How to Write Terms and Conditions for a SaaS Product

SaaS terms of service are different from a generic website's terms. You're running an ongoing commercial relationship with recurring payments, account-based access, and software that people may depend on for their work.

Here's what yours needs to cover and why each clause matters.

1. What your service actually is

Start by defining the product. This sounds obvious, but a vague definition creates problems when users claim your software should do something it doesn't.

Include:

• A brief description of what the software does
• What it explicitly does not do (e.g., "not a substitute for professional legal/financial/medical advice")
• That you may update features over time

2. Account creation and eligibility

Who can create an account?

• Minimum age (typically 18 for a paid product, or 13 with parental consent)
• Whether business accounts and personal accounts are treated differently
• User responsibility for keeping login credentials secure
• That one account = one person or organisation (not to be shared unless you offer team plans)

3. Subscription, billing, and payment

This is where disputes most often arise. Be explicit:

• Billing cycle (monthly/annual)
• Auto-renewal — state clearly that subscriptions renew automatically
• How to cancel (and by when, to avoid the next billing cycle)
• What happens when payment fails (grace period, account suspension, data retention)
• Price changes — your right to change pricing and the notice period you'll give

4. Refund policy

State your refund policy in the terms — and make sure it's consistent with your separate refund policy page.

UK consumer law gives a 14-day right to cancel for digital services, but this can be waived if the user explicitly consents to immediate access and acknowledges the loss of cancellation right. For SaaS, many businesses offer "cancel anytime, no refund for the current period" — that's fine, but it must be stated.

5. Acceptable use

Define what users can and can't do with your software:

Prohibited uses typically include:

• Using the product to do anything illegal
• Attempting to scrape, reverse engineer, or extract the underlying code
• Reselling or sublicensing access without permission
• Sending spam or conducting fraud through the platform
• Uploading content that is illegal, harmful, or infringing

This protects you if a user misuses your platform and you need to terminate their account.

6. Intellectual property

Two directions:

Your IP: You own the software. Users get a limited, non-exclusive licence to use it. They can't copy it, resell it, or build on it without permission.

Their IP: If users upload content or create data in your platform, they own it. You have a licence to process it to deliver the service, but it's not yours.

This distinction matters — if a user asks for their data, your terms should confirm it belongs to them.

7. Service availability and disclaimers

Unless you're offering an SLA, you need a clause disclaiming guaranteed uptime:

• The service is provided "as is" and "as available"
• You don't guarantee it will be error-free or uninterrupted
• You may take it offline for maintenance

This protects you from claims if your infrastructure has downtime.

8. Limitation of liability

Cap what you can be held liable for. Typically:

• Your total liability is limited to the amount the user paid in the last 12 months
• You're not liable for indirect, consequential, or lost profit damages

Without this clause, a business user who claims your SaaS caused them financial loss could theoretically sue you for far more than your ARR.

9. Account termination

You need the right to suspend or terminate accounts:

• For violating the acceptable use policy
• For non-payment
• At your discretion, with reasonable notice

Also state what happens to user data after termination — how long you hold it and how they can export it.

10. Governing law and disputes

State which country's law governs the agreement and where disputes are resolved. For UK-based SaaS: typically England and Wales.

Generate your SaaS terms and conditions

InkTerms creates personalised terms of service for SaaS products — covering subscriptions, acceptable use, liability limits, IP, termination, and jurisdiction — tailored to your specific product.

Need this document for your business? InkTerms generates it in minutes — tailored to your answers, in plain English.