Article · 15 min read

Enterprise Customer Contract Checklist for Indian SaaS Startups: MSA, DPA, SLA, IP and Payment Terms Founders Should Fix

Bhavya Sharma & Associates Free Beginner India

The generic contract advice online assumes US paper. This is the Indian version: the Indian Contract Act, the DPDP Act, GST and TDS on invoices, and FEMA when the deal is cross border. Read it before an Indian enterprise buyer sends you their procurement pack.

  • An MSA plus order form should carry scope, term, usage limits, payment, confidentiality, warranties, liability cap, indemnity, suspension, termination and governing law.
  • Cap liability at fees paid over a defined period, and carve out higher caps only for confidentiality and data incidents, not all claims.
  • The IP line is simple: the startup owns the platform, the customer owns its data, and roadmap improvements stay yours.
  • For Indian startups the base is the Indian Contract Act 1872, IT Act 2000 and the DPDP Act 2023, with a DPA covering subprocessors and breach notice.
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The question it answers

  1. The buyer said yes, and now it is going to legal and security. What actually happens next?

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