Tip 8: Consistent terms & definitions in your documents

Make sure that you use the same terms and definitions in your contracts and other important documents. It is also advised to follow the same rule for commercial documents like pitches / offers and even your website. 

Why is this Important?

There are many reasons why consistent use of terms in your organization and definitions in your documents. To name a few:

• 1. Consistent use of most used terms in your organization improve efficiency as you will not have to think & have meetings which term or what definition to use.
• 2. It helps everyone understand what is meant exactly by a certain term that you use in your company.
• 2. To create the best possible customer experience.
• 3. To avoid any misunderstanding on what service or product the customer has purchased from you exactly, and under which conditions.
• 4. In case of commercial discussions (and even litigation) about a term in the contract for whatever reason: e.g. exact services purchased (and under which conditions), the price for the service, termination possibilities, volume commitments, compliance and system requirements, etc.

Examples

For a typical SaaS/Software company this means that the same terms/definitions should be used for the following documents (depending on the contractual set-up): 

• General Terms and Conditions 
• Product Specific terms
• End User License Agreement 
• Customer Contract / Master Ordering Agreement 
• Order Form / SOW (Statement of Work) 
• Annexes likes the Data Processing Addendum (DPA), Data Security Addendum and the Pricing Annex
• Disclaimer on the website

About AMST Legal

At AMST Legal, we provide advice how to improve your (legal) processes and contract templates. Helping you to make sense of all your standard contracts and templates and improving them is part of that. Contact us at lowa@amstlegal.com or book a meeting here for help with your legal (compliance) framework.