Free template
Team charter template for small project teams
One page that settles who decides, who can spend money and who can get back into each account. Fill it in over a coffee. Review it every three months.
This is an operating agreement, not a legal document. It does not assign code, equity or ownership, and it does not create a company. For those, use a founders agreement and get legal advice for your country.
What a team charter decides
A team charter answers the questions a small team argues about later:
- Who makes the call on product, on money and on accounts?
- How much can one person spend without asking?
- Who owns, pays for and can recover each account?
- What happens when you disagree, or when someone leaves?
It is built for two or three people on a side project, weekend build or hackathon team. For a longer list of tasks and who is accountable for each, use a RACI matrix instead.
The template
Fill in the form. The charter below updates as you type. Print it or save it as a PDF, and keep it with your project files. Do not write passwords or recovery codes in it.
Team charter: PROJECT NAME
Date: DATE
Team: PERSON A and PERSON B
1. Goal and non-goals
Goal: one sentence.
We are not doing: what is out of scope.
2. Who decides
PERSON A decides on area. PERSON B decides on area. If a decision touches both areas, we decide together.
3. Money
Any spending over [AMOUNT] needs a yes from both of us before it is paid. We log every cost the day it is paid in a shared ledger.
4. How we work
We check in: how often, how long. We write decisions down in one shared place.
5. Accounts
For each account we note the owner, the payer and one recovery contact: Domain: owner, payer, recovery contact. At least two people can log in to every account that matters. Passwords and recovery codes live in a password manager, never in this document.
6. Disagreements
We talk first. If we still disagree after a week, we ask a person we both trust.
7. If someone leaves
The person leaving hands over every account they control within 14 days. We use the handover checklist and confirm in writing that the other person can log in.
8. Review
We review this charter on DATE and change it when something stops working.
Agreed: ____________ PERSON A ____________ PERSON B
A filled-in example
This example is illustrative. The numbers are made up for the demonstration, not taken from a real team.
Two friends build a weekend prototype. One handles delivery, the other user research.
- Goal: test a working prototype with five people by 30 November.
- Not doing: a mobile app, paid ads.
- Decisions: the delivery owner decides on product and code, the research owner on who to interview and what to ask.
- Money: spending over EUR 50 needs both of them. The EUR 50 line is the example team's choice. Pick your own.
- Accounts: domain owned and paid by the delivery owner, recovery contact is the research owner. Hosting owned and paid by the research owner, recovery contact is the delivery owner.
- Test: both people log in to each other's account list this week to prove they can. A name on the list is not a permission. Check that each platform actually lets a second person in.
A 15-minute review checklist
- Can each of you say who decides on product, money and accounts without looking?
- Is every account listed with an owner, a payer and a recovery contact?
- Did both of you actually log in to the accounts you are not the owner of?
- Was the spending line crossed in the last month? If so, was it approved?
- Does anything in the charter no longer match how you work? Change it today.
When you need more than a charter
A charter does not decide who owns the code, the brand or any equity. If money, code or customers are involved, write a founders agreement and have a lawyer in your country review it. To find out who could lock you out today, run the access audit. To split costs fairly, use the cost split calculator.
Frequently asked questions
What is a team charter?
A short written agreement about how a team works: goal, who decides what, how money is approved and how you handle disagreements.
Is a team charter legally binding?
This one is not meant to be. It records how you agreed to work. Ownership, equity and liability need a separate legal agreement.
How is this different from a RACI matrix?
A charter sets the rules for the whole team. A RACI matrix assigns accountability for each task. Small teams usually need the charter first.
How often should we update it?
Review it every three months, or when a person joins or leaves, or when you start spending money.