Acceptance criteria
The conditions a deliverable must satisfy before the buyer considers it complete or approved.
Advance payment
Money paid before some or all of the agreed work has been completed.
Brief
A document or message that explains the project objective, deliverables, requirements, constraints and context.
Buyer
The person or business purchasing freelance work.
Change request
A proposed change to the agreed work, timeline, requirements or deliverables after the project has started.
Deliverable
A specific item, asset, result or completed piece of work the freelancer is required to provide.
Dependency
Something the project requires before another task or milestone can continue, such as buyer approval, content, access or a third-party system.
Discovery
An early project stage used to clarify requirements, investigate uncertainty or determine the correct approach before full production begins.
Escrow
A payment arrangement where funds are held until agreed conditions for release are satisfied.
Fixed-price project
An engagement where defined work is completed for an agreed project price rather than being billed purely by time.
Freelancer
An independent worker who provides services to clients or buyers without being hired as a traditional employee for that engagement.
Handoff
The final transfer of completed files, source materials, access, documentation and other assets needed to use or maintain the work.
Hourly project
An engagement where the freelancer bills based on time worked.
Intellectual property
Legal rights associated with creative, technical or other original work. Ownership and licensing terms can vary by agreement and jurisdiction.
License
Permission to use intellectual property under specified conditions without necessarily transferring ownership.
Milestone
A project stage tied to a meaningful deliverable, review point or completion condition.
Minimum viable scope
The smallest useful version of the project that still produces a meaningful result or proves an important assumption.
Portfolio
A collection of work examples used to demonstrate a freelancer's experience, quality and relevant skills.
Proposal
A freelancer's response describing how they would approach the work, what they would deliver, expected timing and price.
Quote
A stated price or estimated cost for defined work.
Rate
The price used to calculate payment, such as an hourly, daily or per-unit amount.
Retainer
An ongoing payment arrangement used to reserve recurring freelance capacity or services.
Revision
A change to existing work intended to bring it closer to the agreed brief or scope. A major change in direction may instead be new scope.
Review window
The period the buyer has to inspect submitted work and provide approval, rejection or revision feedback.
Scope
The agreed boundaries of the project: what work is included, what is excluded and what the freelancer is expected to deliver.
Scope creep
Expansion of project requirements without corresponding changes to budget, schedule or agreement.
Scope of work
A written description of project deliverables, responsibilities, exclusions, schedule and completion requirements.
Source files
The editable or underlying working files used to create the final deliverable.
Statement of work
A formal project document that defines work to be performed, deliverables, responsibilities, timing and other engagement terms.
Subcontractor
A third party hired by the freelancer or primary provider to perform part of the project.
Time-and-materials
A pricing model where the buyer pays for actual time worked and, where applicable, project expenses or materials.
Turnaround time
The amount of time expected between a request, project start or submission and delivery of the work.
Usage rights
The rights granted to use a piece of work in specified ways, such as commercial use, advertising, distribution or modification.
Vetting
The process of evaluating and verifying a freelancer before increasing financial, operational or access exposure.
Work-for-hire
A legal concept that can affect who owns certain commissioned work. Its meaning and applicability depend on jurisdiction and the type of engagement.
Work sample
An example of completed work used to evaluate whether a freelancer's skills are relevant to the project.