Quote or contract for a freelance project in France?

An accepted quote can already form a contract.

A quote sets out a service and its price. A contract is the agreement binding the parties; it is not limited to a document carrying that title. Under French law, an offer and acceptance can form that agreement. An accepted quote can therefore have contractual effect where its content and the circumstances establish the commitments.

Look at the content rather than the cover

French Civil Code article 1114 distinguishes an offer, containing the essential elements and an intention to be bound if accepted, from an invitation to negotiate. An exploratory estimate does not necessarily serve the same purpose as a precise proposal. Check what you are sending and what the client understands they are receiving.

Legally formed contracts bind their parties. Validity requires, among other things, consent, capacity and lawful, sufficiently certain content. Renaming the file does not replace those elements or add missing decisions about deliverables, dates, revisions or permitted uses of creative work.

Avoid one rule for every profession

Requirements for a quote or a particular form exist in some activities and circumstances. They do not create an identical obligation for every freelance service between businesses. For the practical decision, start with the actual project: can both parties find what is commissioned, at what price and under which conditions?

Choose documents around the decisions you need to cover.

For a short, stable and clearly described service, an accepted quote can bring together the elements needed for the agreement. When the work needs more detailed arrangements, supplement it with a suitable document. The useful criterion is the complexity of the decisions, rather than a price at which another document automatically becomes essential.

Recognise what needs greater precision

These situations are not fixed legal categories. A small engagement may involve an important confidentiality question, while a more expensive project may have a simple scope. Add what resolves a real issue and have sensitive points examined in context.

Describe one project across several documents

If the quote contains the price and an appendix describes deliverables, make the cross-reference clear. Identify versions and provide the documents together. The client should understand the basis they accept without having to reconstruct a puzzle of files, links and messages.

Compare the purchase order with the accepted quote.

A purchase order can record the client’s order and support their purchasing process. Do not treat it as an administrative form with no meaningful content, or assume it automatically replaces your quote. Read what it actually orders and which terms it refers to before starting work.

Check that both documents describe the same work

Compare the client entity, quote reference, quantities, deliverables, price, currency and dates. A shortened description may simply serve the purchasing department’s process; it may also conceal a different expectation. Ask for clarification when the correspondence between documents is not obvious.

Imagine a quote for three mock-ups, while the purchase order says “complete website creation”. Check whether that line is an administrative label or a request for implementation as well. Apply the same approach to a different deadline or payment period: reconcile the documents rather than silently choosing the version that suits you.

Resolve the difference before production

Send a factual recap of the differences and request a corrected version or an agreed clarification. Also identify who is authorised to confirm the order. The creative contact, signatory and department processing the invoice may have different roles.

In Dealokr, project terms stay with the signature and the project’s next steps. Check them against the quote and purchase order kept in your commercial records. The client should find the same service and sequence of actions, whichever document they consult.

Resolve conflicting terms instead of assuming priority.

Differences do not always concern the price. A purchase order may refer to the client’s purchasing terms while your quote refers to your terms of sale. Compare the texts actually communicated, especially dates, rights, responsibility and handoff, rather than checking only the amount.

Understand the principles in article 1119

Under French law, standard terms must be communicated and accepted to have effect against the other party. Where both parties’ standard terms conflict, incompatible clauses have no effect. Where project-specific terms conflict with standard terms, the former prevail.

This does not mean “the last file received wins” or “the purchase order always takes priority”. You need to identify the nature and content of the clauses, how they were communicated and what was accepted. A written order of precedence can make the documents easier to understand without removing the need to examine contradictions.

Clarify the relevant clause with the right person

If the quote provides limited uses of creative work while purchasing terms request a broader assignment, do not treat the difference as a formatting change. Restate it and ask which wording will be agreed. Have a clause reviewed where it substantially affects your rights or responsibilities.

A useful answer addresses the specific point and the relevant versions. Keep it with the documents. The aim is a shared agreement, rather than waiting for a disagreement to discover two sets of terms that each party thought applied alone.

Connect acceptance to an identifiable version.

A reply such as “the budget works for us” does not always tell you whether the scope and terms have been accepted. Prepare a request for agreement identifying the proposal, version and appendices. The client can then decide on a specific set of documents and flag anything they still want to discuss.

Distinguish acceptance from a new offer

French Civil Code article 1118 connects acceptance with the offer’s terms. A response changing them may constitute a new offer rather than acceptance on those terms. “The price is fine if you add two pages” therefore needs clarification about the work and cost; do not turn it into approval of the original proposal.

Article 1113 allows the intention to be bound to be expressed through a declaration or unambiguous conduct. A signature is therefore not the only conceivable way to express that intention. Still, an unclear message does not become sufficient evidence of every detail through optimism: the circumstances and applicable requirements matter.

Keep a reference you can return to

Keep the documents sent, appendices and response connected to their version. If a point remains open, identify it and have it addressed before the affected work. Request confirmation from someone who can commit the client, distinguishing technical feedback from the commercial decision you need.

This also helps the relationship: each party can find what was agreed without interpreting an old exchange. It does not promise that a particular format will make the agreement impossible to challenge in every situation.

Record changes without erasing the original agreement.

Once the project is accepted, an addition or a new date can make the original documents incomplete. Prepare a simple way to confirm changes. The new decision should explain what changes, its effect on price and timing, and which parts of the original basis remain unchanged.

Make confirmation concern a concrete change

If three mock-ups become five, identify the two additions, the planned feedback and new dates. If the client only changes an internal order reference, check that nothing else has changed. In either case, distinguish a commercial change from an administrative correction.

Depending on the circumstances, an additional quote, amendment or structured confirmation can help record the decision. Do not choose only a document name: check that the parties understand and accept the same change, using documents suited to what is at stake.

Keep a readable sequence

Retain the original agreement and each accepted change, with dates and references. When sharing a consolidated version, explain what it incorporates and avoid losing useful history. The record should distinguish a new request from an already included deliverable, without relying on memory to compare several files all named “final”.

Connect the documents with the project’s actual start.

Before production, check that the quote, additional terms and any purchase order describe the same project. Confirm the price, deliverables, client contributions and initial dates. A consistent set of documents becomes useful when it helps you announce a clear next action.

Explain the starting condition and what follows

For fixed-price work in Dealokr, the client pays 100% before production through Stripe Connect. You then present a preview for review and the agreed revisions. You request the transfer under the project’s conditions; confirmation opens access to hosted final files. The bank payout is a separate step.

Explain this order in language consistent with the agreement, and consult the actual status before announcing the start. The initial payment does not, by itself, change the agreed deliverables or rights. Access to a code repository, a Figma account or another external service is managed in that service.

Finish preparation with an understandable decision

The client should be able to identify what they accept, what they need to provide and what happens next. If a document describes another version, resolve the difference before production. You keep a practical basis for working together, rather than collecting signatures on documents that do not match.