What are the risks of not using an engagement letter?

The risks of not using an engagement letter are concrete: scope creep with no boundary to point at, fee disputes decided by memory, liability that extends to whatever the client assumed, and engagements that end messily because nothing says how they end.

Professional bodies treat the letter as necessary for good reason. Accountants and lawyers face malpractice exposure without one, and professional-liability insurers routinely require them. Courts also read ambiguity against the party who provided the service.

The letter's purpose is to make the engagement boring: services listed, fees stated, responsibilities split, exit defined. Ten minutes of paperwork against months of he-said-she-said. Every provider who skips it is betting the relationship never sours, and the bet only has to lose once.

This engagement letter template removes the excuse for skipping it.