Free · Email-gated · South Africa

Free Master Services Agreement (MSA) Skeleton

Attorney-drafted master terms plus a Statement of Work template. Set the rules once, then add an SOW per engagement instead of renegotiating the whole contract.

Written by

Martin Kotze

Attorney, Conveyancer & Notary Public

Quick answer

This is a starter Master Services Agreement (MSA) — the standing legal terms between a service provider and a customer — with a Statement of Work (SOW) template at the back. The MSA sets the rules once; each engagement’s work, deliverables, timelines and fees go in an SOW that incorporates the MSA. It covers structure and order of precedence, the services and timelines, acceptance and change control, fees, IP ownership, confidentiality, a liability cap, and term and termination. Ideal for recurring consulting or development work where you don’t want to renegotiate everything each time. Complete the [ ● ] fields, then both parties sign. It is a starting point, not legal advice.

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What’s in the template

MSA + Statement of Work (SOW) structure — sign once, then add SOWs
Order of precedence between the MSA and each SOW
Services standard — due skill, care and diligence
Timelines tied to the customer providing inputs and approvals on time
Subcontracting with responsibility retained + consent for data access
Acceptance procedure + a change-control mechanism
Fees, invoicing + expenses framework
Intellectual-property ownership of the deliverables
Confidentiality + POPIA data-protection basics
Liability cap tied to fees paid under the relevant SOW
Term, renewal + termination (for convenience and for breach)
A blank SOW template at the back, ready to copy per engagement

What it’s not

A skeleton is a starting point, not a substitute for an attorney. It doesn’t cover:

  • The actual scope — each engagement still needs a properly drafted Statement of Work.
  • Regulated-industry terms, or deep IP and source-code escrow arrangements.
  • A POPIA operator agreement where the provider processes personal information at scale — pair the two.

Want the MSA built around your business?

We tailor the master terms, liability position and SOW template to how you actually deliver — or review the MSA a customer has put in front of you in 24 hours from R7,500.

Why you can trust this: Martin Kotze has been an admitted Attorney of the High Court of South Africa, registered Conveyancer, and Notary Public since 2014, practising from Pretoria. The firm is regulated by the Legal Practice Council under firm registration F17333.

This guide is general information, not legal advice for your specific matter.