I'm a contractor. Make sure that the contract specifies upper limits, and that it covers some process. For example it should specify the maximum monthly or we

I'm a contractor. Make sure that the contract specifies upper limits, and that it covers some process. For example it should specify the maximum monthly or weekly payment as appropriate payout. It should have a termination clause ("either party may terminate the contract on immediate written notice for any reason or for no reason"). It is also a good idea to cover invoices and payments ("invoices must be submitted with 14 days of month end and payments must be made within 14 days of invoice receipt"). That will remove a lot of stress from the relationship so both can concentrate on the work at hand. I've always done hourly because the clients were not able to specify upfront exactly what they wanted, and priorities would keep changing. Additionally they would find that I'm good at other things and can help in ways they didn't anticipate. Everyone benefited. If you can accurately specify exactly what needs to be done, and know you won't change things then ask for fixed price bids. Contractors will know how to respond. There is no perfect way of protecting yourself from below expectations work, but contract limits mean you know the worst that can happen. (eg if you say you won't pay for more than 40 hours a week then they can't suddenly surprise with 120 hours of work after the first week.) Being able to immediately terminate also means you can cut your losses early if you need to. I always end up spending a lot of time on the intellectual property parts of the contracts since they are usually egregious land grabs written by lawyers. It is really tedious getting that fixed up. Know up front what is happening with the copyright (you can retain it exclusively, or give the contractor their own copyright on a copy) and licensing. I'd certainly give discounts for open source work, especially something that I can freely reuse elsewhere - it helps as a reference and it helps future work. TLDR: you can't perfectly protect yourself, but be optimistic and plan on good things happening