Contracts aka legally binding written agreements are a very important component to any successful business. They protect you and your work and set a professional standard for your business. While it’s enticing to save money by using free templates you find online, they could ultimately lead to very costly problems in the future.

A good contract is one that is drafted by a licensed lawyer with expertise in your business area and is tailored to your business and best practices. A contract ensures your services and client obligations are clearly stated and serves to prevent worst case scenarios. There is no guarantee that a free online template has the specific clauses that you require for your business to run effectively, since they’ve been drafted for the masses. While you may think that by cutting and pasting parts from a variety of online resources it will make a comprehensive contract, but in reality by doing this you may be breaking apart the integrity of the clauses and how they operate together, and potentially invalidating the enforceability of the entire contract.  

With the law constantly changing, you want to ensure the contracts you use in your business are up to date and drafted by a lawyer. Laws vary by province and country and many of the available free resources have been created for US based businesses. The only way to ensure your legal contract is both up to date and applies to where you conduct business is to have it drafted by a licensed lawyer in your area. 

While every entrepreneur wants to save money, it’s crucial to know what is and isn’t worth cutting corners on. Legal contracts are not something you want to piece together now and suffer the costly consequences later, either when someone threatens to sue you or steals your ideas and intellectual property. The quick fix of a free contract template you find online is a shortcut that could cost you a lot in the future. AWE Contracts was created as a direct solution to this problem for Canadian entrepreneurs looking for legal protection that is quick, accessible and affordable. You don’t need to hire an expensive lawyer, or wait for your contract to be drafted, it’s ready as soon as you download it and takes approximately 1 hour to customize. 

All of the contracts at AWE Contracts are personally drafted by the founder and practicing lawyer of AWE Legal (a unique law firm focused on athletes, artists, wellness professionals and entrepreneurs), so you can be sure that they are comprehensive. We know business law, your industry, your pain points, and the realities of being an entrepreneur. The investment you make now will serve as professional and reliable contracts that you can use over and over as your business evolves and you grow your team.

Browse our Contract Kits and our individual Contract Templates to get your legal protection in place! They’re easy to download and customize with your business policies and branding so that you can focus on growing your business without wondering if your contracts are legitimate.