Sign a service agreement online

What a service agreement covers

A service agreement sets the terms on which one business provides ongoing services to another: IT support, cleaning, marketing retainers, managed hosting, bookkeeping. Where the work comes in projects, it is often written as a master services agreement (MSA), with each project then described in a statement of work.

The MSA handles the long-lived terms once, so each new piece of work only needs a short SOW rather than a fresh negotiation.

Clauses customers and providers argue about

Each of these has real money attached.

• Service levels: response and resolution times, uptime targets and service credits if they are missed.
• Fees and price increases, often tied to an inflation index once a year.
• Term and renewal: a minimum term, and whether it renews automatically unless notice is given.
• Limitation of liability: usually a cap linked to fees paid in the previous twelve months, with exclusions for things the law will not allow to be capped.
• Data protection: a data processing agreement where the provider handles personal data, required under Article 28 of the GDPR.
• Termination for convenience and for breach, and exit assistance.
• Order of precedence between the MSA, SOWs and any schedules.

Implied terms and consumer rules

Even if the agreement says nothing, the law often fills gaps. In the UK, the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 implies that a business provider will carry out the service with reasonable care and skill, within a reasonable time and for a reasonable charge. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 gives consumers similar rights that cannot be excluded.

Auto-renewal clauses aimed at consumers are tightly regulated in many US states, and the UK's Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 brings in new rules for subscription contracts. If your customers are consumers, check these before you send. This is general information, not legal advice.

Who signs and in what order

Each business signs through someone with authority, usually a director or officer. Many providers prefer the customer to sign first, then countersign, so they are not bound to a deal the customer has not accepted. Set 'one after another' with the customer first.

Larger customers often want their legal team to review. Send the agreement as Word first if they want to mark it up, then upload the agreed final version to Sign PDF for signing.

Mistakes to avoid

Signing an MSA but never signing the SOWs, so nobody can say what was actually agreed for each project. Missing the auto-renewal notice window and paying for another year. Leaving the liability cap at a figure far below the value of the data the provider holds.

Sending it with Sign PDF

Upload the agreement. Sign PDF finds the 'Provider' and 'Customer' signature blocks and places name, title, signature and date boxes for each. Use the assistant for 'customer initials beside clause 12' or 'add a commencement date box'.

Both sides sign after confirming a code from their email. The completed PDF is sealed and timestamped, and the certificate of completion records each signer's email, IP address, device and time. On the Full plan, keep the MSA as a template and send it to each new customer in a couple of minutes.