How to send an NDA before a discovery call

Clients sometimes ask for an NDA before they explain the project; sometimes you want one before you walk them through your process. Either way, an unsigned NDA on the morning of the call means a rescheduled call. This page is part of our contracts and signatures guides, and the mutual NDA template has the agreement itself.

Do you need an NDA before the call?

Mutual or one-way?

A non-disclosure agreement is a contract in which the parties agree not to disclose information covered by it (LII Wex). In a one-way NDA only the client's information is protected. In a mutual NDA both sides are bound. For a freelancer, mutual is the better default: discovery calls go both ways, and you'll often explain how you'd price and run the project. If the client sends a one-way NDA, ask for it to be mutual before you share your own material.

The flow: from booking to signed NDA

1. Ask on the booking form. Add a question to the meeting type, such as "Will you share confidential information on this call?", so you know before the day.
2. When the call is booked and the answer is yes, export your mutual NDA as a PDF and send it for e-signature to the person who booked, with you as second signer.
3. Set an expiration date on the request for the day before the call, and turn on reminders, so it doesn't sit unsigned.
4. Send a short email with the reason and the deadline (copy below).
5. When the NDA is fully signed, you're notified. Keep the signed PDF with the call notes.
6. If it isn't signed by the deadline, keep the call but stay general, or move it.

Subject: Quick NDA before our call on [day]

Hi [first name],

Thanks for booking a call for [day, time]. Since you mentioned you'll share [the new product / customer data / numbers], I've sent a short mutual NDA for e-signature from [your business]. It protects what you share with me and what I share about my process and pricing, for [2] years.

It takes about two minutes on your phone, no account needed. Could you sign it by [day before the call, time]? If your company has its own NDA, send it over and I'll review it instead.

Talk soon,
[Your name]

A lighter option for documents

If what needs protecting is a document rather than a conversation, such as a brief or a deck you'll discuss on the call, there's a click-through route. Share the PDF through a tracked link that requires visitors to accept an NDA first: they type their full name and agree before the document loads, and you keep a record of each acceptance with name, email, time, IP address, device and a fingerprint of the exact text. It's quicker for the client than a signed agreement, and less formal; for anything high-stakes, use a signed NDA.

What to check in a client's NDA before the call

• The purpose. "Evaluating a possible website project" is fine; "any business relationship" is broad enough to cover work you do for other clients.
• A non-compete or non-solicitation clause. Neither belongs in a pre-call NDA. Ask to remove it, especially if the client works in your niche.
• Ownership of ideas. Some NDAs say anything you suggest on the call belongs to them. Strike it: your ideas are what they'd pay you for.
• The term and the return-or-delete clause. Two to five years for business information, and a way to keep copies that routine backups hold.

The clause that's easy to forget

If either party to the NDA is an individual (you, as a freelancer, count), include the Defend Trade Secrets Act whistleblower notice. Under 18 U.S.C. § 1833(b), an employer that doesn't give notice of the immunity in an agreement governing trade secrets or confidential information can't recover exemplary damages or attorney fees under the Act from the person who didn't receive it, and the statute counts contractors and consultants. Our NDA template already includes it.

In SoloWOS

In Scheduling, add the confidentiality question to your meeting type (up to 10 questions per booking form). In E-Signatures, upload the NDA, add the client and yourself as signers in order, pick reminders every 2, 3 or 7 days and an expiration date, and send. An automation can't create the signature request for you, but it can act on the booking: when someone books that meeting type, email them right away with a link, such as a tracked document link with the NDA gate, or add a task to your board to send the NDA. Basic ($2/month) includes 3 signature requests a month; Solo 15 for $15/month. Before the call itself, use our discovery call questions.