Terms and Conditions for Working with Me

Note: All emails received after hours or on weekends will be responded to on the next business day.

The following Terms and Conditions apply to all the work that I deliver for you while I trade as Rhonda Bonnelame (previously Chapman) ABN 79 451 376 017. When you hire me to write for you, you AGREE that you have read and agreed to these terms and conditions, unless otherwise agreed in writing. These terms and conditions may change without notice.

Confirmation of projects

Before work can begin, I'll need your written confirmation by email. In it, you must state that you're ordering work from me and that you agree with the quoted fee.

If you're ordering on behalf of someone else or a business, organisation or government department, you need to mention this as well in your email.

If you're hiring me on behalf of a marketing agency, website development company or other similar creative businesses, I will be contracted with your agency, not your clients. All invoices will be addressed to your business. If you prefer for me to invoice your client directly, please ensure the client is aware of this and that you introduce me to them upfront.

When you agree to proceed, you're agreeing to the terms and conditions on this page.

Asking for a quote and proposal

Your quote and proposal are valid for 21 days from the date I submit it to you.

Please note:

I do not bid nor compete for work.
I do not sign contracts where I'm classified as an employee.
Any invitations to reduce my rates or provide a competitive rate will be ignored.
Any invitations to attend an "interview" will be ignored.
Any requests for samples before discussing your projects with me will be ignored.
Any requests to write unpaid samples before will be ignored.
Any emails proposing a rate before I ask questions or quote my rate will be ignored.

Payment

All work requires a payment upfront. Any work written remain my property until all accounts are paid in full. The same applies with copyright. It will only be transferred once you have paid the full amount. If you pay upfront in full, you'd own the copyright from the minute that I start writing.

For projects under $1000, I invoice for your full payment which would need to be paid in full upfront before work can begin. To avoid delays, please send a remittance advice to my email address, so that I know you've made your payment.

For projects over $1000, a non-refundable payment of 50% of the total amount quoted is required upfront before work can begin. To avoid delays, please send a remittance advice to my email address, so that I know you've made your payment. The final invoice will be issued within 7 days after the first draft is sent to you. Again, please send a remittance advice to my email address, so that I know you've made your final payment. Any delay means you'll need to wait longer for the final version of the work.

For retainers or monthly packages, the commitment is for a minimum of 3 months and is based on an agreed monthly rate depending on your specific needs. These are invoiced in advance monthly and are payable within 7 days.

Changes in scope: Any modifications to the original project brief and quotation during the course of execution will render the provided quotation invalid, and additional fees/charges may be applied to cover time and expenses. A new quote will need to be approved and a revised deposit paid before work can restart.

Additional charges: Any additional costs outside the project scope (including any travel costs to meetings and fees to cover courier) are in addition to what was approved. A new invoice will be raised for you as required.

Cancelled projects: Final payment for cancelled projects will still be invoiced and are expected to be paid, regardless if you've changed your mind and didn't use the copy. Final payment is also invoiced and expected to be paid if I'm unable to complete the project due to you failing to provide the material and/or request for changes/feedback required for me to finalise project. You may request that the invoice be adjusted, so that the balance of funds can cover another project.

Any work written remain my property until all outstanding accounts are paid in full. The same applies with copyright. It will only be transferred once you pay the outstanding amount.

Rush fees for faster delivery

In this case, rushed means you need the job done within 5 days, weekend included.

Short notice changes will also incur rush fees.

Rush jobs will be subject to rush fees as follows:

Same day delivery: Rush Fee of 100% of the full quote
Delivery within 24-48 hours: Rush Fee of 75% of the full quote
Delivery within 48-120 hours:Rush Fee of 65% of the full quote
Weekend rate: Rush Fee for working weekends to deliver either on or after the weekend is 90% of the full quote

Note, I reserve the right to turn down rush jobs if I feel that the deadline is not realistic. I also hold no responsibility in how this may affect your business.

You’ll first need to provide a copy of your payment (remittance advice) via email before work can start. That's your proof of payment.

Overdue payments

Overdue accounts will be charged 10% interest for the first 21 days overdue and 20% thereafter. In addition, overdue accounts may be charged an administrative fee of $110.00 for every 3 days overdue.

I reserve the right to pass non-settled accounts to my lawyers for the Magistrates Court to pursue payment; non-payment can result in writs and court judgements being added to your credit rating.

Following consistent non-payment of an invoice, my lawyers will contact you, with a view to taking the matter further and if need be to seek payment through legal procedures, and if necessary court summons. Legal fees and court costs will be at your cost.

Credits

In the event that RC grants credit to a client, the credit is only good toward future work and has no cash value. Credits must be used within 12 weeks of payment.

Final copy

Rhonda Bonnelame will supply the final copy in the form of a Word document. The copy will be proof-read and spell checked.

When required, RC will provide a link to Dropbox from which the Client can access the Work.

When required, RC will upload the Work to the Client's project management system.

In most cases, two rounds of updates/alternations to copy at no charge will be provided. Any additional alternations are billed per ‘round’ of alterations and at $75 per round.

RC cannot be held responsible for documents that have misprints or defect after you or your employees have approved documents for printing or publication. Any re-prints will be at the cost of the Client.

Revisions

If you require revisions to my proposed copy, I'll complete them promptly for the number of times quoted on your invoice. You have a maximum of 14 days to respond with revisions once I submit each draft (first draft, second draft). These changes must not be based on a fundamental change in your project that is beyond my control (such as you changed your mind about the direction).

If I don't hear from you before the cut-off, the project will be closed and you'll be invoiced for any balance that is due.

Any additional revisions will be charged separately – I'll discuss this with you before I start applying the changes.

Complete rewrites due to a change in direction will be charged accordingly.

Additional proofreading

You understand that I may occasionally hires additional proofreaders to assist with proofing and fact-checking long or complex copy. If this is required, I'll mention it in the quotation/proposal.

Additional requirements

Any additions to briefs provided will be carried out at my discretion and where no charge is made for such additions.

Client feedback and responsibilities

You agree to provide feedback on the work as soon as is reasonably possible for me to complete the work to the agreed standard within the set delivery date.

Failure to provide feedback in order for me to complete project will result in issuing of an account for work done to date.

Termination

I may immediately terminate the agreement in whole or in part, by notice to you, if you:

(a) breach any of your obligations under these terms and fail to remedy the breach within 10 business days of receiving notice from me requiring the breach to be remedied;

(b) assign any of your rights otherwise than in accordance with these terms or a specific agreement;

(c) are subject to an insolvency event; or undergo any change in beneficial ownership (unless I consent in writing to the change).

You may, by notice to me, immediately terminate your agreement in whole or in part if I breach any of my obligations under these terms and I fail to remedy the breach within 30 business days of receiving written notice from you to remedy the breach.

Upon expiry or earlier termination of a project or relationship:

(a) all further obligations of each party will cease;

(b) I'll be entitled to payment for all work completed in accordance with these terms up to the date of such expiry or termination; and

(d) destroy all confidential information received from you and held by me.

Expiry or termination of agreements will be without prejudice to the rights and remedies of either part arising out of or in connection with any breach of these terms occurring prior to the date of termination, or to the rights of either party which have accrued prior to, or which arise out of or in connection with, such expiry or termination.

Ownership, copyright and licenses

Any copy written by me is NOT classed as "commissioned work" unless you're from a media outlet and our agreement states that my work is being classified as so.

This means:

(a) I'm always the first owner of copyright in the work written. However...

(b) once your full and final payment has been received, copyright of the work is automatically assigned to you. You can then use
the work however you wish. So, until full payment is received, copyright of the work remains with me.

I would appreciate the opportunity to display and/or link to your completed project as part of my web portfolio. I'll ask for your permission before I do so.

Where the work is the product of a contra deal or a collaboration the copyright will only be jointly owned if and when I've agreed to this.

Where the work is the product of a contra deal and you fail to honour your promise, the copyright of any work produced for you remains with me. If you fail to honour your promise, an invoice will be issued for the equivalent in dollars for you to pay. Failure to pay is a breach of the copyright and legal advice will be sought to collect the debt or to request that you stop using the copy.

Limitation and liability

As far as the law permits, and other than as set out specifically herein, I:

(a) give no warranty or undertaking;

(b) makes no representations or promises regarding the work, their characteristics, performance or suitability for your purposes, and all implied warranties, undertakings, representations, terms, conditions and promises are excluded.

I will not be liable for any special, indirect or consequential damages, loss of profit, goodwill, revenue or loss of anticipated saving or loss, or corruption of data arising as a result of a breach of the terms and conditions of this agreement by that other party or as a result of a breach of duty of care or negligence arising at law.

I'm not responsible for any statement or representation concerning the work made by any other person, and you acknowledge that you have not relied on any such statements or representations.

Errors

I don't promise that the work will be continuous or be free of errors. However, I'll make every effort to proofread and check any work I submit to you.

I cannot guarantee that the copy will be free of any typographical, grammatical or factual errors.

You agree to check every word in the copy, and you agree to indemnify me against any costs that may arise from the appearance of any errors in any printed or published form. It will be your responsibility to ensure that the copy complies with laws. guidelines, regulations and Acts for your industry.

Search engine optimisation

Due to external factors, such as changes to the way search engines rank websites, I cannot offer any guarantees whatsoever regarding the position achievable for websites. The process of optimising websites itself will bring in more traffic and hits and you’ll see visits increase to your site naturally. I cannot accept liability for any change in rankings, or drop off in the position of your website due to changes in the algorithms of the search engines or the factors that they use to rank websites.

I always aim for the best keywords and meta data for your website. Due to the work involved, payment is generally required in advance and I'm unable to offer a refund in relation to this type of work.

I reserve the right to refuse to attempt Search Engine Optimisation in industries that I find to have exceptionally competitive keywords, such as ‘real estate’, ‘travel’ etc.

Awards submissions

Award entries are judged on their individual merits by the judging panel. As you awards submission copywriter, I work with information that you supply. I cannot guarantee you will win any awards. However, I do guarantee that your achievement will be communicated in the best way possible to offer the judging panel all the information they need to see your business and your success in the best possible light.

Files and duplicates

You're responsible for saving copies of all your proofs/final documents including briefs and scripts. I'm not responsible for re-sending copies of different documents to you, nor third parties such as printers, newspapers, signage companies etc. Such requests will be billed an upfront fee of $50.

Most Final Files are saved in Microsoft Word format. Providing duplicates of the same files in other formats such as PDFs or JPGs will be done at an additional cost to export the files in the formats required or requested by you.

Publications/design specifications

It is your responsibility to request and provide specification sheets from the organisation for which the document is being prepared for. For example, if you are having items designed for The West Australian or signage for a third party company, it is your responsibility to request the specifications material and the appropriate sizing. and to send them to me.

Time allowed

Prices quoted are based on time allowed to write different items. I have a minimum time allowed. If the time allowed starts to exceed the time allowed/price quoted, I'll advise you that additional fees may be required.

Photos

When developing designs or blog posts, I will recommend royalty-free photos from photo stock sites. I'm not responsible for purchasing them and I can't take responsibility for any copyright infringements caused by materials you send to me for uploading to your website. I reserve the right to refuse any material of a copyrighted nature unless adequate proof is given of permission to use such material.

Confidentiality and non-disclosure

I automatically assume that you would like me to keep our contract confidential. However, if you want it in writing, please ask. I'll be happy to sign any confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement. However, you agree to indemnify me for any claim for compensation or damages as a result of accidental disclosure or loss of information.

I agree not to use any of your confidential information for any purpose other than to carry out projects as requested by you and will not disclose any confidential information to other parties without first obtaining your written agreement.

I also agree to keep the confidential information secure and not to disclose it to any third party (except if required by law or to show to its professional advisers e.g. my lawyers) who know they owe a duty of confidence to both you and me, and who are bound by obligations equivalent to those in this agreement.

I do not sign non-compete agreements.

Non-use of copy written

You may choose not to use the copy I've written.

Upon your decision to not use the work, I'm not responsible for:

(a) the replacement of the work;

(b) the payment of the cost of replacing the work or of acquiring equivalent work; or

(d) the supplying of the services again; or

(e) the payment of the cost of the services supplied again.

These conditions also apply when an agreement is terminated due to you breaching the agreement.

When you choose not to use the work, you still need to pay all outstanding invoices.

Rhonda the Writer means Rhonda Bonnelame of PO Box 110 Rockingham WA 6968 or its successors and assigns, as the case may be.

This version of the agreement...

This Agreement supersedes all previous agreements in respect of its subject matter and embodies the entire agreement between you and me.

This Agreement incorporates by reference documents listed in the agreement that I may amend from time to time in writing.