# What do I put in a contract with an agency?

**Short answer.** Six things decide everything later: the scope, who works on it, how you order more, who holds the rights, how you terminate, and how handover works. The rest is boilerplate.

Six chapters decide everything later. The rest of an agency contract is standard text that rarely comes up.

## 1. The scope

What gets done, expressed in work rather than hours: how many campaigns, how many adaptations, how many meetings, how many feedback rounds. And beside it, a list of what is **not** included. That second list is the most useful part of the whole contract, because that is where every discussion about additional work starts.

## 2. Who works on it

Names, or at least roles with a minimum seniority, plus an agreement on replacement: who decides, with what notice, and whether you may refuse a replacement. You chose on people, so you may write them down.

## 3. How you order more

The procedure for additional work, in two sentences: every extension gets a written estimate before work starts, and without approval nothing happens. This chapter prevents almost every invoice argument. See [how to keep costs from running away](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq/kosten-onder-controle-houden).

## 4. Who holds the rights

To what is made, to the source files, and to work that was paid for but not used. By default copyright stays with the maker; what you need must be written down. Do not forget music, photography and fonts: those often carry licences limited in time and territory. See [who owns the work when you stop](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq/van-wie-is-het-werk).

## 5. How you terminate

A reciprocal notice period, what still happens during it, and how running projects are completed. See [what a normal notice period is](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq/normale-opzegtermijn).

## 6. How handover works

Which files, access rights and accounts you get back, in what format and within what period. At the start this clause costs nothing. Afterwards it costs weeks. See [how to make sure the handover goes well](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq/goede-overdracht).

## Two things that are often missing

**Confidentiality in both directions**, including what happens to your data when the relationship ends.

**An exclusivity clause, or its explicit absence.** May the agency serve your direct competitor? Both answers are defensible; no answer is not.

This is a general list and not legal advice; have the contract reviewed by someone qualified. IKAg sits on the advertiser's side of that negotiation, scope and remuneration included: see [Agency evaluation & remuneration](https://www.ikag.be/en/agency-evaluation).

See also: [how long an agency contract should run](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq/looptijd-bureaucontract).

## Related questions

- [Who owns the work when we stop?](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq/van-wie-is-het-werk): The maker owns it, unless it was transferred to you in writing. That holds even for work you paid for in full, and it is the most expensive surprise in an agency switch.
- [What is a normal notice period with an agency?](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq/normale-opzegtermijn): Three to six months is common, and the length should follow from how many people the agency dedicates to you. Insist on reciprocity: a notice period that binds only you is not an agreement, it is a penalty.
- [How do I make sure the handover goes well?](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq/goede-overdracht): Ask for source files, access and running commitments while the relationship is still live, not afterwards. A handover clause costs nothing at the start and weeks after the fact.
- [How do I keep the costs from running away?](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq/kosten-onder-controle-houden): Almost every overrun comes from scope that grew without anyone writing it down. Agree that every extension gets a written estimate before work starts, and the argument disappears.

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IKAg is the business consultant for marketing and agencies in Belgium and the Netherlands. Market figures come from the Agency Barometer, calculated on the annual accounts agencies filed with the National Bank themselves. Figures on pitches and satisfaction come from IKAg-guided processes, and are always presented as such.

- All questions: https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq
- Last updated: 2026-08-19