Tip 8: Consistent terms & definitions in your documents

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?

1. To ensure that everyone knows 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.

𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲

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 
– 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

𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴!