A pinch of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

 

 Contractual transparency is like having good insurance.

 

We’ve all got home insurance, car insurance, life insurance, heck even smartphone insurance. We purchase and agree to these types of insurance as they are meant to help protect us should things take a turn for the worse. I’d challenge non-profit organizations and small business owners to have the same viewpoint when it comes to the negotiation of subscription SaaS contracts. Especially for those applications that will be a critical and integral part of your day to day going forward. 

 

Why this perspective? We’ve all heard of scenarios in which a poorly written agreement comes back to surprise one or both parties that entered into it. This could be anything from poor support, lack of integration capabilities, data ownership, customer reference-ability and a whole host of others. 

 

While nobody really wants to view a new and exciting partnership with a service provider in this light, it’s got to be taken seriously as a failure to do so can have long term impacts to your core business. By seeking guidance/input on how to approach your SaaS relationships, you’ll be better positioned to drive value from the subscription itself, as opposed to being caught off guard by surprises that you weren’t made aware of and hadn’t thought to consider. 

 

Transparency means questions and concerns are discussed, understood and clearly documented. Don’t just sign thinking that a verbal conversation you had with the sales rep should be “good enough” to mitigate future challenges. Remember, team members change (on both sides), so your contracts should be built to stand the test of time. Making sure you fully understand and can protect your investment in the relationship is a prudent approach that more customers (and providers) need to consider sooner than later.