Service agreement

A service agreement is a contract that sets out what one business will do for another, how it will be paid, and the rules both sides follow while the work goes on.

What it is

A service agreement covers ongoing or repeated work: cleaning, IT support, bookkeeping, marketing, maintenance, hauling. It is sometimes called a master services agreement (MSA) when it sets general terms and each project is added later as a statement of work. A short service agreement can do both jobs at once for a small engagement.

It differs from a consulting agreement mostly in tone. Consulting is advice from a person. Services are delivered work, often by a team, often on a schedule.

When it is used

A business hires a provider for regular work, monthly or yearly.
An agency starts a retainer with a new client.
A construction or maintenance firm agrees a service plan with a building owner.
A software company sells set-up or support alongside its product.

What it usually contains

Section	What it covers
Parties and effective date	Who is agreeing, and from when
Scope of services	What is included, and often what is not
Service levels	Response times, hours, or quality measures, if any
Fees and payment terms	Rates, invoicing schedule, due dates, late fees
Term and renewal	How long it lasts and whether it renews on its own
Termination	How either side can end it, notice periods, and what is owed on exit
Responsibilities of the client	Access, information and approvals the provider needs
Confidentiality	How each side treats the other's information
Ownership of work	Who owns deliverables and any tools the provider brings
Liability and indemnity	Caps on damages and who covers which claims
Insurance	Cover the provider must carry, if any
Disputes and governing law	Where and how disagreements are settled
Signatures	An authorised person for each business

Things to get right

Name the signers' authority. A service agreement binds a company, so the person signing should be able to do that. Put their title next to their name.
Watch auto-renewal. If the agreement renews on its own, say how and when either side can stop it. Some places have rules on renewal notices.
Keep scope and price together. When the scope grows, change the price in writing too. A new statement of work is often the clean way.
Countersign in order. Many firms want the client to sign first, then their own officer.

This is general information, not legal advice. Have a lawyer review your service agreement template once, then reuse it.

How to send it for signature with docuinked

In the app

Upload the PDF, add the client and your own signer, and turn on signing order so the client signs first. Add a text field for the client signer's title. Save the layout as a template for the next client.

By API

This call sends a two-party agreement in order, client first, and records the client's title as a text field.

curl https://docuinked.com/v1/documents \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $DOCUINKED_API_KEY" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: msa-client-2291-v1" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"title": "Service agreement, North Yard Facilities",
       "pdf_url": "https://example.com/service-agreement.pdf",
       "ordered": true,
       "signers": [{"name": "Jordan Lee", "email": "jordan@example.com"},
                   {"name": "Casey Wong", "email": "casey@example.org"}],
       "fields": [{"signer": 1, "kind": "signature", "anchor": "Client signature:"},
                  {"signer": 1, "kind": "text", "anchor": "Title:"},
                  {"signer": 2, "kind": "signature", "anchor": "Provider signature:"}],
       "send": true}'

Store your CRM record ID in metadata, and a webhook can move the deal to won when it completes. The sales contracts page shows that flow.

From an agent

An agent working in your CRM can draft the agreement over MCP with create_document and the client's details. On a live key, send_document returns an approval_url. Someone on your team checks the names, the price and the term against the deal, then approves. Agents can never sign, and the evidence log keeps the agent and the approver apart. See approvals.

Sources

Checked 2026-11-07.

ESIGN Act, 15 USC 7001: a contract may not be denied effect solely because an electronic signature or record was used in its formation.

Common questions

Should a service agreement and a statement of work be separate documents?

For one small job, one document is fine. For a client you will work with again, sign the general terms once and add each project as its own statement of work.

Who should sign a service agreement for a company?

Someone with authority to bind it, often an owner, officer or manager named in the company's own rules. Ask for their title on the signing page so the record shows it.

Can I change a service agreement after both sides sign?

Not the signed file. Send an amendment or a new statement of work for signature, and keep both records. The original stays sealed as it was.

Try it in test mode

Free during the beta. Test keys send no email, so you can build the whole flow first.

Get an API key Read the quickstart