Signed my first client on a handshake letter and lost $4,200. A real contract would have caught it
I brought in a small bakery account in Portland last fall and we did the whole thing on a one page letter I typed up myself, no clauses about late fees or scope creep. Six months later they owed me $4,200 and my lawyer said the letter I wrote basically gave them an out on the extra work I did. How do you all handle a client who wants to skip the contract because it feels too formal?