So I sign a contract for a new app with a client and in the contract we mentioned that a down payment should be payed upon signature. Then when we signed they postponed the payments for 4 days then after 4 days for another 4 days which is next week.

I informed them that the work is paused until they prepare the down payment. The problem here is should i change the contract with new dates or it's fine to leave it as is?

I wish i can only work on my apps.

Why would you change it?

@ryanmhoffman because the project should start upon signature and paying the down payment. if i'm supposed to meet deadlines, clients are also supposed to meet theirs.

Next Contract you write that deadlines starts to count after the payment has been received and verified.
So you don't do the same mistake again :)

@devleb any deadlines you miss would be a result of their failure to comply with the contract. They breached first so it voids your responsibility to meet the deadlines.

*disclaimer* I'm not an attorney 😀

@stoffe thanks for the suggestion. i'll include that in my upcoming contracts. @ryanmhoffman hehehehe although you're not but this makes sense.

I mention this only because it sounds like you want to focus on dev work rather than the business side.

All other answers sound reasonable and it sounds like your contract could use some clarity.

Instead of struggling through it, sign up for a free proposify trial and copy one of their contract templates. They're fairly robust and give you a 1,000 ft head start.

Not endorsing proposify; replace their name with any other like it and you can do the same thing. Good luck.

@darkcode thanks for the suggestion. i already know proposify and was thinking to use their service. As you said it eliminates the headache and i can focus more on the development.

Don't pay for the service, you can write robust contracts without paying for a service. I mean, if you feel it's worth it, by all means, but it's not necessary.

The free trial allows plenty of time to look through their templates and copy paste the parts you need into your own contract. Good luck.

If the cost isn't too high, I'd want to pay at least a month subscription because they undoubtedly put hard work into making the business and the contracts and I'd feel bad to take their work and benefit from it without repaying them.
@darkcode

That is technically a breach of contract. Sue them if you want to. Also, were there any terms for termination of contract?