comes in for the same date, tell the first client: "I've had another request for [date]. Are you still keen? I can hold it until [day]."
• On the hold date, release it and say so politely. Some clients sign the moment they read that message. The ones who don't probably weren't going to.