Consulting Agreement
Engages a consultant for advisory work rather than deliverables.
A form of independent contractor agreement used specifically for advisory or specialized project work, typically with a defined scope, deliverables, and fee structure rather than ongoing day-to-day duties. It's common for fractional executives, advisors, and specialists brought in for a specific outcome.
- Business days
- 1–5Business days
- Lawyer reviewed
- 100%Lawyer reviewed
- Surprise bills
- $0Surprise bills
What a Consulting Agreement should include
Services — the advice or expertise being provided, and the form it will take.
Time commitment — days, hours or availability, and how additional time is approved.
Fees — retainer, day rate or fixed fee, and what expenses are covered.
Ownership of work product — who owns the memos, models and materials produced.
Conflicts — whether the consultant may advise competitors, and what they must disclose.
Term and exit — how long the engagement runs and how either side ends it.
When you need one
When you are buying judgement rather than output — a fractional executive, a subject-matter adviser, a technical reviewer. If the engagement is really a defined project with deliverables, a statement of work under a services agreement fits better and prices more cleanly.
How Ruby drafts it
Tell us what you need
Describe the agreement, your business context, and how fast you need it. A few smart questions, not a legal questionnaire. Your price and turnaround are confirmed before anything starts.
Ruby drafts it
Once pricing is confirmed a qualified Ruby lawyer is assigned to your file, and the first draft is built from your answers and real Canadian statute.
A licensed lawyer reviews every line
A lawyer licensed in Canada reviews and finalizes the document before it reaches you, and writes the plain-language summary that comes with it.
Signed, stored, and yours to revisit
You get the final agreement and its summary, stored so you can come back to it rather than hunting through email for the current version.
The fee is set before any of that starts. Hourly billing moves as scope does; a flat fee is one number, confirmed in writing, that doesn’t change after the work is done. See how Ruby prices agreements.
Or did you mean one of these?
These get confused with a Consulting Agreement often enough to be worth ruling out before you buy the wrong document.
Questions people ask
Mostly in what is being bought. A contractor agreement is usually built around deliverables; a consulting agreement is built around availability and advice. The classification questions are the same for both.
It happens, particularly with advisers, and it needs its own paperwork — options or shares granted under a plan, usually with vesting. Promising equity in a consulting agreement without documenting the grant is a common and avoidable mess.
Unless the agreement says otherwise, generally yes. If that matters, address it expressly and expect to negotiate — a broad restriction on an independent adviser's other work is often resisted and can affect the classification analysis.
Looking for the plain definition rather than the document? See Consulting Agreement in the Ruby legal glossary.
This page is general information about Canadian business law and is not legal advice. Laws differ by province and change over time, and how they apply depends on your circumstances. For advice on your situation, speak with a lawyer licensed in your province.
Need a Consulting Agreement?
Ruby drafts it for a flat $499 CAD, confirmed before any work begins, with a licensed Canadian lawyer on every document.