MKB Juristen drafts custom legal documents
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Having a service and maintenance agreement drafted by an SME lawyer typically costs between €600 and €2,000, and more for truly custom work with complex service levels. You pay for a contract that properly aligns scope, maintenance, response times, and liability. For an installation company maintaining a production line with control software, this is worthwhile as soon as downtime costs the customer significant money.
The short answer
- Costs: €600 to €2,000 with an SME lawyer, more for extensive customization.
- Process: intake, concept, revision round, and delivery, usually within one to two weeks.
- Template or customization: a template for simple situations, customization for high risks.
- When it pays off: for downtime damage, strict response times, penalty clauses, or the processing of personal data.
Having a service and maintenance agreement drawn up: what does it cost
The price depends on the complexity. Roughly:
- Standard contract based on a proven template, tailored to your situation: €600 to €1,000.
- Contract with SLA addendum and concrete response times: €1,000 to €2,000.
- Extensive customization with multiple objects, penalty clauses, and a data processing agreement: €2,000 and more.
A good contract that you reuse for years with multiple clients usually pays for itself with the first conflict it prevents. In the installation industry, this often involves production lines where an hour of downtime costs more than the entire contract.
The process step by step
For an SME lawyer, the drafting process typically proceeds as follows:
- Intake. You discuss which objects and software are covered, what maintenance you will provide, and what service levels you wish to promise.
- Concept. The legal expert drafts a contract including scope, maintenance schedule, response times, costs, and duration.
- Review round. You review and make adjustments based on practical experience, such as the availability of your breakdown service.
- Delivery. You receive a final contract, often with an SLA appendix and a reusable template.
Expect a turnaround time of one to two weeks, depending on how quickly you provide input.
Template or custom
Not every situation calls for a fully customized solution. The choice:
- Template. Fast and inexpensive. Suitable if you provide standard maintenance to similar customers and there is little risk of downtime damage.
- Customization. Necessary as soon as you work with strict response times and penalties, maintain multiple types of objects, or process personal data. In that case, the contract must fit your service and liability precisely.
A sensible middle ground is a custom-made basic contract that you then fill in yourself for each client. That way, you pay once for quality and reuse it many times.
What the lawyer pays attention to
When drafting, a lawyer looks at the points where there are legal frictions:
- Nature of the obligation. Support and inspection constitute a contract within the meaning of Article 7:400 of the Dutch Civil Code; repair and replacement resemble a contract for work within the meaning of Article 7:750 of the Dutch Civil Code. That distinction determines your liability.
- Penalty clauses. A penalty in the SLA can be mitigated by the court pursuant to Article 6:94 of the Dutch Civil Code, so it must be reasonable.
- GDPR. If you process personal data on behalf of the customer during maintenance, a data processing agreement within the meaning of Article 28 of the GDPR is required.
- Exclusions and liability. Clear limitations prevent you from being held responsible for damage beyond your control.
Honest recommendation
If you have simple, recurring maintenance with limited risk, you do not need to hire a lawyer. A good custom template with scope, maintenance schedule, costs, and duration is sufficient, and that saves costs.
Do have the contract drafted as soon as downtime could cause significant damage to your client, as soon as you work with response times and penalty clauses, or as soon as you process personal data. In those cases, the risk of a poor contract outweighs the few hundred to two thousand euros a lawyer costs. Preferably opt for a customized basic contract that you then reuse yourself for each client.
Also read what a service and maintenance agreement is and the step-by-step plan for drafting a service and maintenance agreement. You can have one drafted immediately via the service and maintenance agreement.
Frequently Asked Questions
With an SME lawyer, typically €600 to €2,000. A standard contract based on a template is at the lower end, a contract with an SLA appendix and concrete response times is higher, and extensive customization with penalty clauses and a data processing agreement costs more.
Usually one to two weeks: intake, concept, revision round, and delivery. The turnaround time depends primarily on how quickly you provide the necessary information regarding assets, maintenance, and service levels.
For simple, recurring maintenance with limited risk, a good template may suffice. For strict response times, penalty clauses, multiple types of objects, or the processing of personal data, customization is more sensible.
As soon as downtime can cause significant damage to your client, as soon as you work with response times and penalties, or as soon as you process personal data, the risk of a bad contract outweighs the cost of a lawyer.
Which machines, installations, and software are covered, what preventive and corrective maintenance you provide, what response times you are willing to promise, how you invoice parts and call-out charges, and what duration you have in mind.
Often, yes. A sensible approach is a customized basic contract that you then fill in yourself for each client. This way, you pay once for quality and reuse the contract for multiple maintenance clients.
On the nature of the obligation (mandate within the meaning of Article 7:400 of the Dutch Civil Code versus contract for work within the meaning of Article 7:750 of the Dutch Civil Code), on reasonable penalty clauses in view of Article 6:94 of the Dutch Civil Code, on the GDPR regarding the processing of personal data, and on clear exclusions and liability.
