Be clear on what the client owes for expenses.

You should clearly mention to the client in advance that if you create something unique that was required for that client and did not simply use your generic materials or equipment then client should reimburse it. You should also tell that you will not place any copyright or Intellectual property right on the material and client will exclusively own it. It’s easy to do above, but what consultants forget is periodically informing the client about the expenses they are regularly incurring under this head. As a result, they surprise the client with an invoice which client was unaware of and begin the consultant-client mistrust journey. I did this mistake early in my career. Actually, I created a , ₹3,50,000 slide presentation for a sophisticated workshop based on my consulting results. I didn’t inform this expense to the client thinking it is covered in the agreement. And when I raised my invoice, I could see the surprise in client’s eyes. He paid. But you know, he never gave me any consulting job after that.