How an engagement actually runs.

Dylan Coleman, a sole trader based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Referred to below as “I” or “me”. You are the client.

Work starts from a written quote or proposal that sets out the deliverables, the timeline and the fee. That document is the scope. It is valid for 30 days from the date I send it, and it becomes binding when you accept it in writing — email is fine.

Anything not named in the quote is out of scope. That is not a gotcha; it is how a fixed price stays fixed. If you want to add something mid-project, I will quote it separately before doing it, so nothing appears on an invoice that you have not already agreed to.

Unless the quote says otherwise, engagements are billed 50% on acceptance and 50% on completion. The deposit reserves your place in the schedule and is non-refundable once I have begun work, because it is holding time I have turned other work away for.

Invoices are payable within 14 days. Fees are quoted in Australian dollars (AUD). Whether GST applies is stated on your quote and on every invoice.

If an invoice runs more than 14 days overdue I may pause work until it is settled. I would much rather talk to you about a payment plan than do that, so tell me early if cash flow is tight.

Projects stall on inputs far more often than on execution. To keep to the timeline I need content, brand assets, access credentials and feedback within the windows we agree. If material is outstanding for more than 30 days, I may treat the current phase as complete, invoice it, and requote the remainder against my availability at the time.

You confirm that any text, images, logos or other material you supply is yours to use, or that you have permission to use it. I rely on that confirmation.

Each quote states how many rounds of revision it includes. A round means consolidated feedback from your side, delivered once — not a rolling series of individual notes. Further rounds beyond the included number are charged at my hourly rate, quoted before I start them.

On final payment, ownership of the final deliverables created specifically for you transfers to you. Until then I retain ownership, which is what makes the arrangement workable for both of us.

What does not transfer, and never did:

• Working files, source assets, and preliminary concepts that were not selected, unless the quote explicitly includes them.
• Pre-existing tools, code libraries, components and techniques I bring to the project. You get a perpetual licence to use these as part of your deliverable; you do not get to resell them on their own.
• Third-party licensed material such as fonts, stock imagery or plugins. Those are licensed to you directly by their owners, and any ongoing fees are yours.

I may show the finished work in my portfolio and discuss my role in it. If your project is confidential, tell me before we start and I will keep it out.

I fix defects in what I built — things not working as specified — free of charge for 30 days after launch. That covers my work. It does not cover new features, content changes, third-party service outages, or things that break because something on your side changed.

Beyond the warranty period, ongoing care is available as a separate arrangement.

My services come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law, including that services are supplied with due care and skill and are fit for the purpose you told me about. Nothing on this page limits those rights.

For failures that do not amount to a major failure, you are entitled to have problems with the service rectified in a reasonable time and, if this is not done, to cancel the contract and obtain a refund for the unused portion. For a major failure, you are entitled to cancel and obtain a refund for the unused portion, or to compensation for the reduction in value.

Subject to those rights, my liability for any claim connected with an engagement is limited to the fees you have paid me for it, and I am not liable for indirect or consequential loss such as lost profits.

You can stop a project at any time by telling me in writing. You are billed for work completed up to that point, and the deposit is not refunded.

I may end an engagement if payment is substantially overdue, if the brief changes into something I am not the right person for, or if the working relationship has stopped being a workable one. In that case I invoice for completed work and hand over what you have paid for.

The writing, imagery, code and design on this site are mine unless credited otherwise. Case studies describe projects as I experienced them. Demonstration projects built on my own initiative are labelled as such, and imagery that was generated rather than photographed is credited in the project's details.

Nothing on this site is an offer capable of acceptance — a binding arrangement starts at the quote stage, not the browsing stage.

These terms are governed by the laws of Queensland, Australia. You and I submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Queensland.

If a term is found unenforceable, it is severed and the rest continues to apply. Questions about any of this go to contact@dylan-coleman.com.