Want to start work as a consultant – what should I watch out for?

It would be helpful to know what area you will be consulting in. That will help us to give pointers, suggest rates, and determine if that agreement makes sense for what you will be doing.

For example, that agreement may be ground for a company to claim rights to software you develop on your free time while you are in their pay.

Read: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8395422

You could encounter such problems locally as well. I certainly have. Do not let such issues deter you. Just be aware that not all clients conduct themselves ethically. You need to protect yourself.

Thank you. I see that most agreements have the same sort of language about the company maintaining ownership of all work...

I would watch out for . . . prior to or during the term of this Agreement . . . the prior language doesn't sound quite right . . .

I typically work with multiple clients not a single client so I include in my contract that I retain the right use portions of the code provide as a deliverable for previous, current and future clients but will not re-use their code in it's entirety. Typically projects have some portions that are standard and re-used over and over . . . occasionally a client will request I agree not to re-use their business logic specific code and that's fair . . .

I would recommend asking them to change the wording to they only own the code/patents of work developed specifically during working hours for their company and projects and that you hold the rights to any code and IP developed on your own time and all work prior to your agreement. Using a more modern standard agreement would probably be a better starting point . . .and having an attorney review it would be recommended before signing anything.

As far as a rate . . . I would google similar job listings . . . without much knowledge of your position I would expect $100 to $200/hr . . . but I would get the IP agreement worked out at the same time as your salary . . .

For small contracts, I usually ask for half up-front and half at delivery. Medium-size might be in thirds with the second payment invoiced when they get the prototype. For large contracts I tend to do monthly payments with a little bit of front-loading (ex: for a 100k project over 6 mos, 20k x 2 months and then 15k x 4 months).

Your hourly rate is entirely dependent on the project, skillset, and experience. A small PHP-only developer cannot command the same rate that a full-stack backend, frontend, and iOS developer might. Delivery timelines also play in - if they want it next week there's a premium.

I'd avoid that agreement, it's overly broad. I try to make mine assign on full payment / completion of project and cover only the work performed for the contract. If I can swing it, I try a non-exclusive license instead of full assignment as well, which allows me to reuse code.