Select a contract template

Mutual Non-Disclosure Agreement (Mutual NDA): A bilateral confidentiality agreement (also called a mutual or two-way NDA) where each party is both discloser and recipient. Use it before partnership talks, diligence, joint ventures, or vendor evaluations to protect trade secrets, pricing, product roadmaps, and other proprietary information exchanged both ways.

Sources: Cornell LII: Non-disclosure agreement (NDA); Cornell LII: Trade secret

One-way Non-Disclosure Agreement (One-way NDA): A unilateral confidentiality agreement where only one party discloses sensitive information and the receiving party must keep it secret and use it only for an agreed purpose. Common for investor or customer pitches, contractor or vendor access, supplier RFPs, and one-directional product evaluations. Choose who is the discloser, then set purpose, definition breadth, term, survival, and optional clauses such as return of materials or affiliate access.

Sources: Cornell LII: Non-disclosure agreement (NDA); Cornell LII: Trade secret

Master Service Agreement (MSA): A master service agreement establishes the overarching legal framework for an ongoing customer and service-provider relationship: liability, intellectual property, confidentiality, payment mechanics, warranties, indemnity, termination, and dispute resolution. Future projects then attach as statements of work or order forms without renegotiating the full boilerplate each time.

Sources: Nolo: What is a master service agreement?

Statement of Work (SOW): A statement of work is the project-specific companion to an MSA. It defines scope of work, deliverables, acceptance criteria, milestones, timeline, fees, and responsibilities for a single engagement so commercial details stay clear while the MSA holds the standing legal terms.

Sources: Nolo: Master service agreements and SOWs

Services Agreement (SA): A services agreement (professional services contract) sets the commercial and legal terms for delivering consulting, creative, technical, or other business services in a single engagement: scope, fees, timelines, IP ownership, confidentiality, warranties, and termination when a full MSA and SOW stack is not needed.

Sources: Nolo: Master service agreements overview

Order Form (OF): An order form (sometimes called a work order or ordering document) sits under an MSA to lock SKUs, quantities, pricing, subscription terms, start dates, and commercial options for a purchase. It speeds SaaS and services sales by keeping product and price details out of the master legal terms.

Sources: Nolo: Master service agreements and related work orders

Pilot Agreement (Pilot): A pilot agreement (proof-of-concept or evaluation agreement) covers a time-boxed trial of a product or service before a full MSA or subscription. Typical terms include pilot scope, success criteria, limited licenses, data use, confidentiality, fees or fee waivers, and conversion to a production contract.

Sources: Nolo: Framework contracting for multi-phase engagements

Purchase Agreement (Purchase): A purchase agreement records a sale of goods or assets: what is being sold, the price, closing mechanics, representations, and when title and risk transfer. Use it when an LOI has done its job and the parties are ready to make the transaction binding.

Sources: Cornell LII: Sale; Cornell LII: Uniform Commercial Code

Consulting Agreement (Consulting): A consulting agreement is a services contract written for advisors: scope, fees, independence from employment, confidentiality, and who owns the advice or work product. Use it instead of a generic services agreement when the engagement is advisory rather than a full project stack.

Sources: FAR Part 37: Service Contracting (Acquisition.gov); IRS: Independent contractor or employee?

Vendor Agreement (Vendor): A vendor agreement is the standing paper for procurement: what is supplied, pricing, delivery, warranties, and how either side can end the relationship. Use it for recurring vendor onboarding instead of rewriting a services agreement each time.

Sources: Cornell LII: Contract; FAR Part 12: Acquisition of Commercial Products (Acquisition.gov)

SaaS Subscription Agreement (SaaS): A SaaS subscription agreement grants access to hosted software: subscription fees, authorized users, acceptable use, data handling, and renewal. Use it when you are selling or buying cloud software rather than a perpetual license or a services MSA.

Sources: Cornell LII: Contract; NIST: Cloud computing synopsis (SP 800-146)

Data Processing Agreement (DPA): A data processing agreement (processor contract) sets controller and processor roles for personal data: subject matter, duration, nature and purpose of processing, data types, data-subject categories, security measures, sub-processor rules, audit rights, and return or deletion at end of processing. Under GDPR Article 28, processing by a processor must be governed by a binding written contract with these elements.

Sources: GDPR.eu: What is a data processing agreement?; ICO: Contracts between controllers and processors; EUR-Lex: Commission SCCs for controllers and processors

Artificial Intelligence Addendum (AI Addendum): An AI addendum allocates rights and risks for artificial intelligence and machine-learning features: permitted model use, customer data for training or fine-tuning, ownership of prompts and outputs, confidentiality, human oversight, transparency to users, and security. Useful when products involve generative AI or high-risk AI systems covered by frameworks such as the EU AI Act and NIST AI RMF.

Sources: EU AI Act: Article 13 (transparency to deployers); NIST: AI Risk Management Framework

Letter of Intent (LOI): A letter of intent captures preliminary deal terms before a definitive purchase, investment, or commercial agreement. Core commercial terms are often non-binding, while confidentiality, exclusivity, and expense allocation are frequently binding so parties can diligence and negotiate without prematurely locking the full deal.

Sources: Baker McKenzie: Preliminary documents (letters of intent)

Term Sheet (TS): A term sheet summarizes headline economics and legal points (valuation, price, governance, closing conditions, and key covenants) that will guide a definitive agreement. Like an LOI, it is usually mostly non-binding except for selected negotiation protections such as confidentiality and exclusivity.

Sources: Baker McKenzie: Preliminary documents (term sheets and LOIs)

Independent Contractor Agreement (ICA): An independent contractor agreement documents a freelance or vendor engagement: scope of services, payment, expenses, intellectual property assignment, confidentiality, and termination. Clear written terms help show behavioral and financial independence for worker classification questions under IRS common-law guidance.

Sources: IRS: Independent contractor or employee?; IRS: About Form SS-8 (worker status determination)

Employment Agreement (Employment): An employment agreement covers the job, compensation, start date, confidentiality, and how the relationship can end. Use it when you are hiring an employee rather than a contractor, and pair it with a one-way NDA if you need extra confidentiality paper.

Sources: DOL: Employment relationship under the FLSA; IRS: Independent contractor or employee?

Employment Offer Letter (Offer Letter): An employment offer letter confirms the role, compensation, start date, and that employment is at-will unless you say otherwise. It is the signature-ready hiring document most teams send before or instead of a long-form employment agreement.

Sources: Cornell LII: Offer; DOL: Employment relationship under the FLSA

Contract Amendment (Amendment): A contract amendment (modification) updates an existing signed agreement: fee changes, renewals, scope expansions, party changes, or corrected terms. Written amendments keep the original contract intact while documenting what changed, when it takes effect, and which provisions remain in force.

Sources: Cornell LII: Contract modification; Cornell LII: Amend

Partnership Agreement (Partnership): A partnership agreement defines how two or more parties own and run a business together: capital contributions, profit and loss sharing, management, decision rights, and what happens if a partner leaves. Use it after early talks, once the parties are ready to formalize the relationship.

Sources: Uniform Law Commission: Uniform Partnership Act (1997); Cornell LII: Partnership; Cornell LII: Uniform Partnership Act

Joint Venture Agreement (Joint Venture): A joint venture agreement covers a defined collaboration that is not a full partnership: purpose, contributions, governance, IP, and how the venture ends. Use it when two companies will work a project together while remaining separate businesses.

Sources: Cornell LII: Joint venture; Cornell LII: Partnership

Software License Agreement (Software License): A software license agreement lets a user run software under defined conditions while the vendor keeps ownership. Typical terms include the license grant, restrictions, fees, IP, warranties, and liability. Use it for on-prem or licensed software, not for a hosted subscription.

Sources: U.S. Copyright Office: Copyright law; Cornell LII: License

IP Assignment Agreement (IP Assignment): An IP assignment agreement transfers copyrights, patents, or other intellectual property from the assignor to the assignee, usually for a stated consideration, with further-assurances language so the paperwork can be completed later. Common in contractor close-out, founder contributions, and work-product cleanup.

Sources: Cornell LII: Assignment; U.S. Copyright Office: Assignment and licenses

Loan Agreement (Loan): A loan agreement states how much is lent, the interest rate, how and when it is repaid, and what happens on default. Use it for a business or personal loan between identified parties when you need more than a handshake or a one-line promissory note.

Sources: Cornell LII: Promissory note; CFPB: What is a promissory note?

Commercial Lease Agreement (Commercial Lease): A commercial lease agreement covers business premises: the space, term, rent, permitted use, maintenance, and insurance. Use it for office, retail, or warehouse space. It is not a residential lease.

Sources: Cornell LII: Lease; SBA: Leasing commercial space