Uptime & SLA benchmarks
Uptime percentages compress badly into intuition, so the table converts each common tier into the downtime it actually permits per month — before maintenance windows and force majeure exclusions widen it further. In our drafting practice, standard B2B SaaS lands in the 99.5–99.9% band, while enterprise and regulated-sector deals start at 99.95%.
| Uptime commitment | Downtime budget per month | Where it is typically drafted |
|---|---|---|
| 99% | ~7.3 hours / month | Rarely acceptable for production SaaS; seen in legacy systems and internal tooling. |
| 99.5% | ~3.7 hours / month | The entry point for standard B2B SaaS commitments. |
| 99.9% | ~44 minutes / month | The upper end of the standard B2B SaaS band; the most commonly drafted production tier. |
| 99.95% | ~22 minutes / month | The floor for enterprise and regulated-sector deals. |
| 99.99% | ~4.4 minutes / month | Premium tier; only credible where the architecture (multi-zone redundancy, failover) actually supports it. |
The remedy matters as much as the number: service credits commonly run at 5–25% of the monthly fee per breach, with credit caps of 50–100% of the monthly fee, and a chronic-failure termination right triggered by three breaches in six months or two consecutive months. Our SLA guide unpacks the full drafting anatomy.
Liability caps
The liability cap is the most-negotiated clause in SA tech contracting. These are the positions we draft from and the ranges we see counterparties accept — the cap multiple is rarely the real fight; the carve-outs are.
| Contract type | Typical cap | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| B2B SaaS — standard | 12 months' fees | The default position in SA SaaS drafting; calculated on fees paid in the 12 months preceding the claim. |
| B2B SaaS — enterprise-negotiated | 24 months' fees | Enterprise procurement teams routinely push the multiple up; 24 months is the common landing point. |
| Software development | Fees paid, or total contract value | Milestone-based builds usually cap at fees actually paid; fixed-scope builds at contract value. |
| Common carve-outs (uncapped or super-capped) | IP indemnity · confidentiality · POPIA penalties · gross negligence / fraud | These heads of liability typically sit outside the cap, or under a separate higher "super cap". |
| Consumer contracts | CPA constrains disclaimers | The Consumer Protection Act limits how far liability can be excluded against consumers — B2B-style caps do not transplant. |
Warranty & support norms
These figures are common drafting positions, not guarantees any provider must meet — the severity matrix in particular should always be matched to what the provider's support operation can actually deliver. Response times are typically guaranteed; resolution times are framed as targets.
| Item | Benchmark range | Drafting notes |
|---|---|---|
| Defect warranty (development / implementation) | 6–12 months post-acceptance | Shorter for simple builds; 12 months where the client carries integration risk. |
| Annual support & maintenance fee | 15–22% of licence / build cost per annum | The long-standing software-industry band; SA practice sits squarely inside it. |
| P1 (system down) response | 1–4 hours | Business hours for standard tiers; 24/7 with the 1-hour end for enterprise support. |
| P2 (major impairment) response | 8 business hours | Commonly paired with a target-resolution window rather than a guarantee. |
| P3 (minor / cosmetic) response | Next business day | Resolution typically scheduled into the next maintenance release. |
Commercial terms
The payment and renewal mechanics that recur across SA SaaS, development and licensing work. Enterprise procurement policies override most of these — knowing the default tells you what a departure is worth at the negotiating table.
| Term | Benchmark | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Payment terms | Net 30 standard; net 45–60 enterprise-imposed | Net 30 is the SA default; larger procurement departments impose 45–60 days as policy. |
| Development deposits | 30–50% on commencement | Higher where the developer carries third-party licence or infrastructure costs upfront. |
| Auto-renewal notice (B2B subscriptions) | 60–90 days before renewal | The non-renewal notice window most commonly drafted into SA B2B SaaS terms. |
| API deprecation notice | 6–24 months | 6 months for minor deprecations; 12–24 months for breaking version changes demanded by enterprise integrators. |
Legal-fee benchmarks — the firm's fixed fees
These are MJ Kotze Inc's published fixed fees for bespoke technology-contract drafting, consolidated from the individual guides across this hub. Every fee is quoted upfront before work starts — no hourly estimates.
| Document | Fixed fee | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Bespoke SaaS / software licence / MSA | From R12,000 | Single master agreement with schedules. |
| API licence agreement | From R12,000 | Rate limits, key security, versioning, deprecation, POPIA operator terms. |
| End-user licence agreement (EULA) | From R8,500 | Consumer- or business-facing, CPA-aware. |
| SLA schedule | From R7,500 | Uptime, credits, severity matrix, chronic-failure exit. |
| Software development agreement | From the R15,000 region | Milestones, acceptance, IP assignment, warranty. |
| Data processing agreement (DPA) | From R6,500 | POPIA section 21 operator terms; GDPR-aligned where needed. |
| IP assignment agreement | From R6,500 | Contractor and founder IP clean-up. |
| IT outsourcing / managed services agreement | From R15,000 | Service schedules, governance, exit and transition-out. |
| 24-hour contract review | R2,000–R9,500 · see the review service | Per-document fixed fee by length and complexity; personally reviewed within 24 hours. |
How to use these numbers
Treat each benchmark as a negotiating anchor, not a rule. If a counterparty proposes a liability cap of three months' fees, or an SLA with no credit mechanism, or net-90 payment terms, the tables above tell you how far from market that position sits — and that distance is your leverage. Equally, holding out for 99.99% uptime from a two-person SaaS startup, or a 24-month warranty on a fixed-fee build, is asking for a number the other side cannot honestly stand behind.
Every deal varies. Sector regulation, deal size, who carries the integration risk, and the bargaining power of the parties all move these ranges — sometimes far outside them, legitimately. The benchmarks are the starting position we draft from, reviewed against what we see counterparties accept; they are not a substitute for reading the specific contract in front of you.
This page is general information about market practice in South African technology contracting, not legal advice. These figures are MJ Kotze Inc drafting benchmarks, last reviewed 12 June 2026, and will change as the market does. For advice on a specific agreement, speak to an attorney.
Frequently asked
What is a normal liability cap in SA SaaS contracts?
Twelve months' fees is the standard drafting position in South African B2B SaaS agreements — the provider's aggregate liability is capped at the fees paid in the 12 months before the claim arose. Enterprise-negotiated deals commonly land at 24 months' fees. The cap almost never applies to everything: IP-infringement indemnities, confidentiality breaches, POPIA-related penalties, and gross negligence or fraud are typically carved out entirely or placed under a separate higher super cap.
What uptime should I ask for in a SaaS SLA?
For standard B2B SaaS, 99.5%–99.9% is the realistic band — 99.9% still permits roughly 44 minutes of downtime a month. Enterprise and regulated-sector customers should push for 99.95% or better, but only from providers whose architecture genuinely supports it. The number matters less than the remedy: service credits of 5–25% of the monthly fee, a credit cap of 50–100% of the monthly fee, and a chronic-failure termination right (commonly three breaches in six months, or two consecutive months) are what give an SLA teeth.
Are these benchmarks based on a statistical survey?
No. These are MJ Kotze Inc drafting benchmarks — the norms the firm uses and the market-practice ranges it observes across its SaaS, development, licensing, outsourcing and data-protection drafting work in South Africa. They are published as negotiating reference points, not as survey data, and they are reviewed periodically (last reviewed 12 June 2026). Any specific deal can and does depart from them.
What is a reasonable annual support fee for software in South Africa?
The long-standing industry band is 15–22% of the licence fee or build cost per annum, and SA drafting practice sits squarely inside it. What the percentage buys should be spelt out in a severity matrix: common drafting positions are a 1–4 hour response for P1 (system down) incidents, 8 business hours for P2 (major impairment), and next business day for P3 (minor issues) — with response guaranteed and resolution framed as a target.
What does bespoke tech contract drafting cost in South Africa?
MJ Kotze Inc publishes fixed fees across the technology-contract stack: EULAs from R8,500; SLA schedules from R7,500; DPAs and IP assignments from R6,500; bespoke SaaS agreements, software licences, MSAs and API licences from R12,000; software development and IT outsourcing agreements from the R15,000 region; and a 24-hour contract review service at R2,000–R9,500 per document. Fixed fees are quoted upfront — not hourly estimates.