This article explains how clients can amend an Independent Contractor contract from their Deel account.
Contract amendments can be made in Fixed, Pay As You Go, and Milestone contracts.
You can also find out here what can and can't be amended in a contract.
In this article:
How to make amendments to a Fixed contract
How to make amendments to a Pay As You Go contract
How to make amendments to a Milestone contract
How to cancel proposed contract amendments
Before Starting
Please note that clients can request multiple signatures for a contract amendment on Deel. This can be enabled via Organization Settings > Contract Settings tab > Signature and Approvals section by toggling on the option Multiple signatures for contract management. Signers can then be added during the contract edit flow at the Review and Sign stage.
How to Make Amendments to a Fixed Contract
✅ Step 1 – Open a contractor's fixed contract
In the left sidebar, select People, then select Directory. Locate the contractor, confirm their Worker type is Contractor, and select their name in the Person column to open their profile.
- Select People in the left sidebar.
- Select Directory.
- Select the contractor's name to open their profile.
- Verify: The person's name appears at the top of the profile and profile navigation includes Overview, Personal information, Role and compensation, and Contracts.
✅ Step 2 – Edit contract
On the contractor's profile Overview page, find the Quick actions panel and select Edit worker details. The Edit contract amendment form opens directly.
- Select Edit worker details in Quick actions.
- Verify: The form heading reads Edit contract and includes an Effective date field.
✅ Step 3 – Pay or cancel pending invoice
A pop-up will appear with the following payment options:
- Pay Invoice: Pay for all outstanding payments before modifying the contract and sending it to the contractor for countersignature.
- Continue to Edit: Pending invoices will be canceled and replaced with the updated contract settings. Any payment-related changes can only take effect once both parties sign the edited contract.
- To pay an overdue invoice, select Pay now from Pending invoices details in the Payments tracker on Home.
- On Finance > Pay, locate an invoice with an Overdue status.
- Select the three-dot menu for the overdue invoice, then select Pay invoice.
- Review payment details on the Pay your team page. Select Continue only when you are ready to proceed with payment.
✅ Step 4 – Make changes and then click Agree & Sign
Set the Effective date, edit the contract details, and review the Edit summary as you make changes. Select Continue to review and confirm upcoming payment details.
Contract details like scope of work, payment rate, payment frequency, and more can be edited here. Clients will be able to see the saved changes in the Edits Summary box as the amendments are made.
✅ Step 5 – Confirm Signature
Review the amendment and select Agree & Sign. The amended contract will be sent to the contractor to countersign.
The changes will be visible only after the contractor signs.
Clients may cancel the contract changes before the amendments are countersigned.
How to Make Amendments to a Pay As You Go contract
✅ Step 1 – Open a contractor's PAYG contract
In the left sidebar, select People, then select Directory. Locate the contractor and select their name to open their profile.
✅ Step 2 – Edit contract
On the contractor's profile Overview page, select Edit worker details in the Quick actions panel. The Edit contract amendment form opens directly.
✅ Step 3 – Pay or cancel pending invoice
If there are pending invoices, select Pay Invoice to pay outstanding amounts before editing, or select Continue to Edit to cancel pending invoices and replace them with the updated contract settings.
Payment-related changes can only take effect once both parties sign the edited contract.
✅ Step 4 – Make changes and then click Continue
Set the Effective date, edit the required contract details, and review the Edit summary as amendments are made. Select Continue to review upcoming payment details.
Clients will be able to see the saved changes in the Edits Summary box as amendments are made.
✅ Step 5 – Confirm upcoming payment details
If the payment or currency is changed, we will recalculate pending work that was previously submitted based on the effective date.
Previously approved work may be moved to pending status and will need to be approved again.
Click Agree & Sign.
If the Payment frequency is edited (for example, moving from an hour rate to a daily rate), we will advise clients to review submitted work items but won't automatically recalculate items.
✅ Step 6 – Confirm Signature
After confirming the signature, the amended contract will be sent to the contractor to countersign.
The changes will be visible only after the contractor signs.
Clients may cancel the contract changes before the amendments are countersigned.
How to Make Amendments to a Milestone Contract
✅ Step 1 – Open a contractor's Milestone contract
In the left sidebar, select People, then select Directory. Locate the contractor and select their name to open their profile.
✅ Step 2 – Edit contract
On the contractor's profile Overview page, select Edit worker details in the Quick actions panel. The Edit contract amendment form opens directly.
✅ Step 3 – Make changes and then click Agree & Sign
Set the Effective date, edit the contract details, and select Continue.
For Milestone contracts, fields like scope of work, currency, notice period, and contract end date can all be edited.
We will recalculate milestones in case of currency change based on the effective date of the amendments.
Approved items will be moved to pending status, and will need to be approved again.
Clients may add a special clause to the contract to outline terms in the event of a special scenario.
They can also attach documents that are necessary for the contract if needed.
Review the amendment and click Agree & Sign.
✅ Step 4 – Confirm Signature
After confirming the signature, the amended contract will be sent to the contractor to countersign.
The changes will be visible only after the contractor signs.
Clients may cancel the contract changes before the amendments are countersigned.
How to Cancel Proposed Amendments to a Contractor’s Contract
After signing the changes to the contract, the amended contract is sent to the contractor for countersignature.
To cancel the contract changes before the amendments are countersigned, open up the contractor's contract and select the Contract Details tab.
If the amendments have not been countersigned by the contractor, clients can click Cancel Edits to begin the process.
The contractor will be notified via email that the proposed edits have been canceled.
What Can & Can Not Be Amended in a Contract
Clients can make amendments to:
✅ Payment details (rate, invoice cycle, payment due date)
✅ Contract currency
✅ Work schedule
✅ Job title
✅ Scope of work
✅ End of contract (end date and notice period)
✅ Special clauses
Clients can not make amendments to:
✘ Country of tax residence
✘ Start date (original start date must remain, but an amendment may be added)
✘ Contract type (e.g., Fixed to Milestone, PAYG to Fixed, etc.). To change a contract type, you must end the active contract and create a new one.
✘ Client entity information
✘ The contractor agreement type itself
Note: Amendments cannot be scheduled for future dates. When choosing an effective date, clients will be able to select either the current date or a past date.
Can I change the start date?
The start date states the first day of the contractor in the company.
In case the contractor has started several contracts with the company or comes back after some time away, the employment agreement's contract start date still refers to the beginning of the contractor’s engagement with the company.
The Deel Payroll Start Date is the first date for which payroll will be processed for each contract.
The ability to amend the start date will depend on the contract type and whether the first invoice has been paid.
For Fixed contracts, start date may be edited until:
- First adjustment has been added
- First one-off payment has been created
- First invoice has been paid
Clients can delete an adjustment to extend the ability to amend the start date.
For Pay As You Go contracts, start date may be edited until:
- The first work item has been submitted
- The first adjustment has been added
- The first one-off payment has been created
Clients can delete an adjustment or delete the submitted work to extend the ability to amend the start date.
For Milestone contracts, start date may be edited until:
- Start date may be backdated without limit
- Start date may be edited to a future date until the first milestone is approved