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Glossary

What is a master service agreement?

A master service agreement is a contract that sets the general terms for a long running relationship, so that each new piece of work can be agreed quickly in a statement of work or order under it.

What a master service agreement covers

  • Payment terms and invoicing
  • Confidentiality and data protection
  • Intellectual property
  • Limitation of liability, indemnity and insurance
  • Warranties, service levels and dispute resolution
  • Term, termination and governing law

How it works with statements of work

The master service agreement holds the terms that do not change. Each statement of work adds the scope, deliverables, timeline and price for one project. If they conflict, the agreement says which document wins.

How Aavenir handles it

Contractflow links each statement of work, order and amendment to its master agreement, so the full set of terms that apply to a supplier or customer is on one record.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Common questions

What is a master service agreement in business?

A framework contract that sets the general terms for an ongoing relationship, such as payment, confidentiality, liability and termination, so that each new piece of work can be agreed quickly under it. See Contractflow.

What is the difference between a master service agreement and a statement of work?

The master service agreement sets the terms that do not change. A statement of work sets the scope, deliverables, timeline and price of one project under it, and the agreement says which wins if they conflict. Read about contract addendums.

Why use a master service agreement?

It saves negotiating the same legal terms for every project, so new work starts faster. The terms it holds, such as liability caps, should come from your approved clause library. Read about the clause library.

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See your contracts run on one record.

  • 1 A 30 minute walkthrough Built around your team, whether that is procurement, legal, IT or finance.
  • 2 Your contracts, not ours Bring a few sample agreements and watch Aavenir AI extract and review them.
  • 3 ServiceNow or standalone We show the deployment that fits the systems you already run.

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