When Your Customer Insists On “Their Paper”

Practical contracting advice for growing tech companies

Landing a large customer should feel like a win. Then their procurement team emails a 40-page “Professional Services Agreement” and says: “We don’t sign vendor contracts. You’ll need to use our PSA.”

There’s just one problem: the deal doesn’t fit a professional services model. It’s a:

• SaaS subscription
• software license
• hardware sale with limited services
• usage-based API product

In other words, it’s the wrong contract for the deal.

The following provides a practical framework for evaluating the issues presented by this situation while supporting continued deal progress.

1. Reframe the Conversation (before it becomes a power struggle)