Hiring your first engineer as a 1099?Use this before they ship a line of code.
Download the contractor agreement Turley Law uses when SaaS founders hire their first developer, designer, or fractional CTO. IP assignment, IRS classification, termination — all drafted right.
Handshake Deals Break Companies.
A founder finds an engineer on a Slack channel, agrees to a monthly rate on a handshake, and sends a one-page agreement someone else used.
Six months later the contractor pushes back on equity, the IRS questions the 1099, and the work product belongs to the contractor — not the company.
A good agreement, signed before the work starts, prevents all of it.
The IC Agreement SaaS Founders Actually Need.
This is the contractor agreement Turley Law uses when SaaS founders hire their first developer, designer, or fractional CTO. It assigns all work product to the company on creation, sets the classification facts the IRS actually reads, and keeps termination clean.
Seven pages. No legalese for the sake of legalese. Just the clauses that matter when real money and real code are on the line. The download costs nothing.
7-Page IC Agreement for SaaS Founders.
IP Assignment Clause
Work product vests in the company on creation. Code, designs, inventions — all of it. No ambiguity, no after-the-fact negotiation.
Classification Language
Tracks the IRS twenty-factor test and the 2024 DOL rule. Sets the facts that auditors actually read when they open a file.
Termination Provisions
Clean exit terms for either party. Notice periods, final deliverables, payment obligations — no loose ends.
Confidentiality & Post-Engagement
Built-in confidentiality protections and post-engagement restrictions that survive termination of the agreement.
Send Me the Agreement
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The IP assignment clause puts work product in the company's hands from the moment it is created. The classification language tracks the IRS twenty-factor test and the 2024 DOL rule. It was written by Blake Turley, a licensed attorney in Connecticut, New York, and Massachusetts. The download costs nothing.
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Need a Custom Contractor Agreement?
Templates cover standard engagements. But if you are hiring internationally, structuring equity compensation, or building a contractor team, you need something tailored to your situation.