Master Service Agreement
A framework contract that sets the standing terms between two parties — fees, IP, liability, confidentiality and governing law — so each new project runs on a short order rather than a fresh negotiation..
What a Master Service Agreement is
A Master Service Agreement is a framework contract that sets the standing terms between two parties. It fixes fees, IP, liability, confidentiality and governing law once, before any single project starts.
Because those terms are settled up front, each new engagement runs on a short order or statement of work instead of a fresh negotiation. The MSA is the rulebook; the order is the day's work.
waxTable generates the document with its parts in a fixed order: parties and framework purpose first, then standing commercial terms, the order process, IP and confidentiality, liability and indemnity, term and termination, and finally governing law and signatures.
What to include in a Master Service Agreement
Parties & framework purpose
Name both parties and state that this is a standing framework, not a one-off project contract. This is what later orders point back to.
Standing commercial terms
Set the fee structure, invoicing and payment rules that hold across every project. These stay fixed so each order does not re-argue price mechanics.
Order & statement-of-work process
Define how a new project starts: what a short order or SOW must contain and how it attaches to this agreement. This is the part that replaces fresh negotiation.
IP & confidentiality
State who owns deliverables and background IP, and what information stays private. Settle ownership here so no order has to reopen it.
Liability & indemnity
Cap each party's exposure and say who covers whom for third-party claims. These limits govern every engagement under the framework.
Term & termination
Say how long the framework runs and how either side ends it, including what happens to open orders. The relationship needs a clean exit.
Governing law & signatures
Choose the governing law and venue, then close with the signature block. This is the part that makes the standing terms binding.
Getting the agreement right
Do
- Settle fees, IP, liability, confidentiality and governing law once, in the framework itself.
- Define the order process so each project can start on a short statement of work.
- Put the parts in order, from parties and framework purpose through governing law and signatures.
- Cap liability and name who indemnifies whom before any project begins.
- State who owns deliverables and background IP so no later order has to reopen it.
Avoid
- Don't fold project scope and price into the MSA when they belong in the order.
- Don't leave IP ownership unstated and force each engagement to negotiate it again.
- Don't skip the liability cap and let exposure run open across every project.
- Don't omit the term and termination part, leaving the relationship with no clean exit.
- Don't leave governing law blank, since it decides where any dispute is settled.
The old way vs. waxTable
How Waxe generates your Master Service Agreement
- 1
Name the two parties
You tell Waxe who the two parties are and the purpose of the framework. Waxe writes the opening part that names them and states this is a standing agreement, not a single-project contract.
- 2
Set the standing commercial terms
You give Waxe the fee structure, invoicing and payment rules. Waxe generates the standing commercial terms so they hold across every project and the order process can lean on them without re-arguing price.
- 3
Define the order process
Waxe writes the order and statement-of-work process that lets each new project start on a short document. This is the part that turns the framework into something you reuse, so a project attaches instead of re-negotiating.
- 4
Fix IP, liability and law
You set how strict the IP, confidentiality, liability and indemnity clauses should be. Waxe generates them, caps exposure, assigns ownership, and adds term, termination and governing law in their proper order before the signature block.
- 5
Review and regenerate
You read the full Master Service Agreement and adjust any clause. Waxe regenerates so the surrounding parts stay consistent, taking about five minutes for a few cents on each pass, as often as you need.
Frequently asked
What is a Master Service Agreement?
A Master Service Agreement is a framework contract that fixes the standing terms between two parties before any single project begins. It settles fees, IP ownership, liability, confidentiality and governing law one time, up front. Each later engagement then runs on a short order or statement of work rather than a fresh negotiation. waxTable generates one that names the parties, states the framework purpose, and orders the clauses so the relationship terms come first and the project specifics attach later. The result is a standing rulebook both sides sign once and reuse.
What does a Master Service Agreement contain?
It opens with the parties and the framework purpose, then sets the standing commercial terms that govern fees and invoicing. Next comes the order and statement-of-work process that lets each project start on a short document. Then IP and confidentiality define who owns what and what stays private. Liability and indemnity cap exposure, and term and termination say how the relationship ends. It closes with governing law and signatures. waxTable lays these parts out in exactly that order so nothing reads out of sequence.
How is an MSA different from a statement of work?
The Master Service Agreement is the standing layer; the statement of work is the per-project layer. The MSA settles fees structure, IP, liability, confidentiality and governing law once, so they never get re-argued. Each statement of work then just names the scope, deliverables and price for one engagement and inherits everything else from the MSA. That split is why a new project can begin on a short order instead of a full negotiation. waxTable builds the MSA to carry the standing terms and points its order process at the SOW that follows.
How long does it take waxTable to generate one?
Waxe drafts the full Master Service Agreement in about five minutes for a few cents, instead of the two days a from-scratch contract usually takes. You give Waxe the two parties, the commercial terms and how strict the IP and liability clauses should be. Waxe generates every part in order, from parties and framework purpose through governing law and signatures. You read it, adjust any clause, and regenerate as often as you need. The time and the few cents stay the same on each pass.
Can I adjust the liability and IP clauses after it generates?
Yes. Every part of the document is editable, including the liability and indemnity caps and the IP and confidentiality terms. You can tighten an indemnity, reassign IP ownership, or loosen a confidentiality window, then ask Waxe to regenerate so the surrounding clauses stay consistent. The order and statement-of-work process updates with it, so a change to standing terms still flows into each later order. Each regeneration takes about five minutes for a few cents, so revising is cheap to repeat.
Skip the writing — generate the whole master service agreement
Waxe drafts it on your brand in about five minutes, then you refine it. From two days of work to a few cents.
Your next master service agreement, in five minutes
Tell Waxe about the client and get a complete, on-brand master service agreement to review — the work of two days for a few cents. There is no blank page to start from and nothing to format by hand; you answer a short brief, Waxe does the drafting, and you keep full control of the final document in the editor.