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Between:


FIRST_NAME
LAST_NAME
Corporation Corp.
‍ Acme LLC.
Client

FIRST_NAME
LAST_NAME
Corporation Corp.

First_name
Last_name
Acme LLC.
Client

First_name
Last_name
Corporation Corp.

Professional Services Proposal Template

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Backbone of my business”

“So simple”

“Clients love how easy my systems are

A must-have!”

“I do less admin and do more of what I love

“Worry-free contracts and invoices

“It pays for itself”

Great customer service!”

A life-saver!”

Clients take me more seriously”

“I upped my rates and won more clients

Date: March 8th 2023


Between:

Coach:

First_name
Last_name
Acme LLC.
Client:

First_name
Last_name
Corporation Corp.

This Contract is between Client (the "Client") and Acme LLC, a California limited liability company (the "Coach").

The Contract is dated January 23, 2023.

1. WORK AND PAYMENT.

1.1 Project. The Client is hiring the Coach to develop a coaching relationship between the Client and Coach in order to cultivate the Client's personal, professional, or business goals and create a plan to achieve those goals through stimulating and creative interactions with the ultimate result of maximizing the Client's personal or professional potential.

1.2 Schedule. The Coach will begin work on February 1, 2023 and will continue until the work is completed. This Contract can be ended by either Client or Coach at any time, pursuant to the terms of Section 4, Term and Termination.

The Coach and Client will meet by video conference, 4 days per month for 2 hours.

1.3 Payment. The Client will pay the Coach an hourly rate of $150. Of this, the Client will pay the Coach $500.00 (USD) before work begins.

1.4 Expenses. The Client will reimburse the Coach's expenses. Expenses do not need to be pre-approved by the Client.

1.5 Invoices. The Coach will invoice the Client in accordance with the milestones in Section 1.3. The Client agrees to pay the amount owed within 15 days of receiving the invoice. Payment after that date will incur a late fee of 1.0% per month on the outstanding amount.

1.6 Support. The Coach will not be available by telephone, or email in between scheduled sessions.

2.DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.

- A coaching relationship is a partnership between two or more individuals or entities, like a teacher-student or coach-athlete relationship. Both the Client and Coach must uphold their obligations for the relationship to be successful.

- The Coach agrees to maintain the ethics and standards of behavior established by the International Coaching Federation (ICF).

- The Client acknowledges and agrees that coaching is a comprehensive process that may explore different areas of the Client's life, including work, finances, health, and relationships.

- The Client is responsible for implementing the insights and techniques learned from the Coach.

3. REPRESENTATIONS.

3.1 Overview. This section contains important promises between the parties.

3.2 Authority To Sign. Each party promises to the other party that it has the authority to enter into this Contract and to perform all of its obligations under this Contract.

3.3 Coach Has Right To Give Client Work Product. The Coach promises that it owns the work product, that the Coach is able to give the work product to the Client, and that no other party will claim that it owns the work product. If the Coach uses employees or subcontractors, the Coach also promises that these employees and subcontractors have signed contracts with the Coach giving the Coach any rights that the employees or subcontractors have related to the Coach's background IP and work product.

3.4 Coach Will Comply With Laws. The Coach promises that the manner it does this job, its work product, and any background IP it uses comply with applicable U.S. and foreign laws and regulations.

3.5 Work Product Does Not Infringe. The Coach promises that its work product does not and will not infringe on someone else's intellectual property rights, that the Coach has the right to let the Client use the background IP, and that this Contract does not and will not violate any contract that the Coach has entered into or will enter into with someone else.

3.7 Client-Supplied Material Does Not Infringe. If the Client provides the Coach with material to incorporate into the work product, the Client promises that this material does not infringe on someone else's intellectual property rights.

4. TERM AND TERMINATION

This Contract is ongoing until it expires or the work is completed. Either party may end this Contract for any reason by sending an email or letter to the other party, informing the recipient that the sender is ending the Contract and that the Contract will end in 7 days. The Contract officially ends once that time has passed. The party that is ending the Contract must provide notice by taking the steps explained in Section 9.4. The Coach must immediately stop working as soon as it receives this notice unless the notice says otherwise.

If either party ends this Contract before the Contract automatically ends, the Client will pay the Contractor for the work done up until when the Contract ends. The following sections don't end even after the Contract ends: 3 (Representations); 6 (Confidential Information); 7 (Limitation of Liability); 8 (Indemnity); and 9 (General).

3. INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR.

The Client is hiring the Coach as an independent contractor. The following statements accurately reflect their relationship:

- The Coach will use its own equipment, tools, and material to do the work.

- The Client will not control how the job is performed on a day-to-day basis. Rather, the Coach is responsible for determining when, where, and how it will carry out the work.

- The Client will not provide the Coach with any training.

- The Client and the Coach do not have a partnership or employer-employee relationship.

- The Coach cannot enter into contracts, make promises, or act on behalf of the Client.

- The Coach is not entitled to the Client's benefits (e.g., group insurance, retirement benefits, retirement plans, vacation days).

- The Coach is responsible for its own taxes.

- The Client will not withhold social security and Medicare taxes or make payments for disability insurance, unemployment insurance, or workers compensation for the Coach or any of the Coach's employees or subcontractors.

6. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.

6.1 Overview. This Contract imposes special restrictions on how the Client and the Coach must handle confidential information. These obligations are explained in this section.

6.2 The Client's Confidential Information. While working for the Client, the Coach may come across, or be given, Client information that is confidential. This is information like customer lists, business strategies, research & development notes, statistics about a website, and other information that is private. The Coach promises to treat this information as if it is the Coach's own confidential information. The Coach may use this information to do its job under this Contract, but not for anything else. For example, if the Client lets the Coach use a customer list to send out a newsletter, the Coach cannot use those email addresses for any other purpose. The one exception to this is if the Client gives the Coach written permission to use the information for another purpose, the Coach may use the information for that purpose, as well. When this Contract ends, the Coach must give back or destroy all confidential information, and confirm that it has done so. The Coach promises that it will not share confidential information with a third party, unless the Client gives the Coach written permission first. The Coach must continue to follow these obligations, even after the Contract ends. The Coach's responsibilities only stop if the Coach can show any of the following: (i) that the information was already public when the Coach came across it; (ii) the information became public after the Coach came across it, but not because of anything the Coach did or didn't do; (iii) the Coach already knew the information when the Coach came across it and the Coach didn't have any obligation to keep it secret; (iv) a third party provided the Coach with the information without requiring that the Coach keep it a secret; or (v) the Coach created the information on its own, without using anything belonging to the Client.

6.3 Third-Party Confidential Information. It's possible the Client and the Coach each have access to confidential information that belongs to third parties. The Client and the Coach each promise that it will not share with the other party confidential information that belongs to third parties, unless it is allowed to do so. If the Client or the Coach is allowed to share confidential information with the other party and does so, the sharing party promises to tell the other party in writing of any special restrictions regarding that information.

7. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.

Neither party is liable for breach-of-contract damages that the breaching party could not reasonably have foreseen when it entered this Contract.

8. INDEMNITY.

8.1 Overview. This section transfers certain risks between the parties if a third party sues or goes after the Client or the Coach or both. For example, if the Client gets sued for something that the Coach did, then the Coach may promise to come to the Client's defense or to reimburse the Client for any losses.

8.2 Client Indemnity. In this Contract, the Coach agrees to indemnify the Client (and its affiliates and their directors, officers, employees, and agents) from and against all liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) related to a third-party claim or proceeding arising out of: (i) the work the Coach has done under this Contract; (ii) a breach by the Coach of its obligations under this Contract; or (iii) a breach by the Coach of the promises it is making in Section 3 (Representations).

8.3 Coach Indemnity. In this Contract, the Client agrees to indemnify the Coach (and its affiliates and their directors, officers, employees, and agents) from and against liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) related to a third-party claim or proceeding arising out of a breach by the Client of its obligations under this Contract.

9. GENERAL.

9.1 Assignment​. This Contract applies only to the Client and the Coach. Neither the Client nor the Coach can assign its rights or delegate its obligations under this Contract to a third-party (other than by will or intestate), without first receiving the other's written permission.

9.2 Arbitration. As the exclusive means of initiating adversarial proceedings to resolve any dispute arising under this Contract, a party may demand that the dispute be resolved by arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association in accordance with its commercial arbitration rules.

9.3 Modification; Waiver. To change anything in this Contract, the Client and the Coach must agree to that change in writing and sign a document showing their contract. Neither party can waive its rights under this Contract or release the other party from its obligations under this Contract, unless the waiving party acknowledges it is doing so in writing and signs a document that says so.

9.4. Noticies.

(a) Over the course of this Contract, one party may need to send a notice to the other party. For the notice to be valid, it must be in writing and delivered in one of the following ways: personal delivery, email, or certified or registered mail (postage prepaid, return receipt requested). The notice must be delivered to the party's address listed at the end of this Contract or to another address that the party has provided in writing as an appropriate address to receive notice.

(b) The timing of when a notice is received can be very important. To avoid confusion, a valid notice is considered received as follows: (i) if delivered personally, it is considered received immediately; (ii) if delivered by email, it is considered received upon acknowledgement of receipt; (iii) if delivered by registered or certified mail (postage prepaid, return receipt requested), it is considered received upon receipt as indicated by the date on the signed receipt. If a party refuses to accept notice or if notice cannot be delivered because of a change in address for which no notice was given, then it is considered received when the notice is rejected or unable to be delivered. If the notice is received after 5:00pm on a business day at the location specified in the address for that party, or on a day that is not a business day, then the notice is considered received at 9:00am on the next business day.

9.5 Severability. This section deals with what happens if a portion of the Contract is found to be unenforceable. If that's the case, the unenforceable portion will be changed to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable, unless that change is not permitted by law, in which case the portion will be disregarded. If any portion of the Contract is changed or disregarded because it is unenforceable, the rest of the Contract is still enforceable.

9.6 Signatures. The Client and the Coach must sign this document using Bonsai's e-signing system. These electronic signatures count as originals for all purposes.

9.7 Governing Law. The validity, interpretation, construction and performance of this document shall be governed by the laws of the United States of America.

9.8 Entire Contract. This Contract represents the parties' final and complete understanding of this job and the subject matter discussed in this Contract. This Contract supersedes all other contracts (both written and oral) between the parties.

THE PARTIES HERETO AGREE TO THE FOREGOING AS EVIDENCED BY THEIR SIGNATURES BELOW.

Coach

First_name
Last_name
Acme LLC.
Client

First_name
Last_name
Corporation Corp.
Table of contents

During your client onboarding process, your potential clients will often ask for a written business proposal that provides them with a strategic framework, outlines project details, and makes sure you are both on the same page before signing a contract. Proposals are more than just formalities on paper; they mark the beginning of a significant client-consultant relationship.

Writing a strong proposal will help your consulting firm turn client interactions into functioning agreements to ensure your clients that you fully understand their needs and goals. An efficient way to write a consulting proposal is to create your own professional services proposal template, which ensures all the important details are covered every single time and reduces your drafting time so you can focus on the specifics.

To help you create the best consulting proposals, let's go over some of the vital elements you must include.

Note: Bonsai helps you draft bulletproof professional services proposals with free templates that you can fully customize to fit your business and client's needs. Along with our excellent follow-up tools, you'll be bringing in new clients in no time! Claim your 14-day free trial here.

Essential Elements of a Professional Consulting Proposal Template

Depending on the specific consulting project, a proposal template might include different types of details. However, there are some main elements that every proposal should cover and will help build a strong foundation so you can just add the necessary project details. When drafting your template, consider a proposal document could be considered a legally-binding agreement, so you want to make sure to include even minor details, so you always stay protected in legal terms.

Take a look at the elements that make up the best consulting proposal template.

Cover Letter

Any professional consulting proposal worth the name should include a beautifully designed cover letter or cover page. This is where you will include your business name, logos, registered trademarks and any other branding element you see fit so your clients can easily recognize your proposal. If possible, try to make the design of your cover letter match the project's vibe. So if you're pitching a web design proposal, your cover letter would have a more creative design, but if it's an accounting proposal, you probably want to keep it more on the formal side.

The point is, your cover letter must be appealing to your client. This is their first impression of your business proposal, so if it doesn't catch their attention, the rest will just be an uphill battle to win them over.

Executive Summary

Next, include an executive summary, which is simply a straightforward review of the entire proposal, going from objectives to the requirements to make them possible. Consider this as the introduction or 'hook' or your business proposal. You must provide a project summary including the tasks you will complete, and mentioning the difficulties your client is experiencing as well as what the success criteria will be.

All these statements are based on the initial conversation you had with your prospective client regarding the project. Don't go too much into detail here as the specifics will be discussed in the following sections. You basically just want to make it clear that you fully understand your client's problem and know exactly how to help.

Project Scope

This is where you will start to go deep into specifics to clearly outline what you will and will not do. Provide a detailed breakdown of the consulting services you will be providing and the budget for the project. For example, if the project proposal is to optimize a website for SEO, you'll want to specify whether you'll also be rewriting their content or not.

Let your prospective client know how their money will be used by explaining the unique process you'll follow to achieve goals, and resources you will need to complete your tasks (log in details, passwords, access to meeting rooms, etc...). This section might describe, for instance, how long your phone calls or office visits will last and how many calls or visits you commit to making each week.

Solutions and Deliverables

You must ensure that the client is aware of what to anticipate from a contract with you and reduce the possibility of disagreements over obligations by adding deliverables in your proposal. Review the notes you took during your client conversation. Do they require a new advertising approach, website, or marketing strategies? What material goods will they possess once the project is finished? You should list these as your "deliverables" in your proposal so the client will understand exactly what your proposed solution is and what they will receive from the project.

Timeline

Your project scope describes the 'how', and the deliverables describe 'what'. Now, it's time to describe the 'when'. This section provides a clear timeline for each action item you outlined before, helping you set expectations and establish boundaries with your client. Include the specific project dates and deadlines for all components, including every potential date such as office visits, creation of documents, follow-up emails etc. If you can't afford to get this specific, at the very least you should outline the expected project's start and end date, along with the in-between milestones.

Costs & Payment Terms

You should tell the client up front how much the project will cost. Be specific about your costs and the things they cover. In this portion of your proposal, you should clearly state any payment requirements you may have, such as any deposits or installment payments due on particular days. Additionally, let your clients know of all your accepted payment methods such as credit/debit cards, ACH transfers, online payments, or direct deposits to your business bank account.

Case Study

One must see to believe. You can discuss the value you'll provide, describe your procedures, and be precise with regard to deadlines. But nothing will spur a potential customer to action like seeing how you used these to deliver tangible results for a client like them. By including a relatable case study, you will be able to demonstrate you have lived up to your promises in the past, thus potentially increasing your conversion rates.

Many prospective clients might actually require to see past evidence before accepting your proposals, so always make sure to support your claims at least with positive reviews from previous professionals you've worked with.

Signature

Including a signature section makes for a more effective consulting proposal. Even if your prospective client is still in the consideration stage, explicitly encouraging them to accept your proposal can potentially increase your chances of getting a 'yes'. Leave enough space to include their name, legal signature and the date when the proposal was accepted. While you do have to provide a finalized detailed contract once they accept your proposal, you don't need to lengthen the process by including extra steps needed to accept the offer.

Next Steps

Finally, finish your proposal with a compelling call to action. Give clear guidance on how and when they can send you an email or call you for any clarifications they need. Reiterate your contact information and if you're planning to follow up with a call or an email, let them know when you will do so. This increases your chances of getting an answer as you will create urgency and prompt your client to stay in contact with you.

Use Our Free Consulting Proposal Template

No matter what type of professional consulting business you have, having a well-designed template will be a great way to ensure a smooth and efficient client intake process. If you're still not sure of how to structure your own template, or simply don't have the time to do it, we have the best solution for you. Use Bonsai's free consulting proposal templates, especially designed for professionals in your industry.

All aspects of our free templates are completely customizable to help you create a tailored, client-winning proposal. Once you customize the template to your liking, you can save it in your preferred file format (Microsoft word, pdf, excel, etc...), and create a consulting proposal in no time by only adding the specific information about your new clients. Plus, Bonsai helps you to easily follow-up on each proposal you send out by sending automatic reminders as well as notifications when the offer is received and your potential client signs the document.

Get your free consulting proposal template today, and while you're at it, start your 14-day free trial to access many other excellent administrative tools to do your accounting, invoicing and taxes like a true professional.

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions about this template.

What is a professional proposal?

A proposal letter is a formal document that presents your company's ideas to a key recipient in a decision-making position.

What is a proposal in consulting?

A document provided to a prospective customer that serves as a sales pitch is a consulting proposal. It describes the consultant's approach to a specific project. In addition to providing information about the consultant's qualifications and expertise, a consulting proposal serves as a marketing tool.

What is the basic format for a proposal?

A basic proposal format is: a good summation of the issue, the fix, the price, and the benefits. Issue: The key definition of the issue, including its subject, aim, primary argument, context, and significance.