How to Write a Service-Level Agreement (SLA) for SaaS
Publié : juin 27, 2025
To create a mutually beneficial partnership between a SaaS provider and its customers, a well-defined service-level agreement (SLA) should be in place. An SLA defines the expected service standards, performance metrics, and solutions in case of non-compliance. Our guide will take you through the steps of creating an SLA tailored to your SaaS.
Define Your Service Scope
The first thing to do, is tell your customers exactly what it can do for them. This is your service scope. List all the benefits they get:
- Fonctionnalités principales : The main attractions, like data analysis tools, project management features, or communication channels.
- Support Levels: Different tiers of customer support, like basic email help or 24/7 phone assistance. Think of it as choosing between economy and first-class on a flight.
- Extra Perks: Any bonuses you offer, like onboarding help, training webinars, or custom integrations.
To make it easy to understand, use simple language and avoid too much technical jargon. You want your customers to immediately get it!
CRM platform, HubSpot, outlines its service scope in its SLA. They categorize their services into different tiers:
|
Service Tier |
Fonctionnalités |
Support Level |
Uptime Guarantee |
|
Gratuit |
Contact management, email marketing, forms, ad management |
Community support |
99.5% |
|
Starter |
Additional features like email scheduling, live chat, reporting |
Email and chat support |
99.9% |
|
Professional |
Full suite of CRM features, including automation, workflows |
Phone and email support |
99.95% |
|
Grande Entreprise |
Advanced features like custom objects, predictive lead scoring |
Phone, email, and 24/7 support |
99.99% |
Each tier has a detailed description of the features and support included, so customers know exactly what they’re getting.
SaaS Service Level Agreement Template
Create a clear, professional SaaS SLA with our comprehensive, customizable template.
-
Definable service scope and uptime metrics
-
Clauses for support, response times, and remedies
-
Sections for security and data protection
-
Standard legal exclusions and limitations
Establish Uptime and Performance Metrics
Uptime is the heartbeat of your SaaS. It’s often your service is up and running andyou need to commit a certain level of uptime to your users. This is usually defined in percentages, like 99.9%, which obviously means your service is up and running 99.9% of the time.
How to measure SaaS uptime? Measuring uptime means tracking the time your service is available and comparing it to the total time in a given period. Here’s how it’s usually done:
Use uptime monitoring tools (par exemple, Pingdom, UptimeRobot, StatusCake) to monitor your service accessibility from different locations. These tools send requests to your servers and record responses, documenting any downtime.
Calcul : The uptime percentage is calculated using the following formula:
Uptime Percentage = (Total Uptime / Total Time) * 100
If your service was up for 718 hours and 30 minutes out of a total of 720 hours in a month, the calculation would be:
Uptime Percentage = (718.5 / 720) * 100 = 99.79%
Define Downtime Clearly: Be specific about what constitutes downtime in your SLA. Does it include scheduled maintenance? What about brief outages due to network glitches?
Measurement Frequency: Determine the frequency of how often you’ll measure uptime (e.g., hourly, daily, monthly).
Transparence : Be very open with your customers about your uptime monitoring methods and results. Display a status page on your website that shows real-time uptime data.
Besides Uptime, define other performance metrics. These are like the vitals of your SaaS:
- Temps de réponse: How quickly your service responds to requests (like loading a page or processing data).
- Error Rate: How often errors occur.
- Latence: The delay between a user’s action and your service’s response.
Think of it as checking your blood pressure and heart rate to make sure you’re healthy.
Salesforce, a giant in the CRM space, sets clear uptime and performance metrics in its SLA. They guarantee 99.9% uptime for most of their services and even offer service credits for downtime not meeting this expectation.
When Salesforce experienced a major outage in 2019, they proactively communicated with customers, provided updates on the crisis, and offered compensation in the form of service credits. This open, honest and forward-thinking strategy helped maintain customer trust and loyalty.
SaaS Service Level Agreement Template
Create a clear, professional SaaS SLA with our comprehensive, customizable template.
-
Definable service scope and uptime metrics
-
Clauses for support, response times, and remedies
-
Sections for security and data protection
-
Standard legal exclusions and limitations
Outline Support and Response Times
Even the best software company can experience issues. That’s why it’s necessary to outline how you’ll support your customers when they need assistance.
You need to tell them:
- How to Reach You: Email, phone, live chat?
- When You’re Available: 24/7? Business hours only?
- How Quickly You’ll Respond: Will you answer urgent issues right away, or will it take a bit longer?
Like a triage system, the most critical issues get treated first.
Slack, the popular communication platform, offers tiered support based on the subscription plan. They provide different response times for different issue severities, so that that critical issues are addressed promptly.
SaaS Service Level Agreement Template
Create a clear, professional SaaS SLA with our comprehensive, customizable template.
-
Definable service scope and uptime metrics
-
Clauses for support, response times, and remedies
-
Sections for security and data protection
-
Standard legal exclusions and limitations
Define Remedies and Compensation
Sometimes, despite your best laid plans, your service might not be able to meet the standards you committed to.Your SLA is meant to protect your customers with clear expectations, should things go wrong.
Like an insurance policy, if something goes wrong, you need to have a plan to take care of it. This might include:
- Service Credits: A discount on any future payments.
- Refunds: Partial or full refunds for the affected time period.
- Other Perks: Offer a free upgrade or some extra support.
Découvrez comment gérer les demandes de remboursement SaaS. Show your customers that you value their business and want to keep them happy.
Asana, a project management tool, offers service credits for downtime exceeding their SLA guarantee. They also have a clear process for requesting and applying service credits, ensuring transparency and fairness.
SaaS Service Level Agreement Template
Create a clear, professional SaaS SLA with our comprehensive, customizable template.
-
Definable service scope and uptime metrics
-
Clauses for support, response times, and remedies
-
Sections for security and data protection
-
Standard legal exclusions and limitations
Include Security and Data Protection Measures
Security is a top concern for any SaaS customer. You need to assure them that their data is safe and secure.
Think of it like building a fortress around your data. You need to have strong walls (Cryptage), vigilant guards (security protocols), and a backup plan (regular backups) in case of a siege. Learn how to protect your SaaS customers data in our guide.
This part of the SLA is like showing your customers the blueprints of your fortress so they can rest assured their data is protected.
Dropbox, a cloud storage provider, has a comprehensive security section in its SLA. They detail their encryption methods, data center security, and compliance with industry standards like SOC 2 et ISO 27001. They also have a bug bounty program to incentivize security researchers to find and report them.
SaaS Service Level Agreement Template
Create a clear, professional SaaS SLA with our comprehensive, customizable template.
-
Definable service scope and uptime metrics
-
Clauses for support, response times, and remedies
-
Sections for security and data protection
-
Standard legal exclusions and limitations
Address Exclusions and Limitations
Just like any contract, your SLA needs some fine print. This is where you outline situations that are outside your control.
Think of it as an act of God clause like insurance policies use. You’re not responsible for things such as natural disasters, wars, or third-party outages if your cloud provider goes down).
Template for Exclusions:
“Service Provider shall not be liable for any failure or delay in performance due to causes beyond its reasonable control, including but not limited to acts of God, acts of government, war, terrorism, labor disputes, or outages of third-party networks or services.“
SaaS Service Level Agreement Template
Create a clear, professional SaaS SLA with our comprehensive, customizable template.
-
Definable service scope and uptime metrics
-
Clauses for support, response times, and remedies
-
Sections for security and data protection
-
Standard legal exclusions and limitations
Legal Review
Before you finalize your SLA, it’s a good idea to have a lawyer review it. This is like getting a second opinion from a doctor. You want to make sure everything is legally sound.
Once the SLA is lawyer-approved, share it with your customers and make sure they understand it. Have them sign it to show they agree.
Also learn how to write:
➝ Politique de confidentialité
➝ Conditions générales d'utilisation
[ + Templates ]
Conclusion
A well-written sLA is a cornerstone of a successful SaaS business. It not only protects your interests but also builds trust with your customers. By following this guide step by step, you can create a comprehensive SLA that sets the foundation for a mutually beneficial partnership.
FAQ
-
An SLA sets clear expectations between the SaaS provider and the customer: it outlines service levels, performance metrics, support commitments, and solutions in case of non-compliance, fostering trust and transparency.
-
Include: a service scope, uptime guarantees, support details, remedies for breaches, security measures, exclusions, and legal considerations.
-
Consider industry standards, your infrastructure capabilities, and the needs of your target customers. Attempt to balance between promising high availability and guaranteeing you can consistently deliver on your commitment.
-
Your SLA will have outlined solutions for such situations, typically providing service credits, refunds, or other forms of compensation.
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