Can I terminate a maintenance agreement before it expires?

It depends on the contract. We recommend agreeing a notice period (e.g. 30–90 days) and early termination conditions including any compensation.

Who pays for spare parts?

It depends on the contract. A common approach is to distinguish between labour (included in the SLA) and spare parts (billed at a rate card). This should be stated explicitly.

What is SLA escalation for repeated outages?

If the system repeatedly breaches the SLA (e.g. 3× per month), the contract should define an escalated penalty or a right to immediate termination without notice.

Should data backup be agreed in the maintenance agreement?

We recommend it. Backup should be part of the maintenance agreement — frequency, backup storage location, RTO (Recovery Time Objective) and RPO (Recovery Point Objective).

Commercial

Maintenance agreement

Maintenance agreement — regular upkeep without worry

Preventive and corrective maintenance with SLA and a clear price.

Start free Features

GDPR compliant · EU-hosted

Companies with a maintenance agreement reduce unplanned downtime by 45 %

Preventive maintenance is 3× cheaper than reactive servicing

A clear SLA in a maintenance agreement reduces average repair time by 35 %

A maintenance agreement for IT systems, equipment, buildings or software. AI defines scope, schedule, SLA, pricing and substitute performance upon failure.

Legal context

A maintenance agreement is an unnamed commercial contract governed by freedom of contract. SLA penalties must be proportionate to actual damages, otherwise a court may reduce them under moderation rights.

Commercial Code § 269(2) — unnamed contract; § 545 — court moderation right over SLA penalties

Legal basis & glossary

When to use a Maintenance agreement

For regular maintenance of IT infrastructure or software
For servicing production equipment or technology systems
For facility management of buildings and offices
When you need a guaranteed response time for breakdowns

What you get

Preventive and corrective maintenance
SLA response times
Fixed and variable pricing
Spare parts and warranties

How it works

From idea to signature

Preventive and corrective maintenance

SLA response times

Fixed and variable pricing

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about Maintenance agreement

Preventive maintenance is planned and regular (e.g. monthly checks). Corrective maintenance addresses failures as they occur. A maintenance agreement should cover both.