Master services agreement (MSA)
A master services agreement (MSA) is a contract that sets the standing terms of a business relationship, so each later project can be agreed with a short statement of work or order instead of a full contract.
Updated November 5, 2026 · 1 min read
On this page
What it covers
- Payment terms, invoicing and late fees.
- Who owns the work product and intellectual property.
- Confidentiality, indemnification and limits of liability.
- Insurance, warranties, termination and how disputes are resolved.
- An order of precedence: which document wins if the MSA and a statement of work disagree.
Why it matters
Negotiating liability and payment once, instead of on every job, saves both sides time and legal fees, and new projects move at the speed of a one-page statement of work. It also keeps terms consistent: an agency with a dozen projects for one client knows each runs on the same rules.
In SignMaster
Sign the MSA once, then send each SOW as its own envelope that refers to the MSA by date. Save the SOW as a template with text boxes for the scope and fee, and each new project takes a minute to send. The library has an MSA template to start from.