SLA for a small SaaS: uptime, credits and support
What an SLA covers, what 99.9% or 99.5% uptime means in minutes, how service credits work with a worked example, and support hours and exclusions.
The short answer
A service level agreement (SLA) says how available your service will be, how quickly you respond to faults, how both are measured, and what the customer gets when you miss them, usually a service credit off the next invoice. For a small SaaS it sits beside the subscription agreement and covers only the service levels.
Promise what your monitoring can prove and your team can deliver. A 99.9% target sounds better than 99.5%, but in a 30-day month it leaves 43 minutes of downtime instead of 216, and every minute beyond it costs money.
What an SLA for a small SaaS covers
QuoteBill’s SLA sample is built from these parts, each with blanks you set:
- The services covered, and that trial, test and beta features are not.
- Service levels: monthly availability, response times and target fix times.
- Measurement: the monitoring tool, how often it checks, and how long an outage must last to count.
- Support hours, severity levels and the channel for reporting faults.
- Planned maintenance, exclusions and the customer’s own duties.
- Monthly reporting, service credits, and the right to leave after repeated failures.
What uptime percentages mean in minutes
Translate a target into the downtime it allows before you sign. A 30-day month has 30 × 24 × 60 = 43,200 minutes, and a 31-day month 44,640, so state that availability is measured per calendar month:
- 99.9% allows 0.1% of 43,200, which is 43.2 minutes a month.
- 99.5% allows 0.5% of 43,200, which is 216 minutes, or 3 hours 36 minutes.
- 99.0% allows 1% of 43,200, which is 432 minutes, or 7 hours 12 minutes.
- 95.0% allows 5% of 43,200, which is 2,160 minutes, or 36 hours.
Worked example: a missed month and its credit
A customer pays an illustrative 800 a month. The SLA uses the sample’s defaults: a 99.5% target, and credits of 5% below 99.5%, 15% below 99.0% and 30% below 95.0%, capped at 30% of the monthly fee. In a 30-day month the service is down for 300 minutes because of a fault, plus 3 hours of announced maintenance, which does not count.
Under the sample the customer asks for the credit in writing within 30 days after the monthly report, and the agreed credit comes off the next invoice; it is paid out only if no further invoice will follow.
- Availability: (43,200 − 300) ÷ 43,200 = 99.31%, rounded.
- That is below 99.5% but at least 99.0%, so the credit is 5%.
- Credit for the month: 800 × 0.05 = 40.
- Next month’s invoice: 800 − 40 = 760.
Support hours, maintenance and exclusions
Response times only mean something with support hours and severity levels beside them. The sample counts in business hours from the moment a report reaches the support channel: a critical fault gets a response within 1 hour and a fix or workaround aimed for within 8, a high one 4 hours and 2 business days, a normal one 1 business day and 5. Resolution times are targets; the credits attach to availability.
Planned maintenance of up to 4 hours a month, announced 48 hours ahead, does not count as downtime. Neither do faults caused by the customer’s own systems or connection, third-party services the customer chose, events beyond your reasonable control, or beta features. Time spent waiting for the customer’s information or access does not count against you either.
Writing it and billing credits with QuoteBill
Read the service level agreement and software subscription samples on their public pages; the SLA names the service contract it is added to and prevails on service levels only. Fill the blanks with figures your monitoring can actually measure, then send both through E-Contracts. It is a simple electronic signature with an audit trail, not an advanced or qualified electronic signature, and QuoteBill does not verify who signs; whether that is enough depends on the contract and the country. The sample texts are not legal advice.
For a credit, either issue a credit note that names the month and the invoice, or give a discount of the credit amount on the next invoice’s subscription line and explain it in “Notes”. QuoteBill does not monitor uptime or calculate credits; it prints the figures you enter.
Check before you commit to a target
Five questions for the provider:
- Can your monitoring prove the figure, at the interval and place the SLA names?
- How many minutes of downtime does the target allow, and did you have more last quarter?
- Are support hours and severity levels realistic for your team, including holidays?
- Is the total credit capped, and is it the usual remedy?
- Are maintenance windows, exclusions and the customer’s duties written down?
Questions people ask
Is 99.9% uptime a good target for a small SaaS? Only if your architecture and monitoring support it; it allows about 43 minutes a month. Many small providers start at 99.5% and raise it once they have a track record.
Does planned maintenance count as downtime? Not when it is announced in advance and stays within the agreed monthly limit. Urgent security maintenance may count unless the parties agree otherwise.
Are service credits the only remedy? In the sample they are the usual remedy for missed availability, but they do not limit rights the law gives that cannot be excluded, and repeated failures let the customer end the service.
Do I need an SLA at all? Not every customer asks for one, but business customers often do. A short SLA with honest targets builds trust more than vague promises in a sales email.
Browse the 119 sample contracts
250 Free Invoice, Quote & Receipt Templates
Software maintenance invoice
Invoice template for developers on a support contract: monthly bug fixes, security patch deployment and incident response. Download it as Excel or Word.
IT support invoice
Invoice template for IT support providers: office PC setup, account access recovery and remote technical support. Fill it in online or download Excel or Word.
Subscription credit note template
Subscription credit note template: unused days, a plan downgrade or a service outage credit, with the billing period and how the prorated amount was worked out.
Use QuoteBill in ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini
Connect QuoteBill to ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini in about three minutes, then ask for quotations and invoices in plain words. Setup steps, example requests and privacy.
Quote to invoice: convert an accepted quote
Turn an accepted quote into a separate invoice draft in QuoteBill. Keep the original quotation, review dates and amounts, save, and prepare a PDF.
Quotation vs invoice: differences and timing
Compare a quotation and an invoice by purpose, dates, amounts, and next steps. Follow a practical project example and the matching QuoteBill workflow.
How to write a quotation: fields and checklist
Write a clear quotation with customer details, scope, quantities, prices, dates, and terms. Use a worked example and check the QuoteBill PDF before sharing.
Invoice payment terms: Net 15, Net 30, due dates
Write clear invoice payment terms with Net 15 and Net 30 examples, an explicit due date, deposit checks, and a practical follow-up checklist.
Freelance invoice checklist: hours and fees
Prepare a freelance invoice with a worked hourly-plus-fixed-fee example, scope and expense checks, billing details, and a PDF checklist before sending.
International invoice currency: rates and fees
Clarify invoice currency, settlement currency, exchange-rate examples, and bank fees. Review cross-border tax and QuoteBill country-setting limits.
Invoice numbering: sequences and corrections
Plan a traceable invoice numbering system with year and sequence examples, checks across devices, correction records, and QuoteBill numbering limits.
Proforma vs invoice: payment and export use
Compare a proforma, payment invoice, and commercial export invoice with a worked goods-order example and a checklist for choosing the right document.
German invoice requirements: the mandatory details
What a German invoice must contain under § 14 UStG, the small-amount invoice up to EUR 250, small-business and reverse-charge notes, and the e-invoice dates.
Japan qualified invoice: the required entries
The six entries a Japanese qualified invoice must carry, how the registration number is written, how amounts are split by tax rate and rounded, and when a simplified invoice is allowed.
Korean tax invoice: required entries and the electronic form
The four mandatory entries on a Korean tax invoice, the optional ones, when an electronic tax invoice must be issued and transmitted, and how it differs from an exempt-supply invoice.
Quote, proforma, invoice, receipt, credit note: which to use
Which document belongs to which stage of a sale: when each is issued, who issues it, what it shows and its tax effect, with one order traced end to end.
Credit note vs invoice (and credit memo): how to issue one
When to issue a credit note instead of editing an invoice, what it must show, a worked return example, and how it differs from a credit memo and a debit note.
What a receipt must show (and receipt vs invoice)
What to put on a payment receipt, how it differs from an invoice, how to handle deposits and part payments, and a worked example: two receipts, one invoice.
Estimate vs quote: what binds you, with a remodeling example
Estimate or quote: the practical difference, splitting labor, materials and equipment, clauses for hidden damage and changes, and a worked remodeling example.
Are QuoteBill e-signatures legally binding? How they work
What a QuoteBill e-signature records, how EU, US, Korean, Japanese and German law treat simple electronic signatures, and which documents need another form.
Simple, advanced or qualified e-signature?
The three eIDAS levels in plain words, where QuoteBill's simple signature fits, when it is enough, and how Korea, Japan and Germany draw the line.
Japan’s stamp duty: do electronic contracts need a stamp?
Why an electronic contract needs no Japanese revenue stamp, when a printout or paper original becomes taxable, and which paper contracts still need one.
Japan: keeping an electronic contract as a tax record
Keeping a contract made by email or e-signing service as data under Japan's electronic transaction rules: retention period, requirements, 2024 grace measure.
Japan's Freelance Act: terms a client must put in writing
What a Japanese client must state when commissioning a freelancer: the eight items, email and chat as valid means, the 60-day payment rule and where to turn.
Free DocuSign alternative for simple contracts
A free way to get a simple contract signed online: what QuoteBill E-Contracts does, what it does not, and when you need an advanced e-signature service.
Free invoice template in Excel, Word or PDF
Which format suits an invoice: Excel with live formulas, editable Word or PDF. Fill it in online, no download needed, with a worked example and a checklist.
Free quotation template in Excel, Word or PDF
Excel, Word or PDF for a quotation: live formulas while the price moves, editable wording, a final PDF. With a painting example and a pre-send checklist.
119 English contract templates to edit and save as PDF
119 sample contracts with English clauses: read each in full, edit online, save as PDF. Why there is no Word file, and what to check before use.
Compare free invoice generators: ten checks
Ten product-neutral checks for a free invoice generator: formats, account, tax, numbering, data and price. Where QuoteBill meets each, and where it does not.
How to write an invoice: a step-by-step example
The ten parts of an invoice in order, a worked example with tax and a deposit, what changes in the US, UK, EU, Australia, Japan and Korea, and a final check.
UK VAT invoice requirements: full, simplified, modified
What HMRC says a full UK VAT invoice must show, when a simplified or modified invoice is enough, when no VAT invoice is needed, with a worked 20% example.
EU VAT invoice requirements and the reverse charge
The Article 226 list of what an EU invoice must show, the reverse charge on cross-border sales, the 15th-day deadline and the e-invoicing change of 2030.
Australian tax invoice: GST requirements explained
What an Australian tax invoice must show under and over $1,000, the $82.50 and 28-day rules, and what to send if you are not registered for GST.
How to calculate VAT: add it, remove it, round it
The three VAT formulas, taking tax out of a gross price without the usual mistakes, rounding per line or on the subtotal, and showing VAT on an invoice.
Korea’s 3.3% freelancer withholding: how to invoice
Why Korean clients deduct 3.3% from freelance fees, who it applies to, a worked 1,500,000-won example, how to write the invoice and what happens at year end.
Deposit invoice: bill upfront, then invoice the balance
How to agree, invoice and receipt a deposit, two ways to bill the balance, when tax falls due on a deposit, and a worked 30% example that adds up.
Payment reminder email: three templates and timing
A polite reminder schedule, three emails to adapt for an overdue invoice, how to handle part payments, and when interest or fees may be added.
How to price freelance work: hourly, day rate or project
Work out an hourly rate from your income target, costs and billable hours, turn it into a day rate and a project price, and choose the right pricing model.
Retainer vs hourly billing: which to use and how to bill
How a monthly retainer and hourly billing share the risk, one quarter billed both ways, what a retainer agreement should say, and how to invoice each.
Freelance contract checklist: 12 points before signing
Twelve points every freelance contract should settle, a website job filled in clause by clause, the client’s side of it, and how to sign it online.
How to write a statement of work (SOW), with an example
What a statement of work contains, how to write a scope that can be checked, a three-milestone example, acceptance and changes, and billing each milestone.
When do you need an NDA? Mutual vs one-way
When a non-disclosure agreement helps and when it does not, mutual or one-way, the clauses that matter, and a worked example of an agency pitch.
How to get a contract signed online, step by step
From draft to signed copy: sending the link and code, what to tell your client, reminders, deadlines, lost links and corrections, and what to keep afterwards.
Influencer sponsorship contract: what to agree first
What creators and brands should agree before a paid post: deliverables, approval, ad disclosure, usage rights, exclusivity and fees, with a worked example.
Video editor contract: revisions, files and rights
What a creator and a video editor should agree: included tasks, revision rounds, ownership, AI tools, account access, music licences and a monthly fee example.
Licensing AI-generated artwork: what to put in writing
What copyright offices say about images made with AI tools, what an honest licence should state, likenesses and tool terms, and a book cover example.
SLA for a small SaaS: uptime, credits and support
What an SLA covers, what 99.9% or 99.5% uptime means in minutes, how service credits work with a worked example, and support hours and exclusions.
Data processing agreement (DPA): when you need one
When a small business needs a DPA, controller or processor, what GDPR Article 28 asks for, Korea’s entrustment rule, and a breach timeline example.
Create invoices from a spreadsheet automatically
Three ways to turn spreadsheet rows into invoices, how to plan the sheet, a three-row example, how the API automation runs and the limits to plan around.
Unpaid invoice: follow-ups, part payments and statements
What a customer still owes after part payments and credit notes, how to follow up before and after the due date, and when to send a statement of account.