Rank and Rent Agreement Template: The 10% Commission Contract I Use

A rank and rent agreement is the short written contract between you (the site owner) and the contractor who receives your leads. Mine is one page. It defines what a lead is, says the contractor pays 10% of every job that closes from one of those leads, splits that payment in two halves, and gives either side a way out. Because the contractor risks nothing until a job closes, they sign it by message — no negotiation call, no lawyer on the phone.

Below is every clause explained, then a simplified sample you can copy. The full template, with the invoice wording and the lead-tracking sheet that goes with it, is in the Rank and Rent Starter Kit.

I’m not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. Have a licensed attorney in your state review any agreement before you rely on it.

What should a rank and rent agreement include?

1. The parties and the site

Your name (or business name), the contractor’s business name, the website address, and the city and trade the leads come from. Naming the site matters: it makes clear the site stays yours.

2. What counts as a lead

A homeowner who submits the quote form on the site (or calls the tracked number, if you use one) asking for the named service in the named area. Duplicates and spam don’t count. This clause prevents the “that wasn’t a real lead” argument later.

3. What the contractor pays, and when

10% of the total contract value of any job that closes from a lead, paid in two halves: the first when the homeowner pays their deposit, the second when the job is complete and paid. Tying it to the homeowner’s own payments means the contractor never pays before they have the money.

4. How closed jobs are reported

The contractor tells you in writing within a set number of days when a lead becomes a signed job, with the contract value. You keep your own list of every lead sent (the kit’s Money Tracker), so you can ask about any lead by name.

5. Exclusivity

You send all leads from this site, for this trade and area, to this one contractor while the agreement is active. In return they respond to every lead within an agreed time. If they stop responding, the exclusivity ends.

6. Term and cancellation

Month to month. Either side can end it with written notice. Jobs already closed from earlier leads still pay out. This is the clause that removes the fear from signing: nobody is locked in.

7. No guarantees, no employment

You don’t promise a number of leads; the contractor doesn’t promise a close rate. You are not their employee or partner, and they are responsible for licensing, insurance and the work itself.

8. Signatures

Typed names and dates over email or a free e-sign tool are fine for an agreement this size. Keep the signed copy with the lead emails and invoices — the whole relationship should exist in writing.

Free simplified rank and rent agreement (sample)

Copy and fill in the brackets. This is the short form; the kit’s version adds the reporting deadline, the invoice template and the tracker.

Lead Referral Agreement

This agreement is between [Your name] (“Site Owner”), owner of [website address], and [Contractor business name] (“Contractor”), dated [date].

1. Leads. A “Lead” is a homeowner who submits a request through [website address] for [service] in [city/area]. Site Owner will forward each Lead to Contractor by email or text at no upfront cost.

2. Commission. For each Lead that results in a signed job, Contractor will pay Site Owner 10% of the total contract value: half within 7 days of receiving the homeowner’s deposit, and half within 7 days of final payment.

3. Reporting. Contractor will notify Site Owner in writing within 7 days when a Lead becomes a signed job, including the contract value.

4. Exclusivity. While this agreement is active, Site Owner sends all Leads from [website address] to Contractor, and Contractor responds to each Lead within [24] hours.

5. Term. This agreement continues month to month and either party may end it with 14 days’ written notice. Commissions on jobs already signed remain payable.

6. Independence. Contractor is an independent business responsible for its own licensing, insurance and work. Site Owner makes no guarantee of Lead volume. Nothing here creates an employment or partnership relationship.

Signed: ______________ (Site Owner)   ______________ (Contractor)

Why does this agreement replace the sales call?

Every rank and rent course that charges monthly rent needs a call because the contractor is being asked to pay before seeing a lead. This agreement asks for nothing until a job closes. That’s why you can send it as a message after a contractor replies to a free-leads post in a local Facebook group, and why they sign it. The agreement is the offer.

What do you send with it?

The first lead — after they sign, not before. Then a one-line message each time a new lead arrives, and a monthly note asking which jobs closed. The kit contains every one of those messages, the invoice wording, and the Money Tracker sheet that lists each lead, job, payment half and due date.

Free tool: Find the contractor first with the free contractor post generator. No sign-up.