Sales Contracts, Agreements and Proposals Overview

Legally binding documents that define specific terms such as pricing, payment obligations, deliverables, and enforceable responsibilities between parties. These sales contracts will turn into automated billing and follow the process of payment and invoicing after signing. Examples include:

• Software Subscription Sales Contract – Defines the terms for accessing and using software on a recurring basis (monthly, annual, etc.), usually SaaS.

• Professional Services Sales Contract – Covers consulting, implementation, training, or other service-based work with defined deliverables.

• Maintenance & Support Sales Contract – Outlines ongoing technical support, updates, bug fixes, and service levels after software delivery.

Broader understandings that outline intentions, roles, or expectations, but may not include binding elements like costs or payment terms. Examples include:

• Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) – Ensures that confidential information shared between parties remains private and is not disclosed to others.

• Master Service Agreement (MSA) – Provides an overarching framework for the business relationship, with specific projects governed by separate Statements of Work (SOWs).

• Data Processing Addendum (DPA) – Defines how personal data is collected, processed, and protected, usually to comply with privacy laws like GDPR.

• Partnership Agreement – Outlines the terms of a business partnership, including roles, responsibilities, profit sharing, and decision-making authority.

Unlike sales contracts, agreements do not include line items, pricing, or payment terms. They are meant for formal, non-transactional arrangements.

A proposal is a pre sales contract document that presents one or more pricing options to a customer. The customer reviews the options, selects the one they want, and confirms their choice before a sales contract or payment is created.

Proposals fit between your initial sales conversation and the sales contract. Once a customer selects an option, a follow-up action triggers automatically. There are three options:

• Custom follow-up notifies you to take the next step manually.

• Automatically create and share sales contract generates a sales contract to be sent to the customer.

• Direct to Checkout sends the customer to a payment page with no sales contract required.