Cloud service agreement template
A cloud service agreement sets out the terms on which a provider supplies an online service to a business customer: what is provided, the fees, how long it runs, and who is responsible for what. This one is a three-part pack, an order form, key terms and standard terms, with a data processing schedule for the personal data the service handles. It is for software and online-service providers, and the order form changes for each customer.
Based on Common Paper Cloud Service Agreement (Version 2.1) by Common Paper, licensed under CC BY 4.0, and modified by DocuWeave.
What changes each time
23 values. Everything else is your wording, kept exactly.
The parties
- Provider's full legal name
- Company number
- Registered office address
- Customer's full legal name
The service and the order
- Description of the online service
- Order date
- Length of the subscription
- Length of any trial
Fees and renewal
- Fees
- Fee increase on renewal
- Payment terms
- Renewal notice period
Liability, security and publicity
- General cap amount
- Increased cap amount
- Security commitments
- Insurance cover and amounts
- Use of customer content for AI training
- Publicity
Data processing
- What the service does with the data
- Types of personal data
- Whose personal data
- Sub-processor list location
- Signatory name and job title
The rules it usually needs
Written in plain English when the template is set up.
- One of several wordings
“Describe the customer as a company with a company number, or as an individual or other party with an address.”
Only the chosen description of the customer appears.
- One of several wordings
“Start on the date the last party signs, or on a specific start date.”
The order date reads as the chosen option.
- Only when…
“Include a trial period only when there is a trial first”
The trial length, the trial fee (or a free trial) and the automatic start of the paid subscription appear in the order form.
- One of several wordings
“Charge a trial fee, or make the trial free.”
Only the chosen trial wording appears.
- One of several wordings
“Charge a fee per year, month, subscription period, user or another unit, or use another fee structure.”
The fees row reads as the chosen structure.
- Only when…
“Include a fee increase clause only when fees can rise on renewal”
The fee increase row appears, as either a cap on the increase or a fixed percentage.
- One of several wordings
“Invoice and pay within a set number of days, or charge the customer's payment method on file.”
Only the chosen payment wording appears.
- One of several wordings
“Renew automatically unless notice is given, or end when the subscription period ends.”
The renewal row reads as the chosen option.
- One of several wordings
“Give reasonable-efforts service levels with a right to end after repeated failures, or use another service level wording.”
The service levels row reads as the chosen option.
- Only when…
“Include a professional services row only when the provider will also do set-up or other work”
The row appears with either a reference to a statement of work or a description of the services, and how they will be billed.
- One of several wordings
“Set each liability cap as a multiple of fees, a fixed sum, or the greater of the two.”
The cap wording reads as the chosen option.
- Only when…
“Include additional warranties only when either party gives promises beyond the standard terms”
The additional warranties row appears for the provider and the customer.
- One of several wordings
“State the provider's security as appropriate measures, its security policy, or named certifications and tests.”
The security row reads as the chosen option.
- Only when…
“Include an insurance clause only when the provider must hold insurance”
The insurance row appears with the types and amounts of cover required.
- One of several wordings
“Permit or refuse use of customer content for AI training.”
The row reads as the chosen option.
- One of several wordings
“Allow the provider to name the customer as a client, or require consent for any use of names and logos.”
The publicity row reads as the chosen option.
Questions people ask
What is a cloud service agreement?
A contract between a provider and a customer for an online service, such as software the customer uses over the internet. It covers what is supplied, the fees, how long it lasts and what happens if something goes wrong.
What does a cloud service agreement usually cover?
The service and its limits, how the customer may use it, fees and payment, how it can be ended, each side's promises, limits on liability, confidentiality and the handling of any personal data.
Is a cloud service agreement the same as a SaaS agreement?
They are close. Both cover software supplied online. This one is built as an order form plus standard terms, so each customer's order can change while the standard terms stay the same.
Who is this one for?
The provider of the service, dealing with business customers. It is written for England and Wales and is not meant for consumers.
What about personal data?
If the service handles personal data on the customer's behalf, the data processing schedule sets out what the provider may do with it, its sub-processors and what happens to the data when the agreement ends.
Use this template
It opens in DocuWeave as a template you can check, change and publish. Nothing is used until you do.