Make your Free Bartending Contract

Bartending Contracts protect both the bartender and the host by requiring bartenders to abide by liquor laws and by outlining payment requirements. Our contracts are suitable for weddings, corporate events, family events, fundraisers and music events. Simple to build online, a Bartending Contract permits bartenders to outline the terms of an arrangement that they have made with an event organizer. Making this essential document can reduce the risk of disagreements down the road. When you build your Bartending Contract on Rocket Lawyer, you may opt to activate Document Defense^®, which enables a lawyer to help you demand payment or otherwise enforce your legal rights.

Regardless of what work you are doing, you should always consider making a Bartending Contract. You may opt to use a Bartending Contract because, when made properly, it presents this list of benefits:

• Everyone knows when fees are due
• Roles and responsibilities are understood by everyone
• Timelines are agreed upon

Any bartender deciding against using a Bartending Agreement should prepare for common issues like unrealistic requests and ambiguity regarding fees.

To complete your Bartender Contract right now, you will need to prepare the following information:

• The name and address of the event organizer
• How payment will be made
• Whether the event will last for a set period of time
• What services will be delivered

As you might hope with an agreement like this one, any Bartending Contract built with Rocket Lawyer will also include the standard legal language regarding the non-employment relationship between the parties, confidentiality, the method(s) of dispute resolution, and restitution for losses. The contract requires the bartender to adhere to local laws such as not serving minors and it provides them the right to refuse service based on their own discretion. It also restricts the bartenders and related service workers from imbibing during the event. In the process of building your agreement, you'll also be able to choose which state's laws will govern it. Using the document tool, you have the power to implement more customization, as well.

In addition to the standard contract terms, here are some other details that the bartender may want to note:

• How many people will be served?
• Who is providing the bar supplies?
• Who is providing the liquor, wine and beer?
• What hours are required? Does that include prep and cleaning time?
• Who will be doing the final cleaning after the event?
• Is tipping going to be allowed?
• Will security be provided?
• What is the plan for bad weather? (if outside venue)
• Will you be providing a ride service for guests?
• How do you want to handle disorderly guests?
• What happens if we run out of supplies?
• What type of insurance will be required?
• Will there be a limited bar menu offered or a full bar?
• Will there be a toast and when?

Professional bartenders can often help event organizers by:

• Adhering to local liquor laws
• Controlling costs by measuring drinks
• Alerting security of unruly guests
• Limiting the over-serving of guests
• Providing a customized drink menu
• Having liquor liability and general liability insurance
• Estimating what needs to be purchased for the bar
• Allowing the organizer to have more time to spend on other event planning tasks

How much the bartender or bartender service gets paid is often based on the following:

Hourly rate with a minimum number of hours per bartender
Most often the hourly rate may be around $35 per hour with a minimum of four or more hours. A deposit or retainer fee is also usually required. Usually, the tips (if tipping is allowed) will be divided between the workers.

Number of guests
The number of guests can help bartenders estimate how busy they will be and the effort required to satisfy those guests. In many cases, event organizers may need to hire additional bartenders, servers and bar backs.

Overtime
If the bartenders are asked to work beyond the agreed upon hours they have the option of charging at an increased rate. Keep in mind that the bartender may not be able to work overtime and can refuse to work.

Supplies and equipment
If the bartending service willneed to provide supplies such as glasses and the bar itself, those are additional charges that the event organizer may be expected to pay. If they also need to bring the liquor, beer, mixers, wine, ice and more, the bartender will usually charge for the price of the goods plus a fee.

The good news is that you won't have to pay hundreds of dollars in legal fees to get your contract in writing. When using Rocket Lawyer, any bartender should feel empowered to draft a free Bartending Contract online today. Your agreement will be built section by section, as you enter more information along the way. Simply click on the button labeled "Make document" to start.

If you've got any concerns or hesitations about how to move forward, you can always ask a lawyer. You may also wish to explore our repository of contracts and other documents for business owners.

In order to turn this document into a legally binding contract, you and the event organizer must sign it, electronically or otherwise. Using RocketSign^®, you can collect signatures easily. As a best practice, be sure that your client gets copies of the fully executed contract. With a Premium membership, you also will be able to save it in PDF format or as a Word document, print it out, and copy it as necessary.

If you attempt to do it by yourself, finding an attorney to provide feedback on documents might be costly. Certain lawyers will not even agree to review your document if they weren't the author. If a lawyer does offer advice, they are still going to demand a fee for doing it. A more cost-effective route would be via attorney services at Rocket Lawyer. With a Premium membership, you can get your agreements reviewed or send specific legal questions. Whether you end up creating more copies of your Bartending Agreement or other documents for bartenders, we are by your side.