Contract Checker: Spot Risky Clauses Before You Sign

What does the contract checker look for?

The Quick Check reviews the clauses that cause most problems after people sign. You choose which ones matter to you, so a freelancer can focus on payment and IP while a renter can focus on fees, termination and changes to terms. Here is what each check covers:

• Payment terms: how much you pay or get paid, when, and what happens if a payment is late.
• Termination: how either side can end the contract, how much notice is needed and what you owe on exit.
• Auto-renewal: whether the contract renews by itself and how much warning you get to cancel.
• Liability cap: the most each side can be made to pay if something goes wrong.
• Indemnity: whether you must cover the other side's losses, legal costs or third-party claims.
• IP ownership: who owns the work, ideas, code or content created under the contract.
• Confidentiality: what you must keep secret, for how long and what is excluded.
• Non-compete / non-solicit: limits on where you can work or who you can approach after the contract ends.
• Penalties & fees: late fees, cancellation charges and other costs that can add up.
• Disputes & governing law: where a dispute would be heard, which law is named and whether you give up the right to go to court.
• Data & privacy: what happens to your personal or business data and who can use it.
• Changes to terms: whether the other side can change the deal without your agreement.

How do I check my contract online?

First, add your contract. You can upload a PDF or Word file, take a photo of a printed page, share a Google Doc link or paste the text. Next, tick the clauses you want checked. If something specific is worrying you, type your question, for example "Can they keep my deposit if I leave early?"

The automated review then reads the whole contract and finds the wording that relates to each clause you ticked. Every clause gets a status, the contract gets an overall risk score, and each problem comes with a suggested fix written in plain English.

You can download the results as a PDF report. You also get a redline showing suggested wording changes and a negotiation email you can edit and send to the other side, so you can ask for better terms without starting from a blank page.

Who is the contract checker for?

It is built for people who sign contracts without a legal team behind them. That includes freelancers and contractors checking a client agreement, renters reading a lease or tenancy agreement, employees reviewing a job offer or employment contract, small business owners signing supplier, vendor or service agreements, and teams buying software on a subscription.

It works for contracts from any country. The Quick Check reads what the contract actually says and explains it, so it is useful whether you are in the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, India or anywhere else, as long as you understand that it does not check your contract against local law.

What are the most common red flags by contract type?

Every contract is different, but some problems come up again and again. Knowing where to look makes your review faster and helps you choose which clauses to tick.

• Freelance and service agreements: payment only after vague "final approval", no fee if the client cancels halfway, unlimited revisions and IP clauses that take your existing tools or unused ideas.
• Leases and tenancy agreements: high deposits and fees, short notice before the landlord can enter, one-sided repair duties and strict rules on ending the lease early or subletting.
• Employment contracts: wide non-competes, IP clauses that reach work done in your own time, uneven notice periods and bonus or equity terms with no clear rules.
• Software subscriptions: automatic renewal with a long cancellation window, price rises on renewal, a liability cap of a month or two of fees and rights to use your data for other purposes.
• Supplier and vendor agreements: broad indemnities, penalties for small delays, payment terms that stretch for months and the right to change terms without your agreement.

What do the clause statuses and risk score mean?

Each clause you tick comes back with one of four statuses. They describe how the wording treats you, not whether it is legal in your country.

Start with anything marked risky, then watch out, then not in the contract. For each one, read the plain-English explanation and the suggested fix. If you want to ask for changes, use the redline to see the proposed wording and edit the negotiation email so it sounds like you.

The overall risk score, from 0 to 100, sums up how one-sided the whole contract is. Use it to decide how much effort the contract needs, then look at the individual clauses, because one risky clause can matter more than several small ones.

• Fair: the clause is balanced or reasonably protects you. You may still want to read it, but nothing stands out.
• Watch out: the clause leans toward the other side or is unclear. It is worth asking a question or proposing a small change.
• Risky: the clause could cost you money, rights or flexibility. These are the points to push back on before you sign.
• Not in the contract: the contract does not deal with this topic at all. A missing clause can be a risk too, for example no liability cap or no clear way to cancel.

Quick Check or full state-law review: which do you need?

The Quick Check costs $9 and works for contracts from any country. It tells you what each clause means, how one-sided it is and what to ask for instead. It does not apply any country's or state's law.

If your contract is governed by US law, the full state-law review costs $19. It looks at your contract in light of the rules of the relevant US state, which matters for clauses like non-competes, security deposits and late fees where the rules differ from state to state. If you are outside the US, the Quick Check is the right choice.

What the contract checker does not do

The Quick Check does not apply the law of the UK, Canada, Australia, India or any other country, and it does not tell you whether a clause is enforceable where you live. It is an automated review, not legal advice, and no lawyer, attorney or solicitor reviews your report.

Use it to understand your contract, find the questions worth asking and prepare for a negotiation. For a high-value deal, a contract you are already in a dispute over, or anything where the local law really matters, speak to a qualified lawyer or solicitor. Your report gives you a clear list of issues to bring to that conversation, which helps you use that time well.

Is my contract kept private?

Contracts often contain names, addresses, salaries and business details, so privacy matters. Your contract is processed only to produce your report. We do not store your original document, we never sell your data, and your contracts are never used for training.

Your report is kept in your account so you can reopen it, until you ask us to delete it. If you would rather not share some details, you can black out names, account numbers and addresses before you upload; the review looks at the wording of the clauses, so it still works without them.