Example

service level
agreement
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for small businesses.
You are free to edit and use this document in your
business.
Important information:
As every company is diferent, please seek
professional advice when creating your data
protection policy. Your usiness may face
circumstances and issues that are not covered y
this sample policy.
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"as is# asis. I! $onut cannot take any responsiility
for the conse%uences of errors or omissions. Any
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document. !hese individuals and organisations
exclude all warranties and representations, express
or implied, in respect of your use of the wesite
and its content.
'ervice level agreement
(')A*
Introduction
This service level agreement (!"# describes the levels of service
that $company name% (&the client'# will receive from $IT supplier
name% (&the supplier'#.
This !" should be read alongside the IT support contract between
the client and the supplier. "lthough the !" covers key areas of the
client's IT systems and support, the support contract may include
areas not covered by this !".
+urpose
The client depends on IT e(uipment, software and services
(together) &the IT system'# that are provided, maintained and
supported by the supplier. ome of these items are of critical
importance to the business.
This service level agreement sets out what levels of availability and
support the client is guaranteed to receive for speci*c parts of the IT
system. It also e+plains what penalties will be applied to the supplier
should it fail to meet these levels.
This !" forms an important part of the contract between the client
and the supplier. It aims to enable the two parties to work together
efectively.
'cope
+arties
This !" is between)
!he client: !he supplier:
,
This document has been produced by IT Donut, www.itdonut.co.uk, a website ofering
technology advice for small businesses. -either IT Donut, nor its employees, e+perts,
sponsors or syndication partners are liable for any losses or damages arising from your use
of this document. These individuals and organisations e+clude all warranties and
representations, e+press or implied, in respect of your use of the website and its content.
$company name%
$company address%
$address line .%
$address line ,%
/ey contact) $name%
$telephone 0
email%
$company name%
$company address%
$address line .%
$address line ,%
/ey contact) $name%
$telephone 0
email%
$ates and reviews
This agreement begins on and will run for a period of
,numer- months.
It may be reviewed at any point, by mutual agreement. It may also
be reviewed if there are any changes to the client's IT system.
E%uipment, software and services
covered
This !" covers only the e(uipment, software and services in the
table below. This list may be updated at any time, as long as both
the client and supplier are in agreement.
1lease note)
The supplier guarantees response and resolution times for
all items listed in this section.
The supplier guarantees uptime only for items with a tick in
the .overed for uptime/ column.
These items have been assigned a priority level, from 2 (most
important# to , (least important#. The priority levels help determine
the guaranteed uptime and response and resolution times.
[Edit this table to refect your own business. Sometimes this
information is contained in a separate database or document. Often,
the supplier will include extra details, like hardware serial numbers
or software licence keys.]
Item type &um
er of
items
+riori
ty
.overed
for
uptime/
34ce server
H ro!iant "!#$
2 2

5
This document has been produced by IT Donut, www.itdonut.co.uk, a website ofering
technology advice for small businesses. -either IT Donut, nor its employees, e+perts,
sponsors or syndication partners are liable for any losses or damages arising from your use
of this document. These individuals and organisations e+clude all warranties and
representations, e+press or implied, in respect of your use of the website and its content.
Desktop computers
%ell Optilex &$'$
26 .
!aptop computers
(pple "ac)ook (ir
, .
"ll7in7one printer
*erox +orkcentre
2 ,
Tablet computers
(pple iad (ir
, .
8obile phones
)lack)erry ,#$
9 .
:loud backup
#-) ser.ice
2 2

Internet connection
#$$"bps /bre ser.ice
2 2

"ccounting software
Sa0e 1$ (ccounts rofessional
2 .

;eb hosting
ri.ate 2loud packa0e
2 2

$"dd e+tra items as re(uired%
$-umbe
r%
$1riorit
y%
Exclusions
This !" is written in a spirit of partnership. The supplier will always
do everything possible to rectify every issue in a timely manner.
<owever, there are a few e+clusions. This !" does not apply to)
"ny e(uipment, software, services or other parts of the IT
system not listed above
oftware, e(uipment or services not purchased via and
managed by the supplier
"dditionally, this !" does not apply when)
The problem has been caused by using e(uipment, software
or service(s# in a way that is not recommended.
The client has made unauthorised changes to the
con*guration or set up of afected e(uipment, software or
services.
=
This document has been produced by IT Donut, www.itdonut.co.uk, a website ofering
technology advice for small businesses. -either IT Donut, nor its employees, e+perts,
sponsors or syndication partners are liable for any losses or damages arising from your use
of this document. These individuals and organisations e+clude all warranties and
representations, e+press or implied, in respect of your use of the website and its content.
The client has prevented the supplier from performing
re%uired maintenance and update tasks.
The issue has been caused by unsupported e(uipment,
software or other services.
This !" does not apply in circumstances that could be reasonably
said to be beyond the supplier's control. >or instance) ?oods, war,
acts of god and so on.
This !" also does not apply if the client is in breach of its contract
with the supplier for any reason (e.g. late payment of fees#.
<aving said all that, $supplier% aims to be helpful and
accommodating at all times, and will do its absolute best to assist
$client% wherever possible.
0esponsiilities
'upplier responsiilities
The supplier will provide and maintain the IT system used by the
client. The IT support contract between the supplier and the client
includes full details of these responsibilities.
"dditionally, the supplier will)
@nsure relevant software, services and e(uipment are
available to the client in line with the uptime levels listed
below.
Aespond to relevant support re(uests within the timescales
listed below.
Take steps to escalate and resolve issues within the timescales
listed below.
8aintain good communication with the client at all times.
.lient responsiilities
The client will use the supplier7provided IT system as intended.
The IT support contract between the supplier and the client includes
full details of the IT system and its intended uses.
"dditionally, the client will)
-otify the supplier of issues or problems in a timely manner.
1rovide the supplier with access to e(uipment, software and
services for the purposes of maintenance, updates and fault
prevention.
8aintain good communication with the supplier at all times.
B
This document has been produced by IT Donut, www.itdonut.co.uk, a website ofering
technology advice for small businesses. -either IT Donut, nor its employees, e+perts,
sponsors or syndication partners are liable for any losses or damages arising from your use
of this document. These individuals and organisations e+clude all warranties and
representations, e+press or implied, in respect of your use of the website and its content.
1uaranteed uptime
2ptime levels
In order to enable the client to do business efectively, the supplier
guarantees that certain items will be available for a certain
percentage of time.
These uptime levels apply to items in the E%uipment, software
and services covered table that show a tick in the .overed for
uptime/ column.
The level of guaranteed uptime depends on the priority level of each
item)
+riority
level
1uaranteed
uptime
2 CC.CD
. CC.=D
, CCD
3easurement and penalties
Eptime is measured the using supplier's automated systems, over
each calendar month. It is calculated to the nearest minute, based
on the number of minutes in the given month (for instance, a ,27day
month contains 55,B56 minutes#.
If uptime for any item drops below the relevant threshold, a penalty
will be applied in the form of a credit for the client.
This means the following month's fee payable by the client will be
reduced on a sliding scale.
The level of penalty will be calculated depending on the number of
hours for which the service was unavailable, minus the downtime
permitted by the !")
+riority
level
+enalty per hour
(1ro7rated to nearest minute#
2 =D of total monthly fee
9
This document has been produced by IT Donut, www.itdonut.co.uk, a website ofering
technology advice for small businesses. -either IT Donut, nor its employees, e+perts,
sponsors or syndication partners are liable for any losses or damages arising from your use
of this document. These individuals and organisations e+clude all warranties and
representations, e+press or implied, in respect of your use of the website and its content.
. .D of total monthly fee
, 2D of total monthly fee
Important notes:
Eptime penalties in any month are capped at =6D of the total
monthly fee.
Eptime measurements e+clude periods of routine
maintenance. These must be agreed between the supplier and
client in advance.
1uaranteed response and resolution times
;hen the client raises a support issue with the supplier, the supplier
promises to respond to the issue and then resolve it in a timely
fashion.
0esponse times
The response time measures how long it takes the supplier to
respond to a support re(uest raised via the supplier's online support
system.
The supplier is deemed to have responded when it has replied to the
client's initial re(uest. This may be in the form of an email or
telephone call, to either provide a solution or re(uest further
information.
Fuaranteed response times depend on the priority of the item(s#
afected and the severity of the issue. They are shown in this table)
Issue severity (see 'everity levels section,
below#
>atal evere 8edium 8inor
Item
priori
ty
2 2= minutes 2= minutes ,6 minutes B6 minutes
. ,6 minutes ,6 minutes 5= minutes B6 minutes
, B6 minutes B6 minutes 9= minutes C6 minutes
G
This document has been produced by IT Donut, www.itdonut.co.uk, a website ofering
technology advice for small businesses. -either IT Donut, nor its employees, e+perts,
sponsors or syndication partners are liable for any losses or damages arising from your use
of this document. These individuals and organisations e+clude all warranties and
representations, e+press or implied, in respect of your use of the website and its content.
Aesponse times are measured from the moment the client submits a
support re(uest via the supplier's online support system.
Aesponse times apply during standard working hours (Cam H
=.,6pm# only, unless the contract between the client and supplier
speci*cally includes provisions for out of hours support.
0esolution times
The resolution time measures how long it takes the supplier to
resolve or *+ an issue raised via the supplier's online support
system.
Fuaranteed resolution times only apply when the highest7priority
items are afected by the most serious issues. In other situations,
the supplier will make its best efort to resolve the issue as soon as
possible.
Issue severity (see 'everity levels section,
below#
>atal evere 8edium 8inor
Item
priori
ty
2 2 hour 2.= hours . hours Iest efort
. . hours 5 hours Iest efort Iest efort
, 5 hours Iest efort Iest efort Iest efort
Aesponse times are measured from the moment the client submits a
support re(uest via the supplier's online support system.
'everity levels
The severity levels shown in the tables above are de*ned as follows)
4atal: :omplete degradation H all users and critical
functions afected. Item or service completely unavailable.
'evere: igni*cant degradation H large numer of users
or critical functions afected.
3edium: !imited degradation H limited numer of users
or functions afected. Iusiness processes can continue.
C
This document has been produced by IT Donut, www.itdonut.co.uk, a website ofering
technology advice for small businesses. -either IT Donut, nor its employees, e+perts,
sponsors or syndication partners are liable for any losses or damages arising from your use
of this document. These individuals and organisations e+clude all warranties and
representations, e+press or implied, in respect of your use of the website and its content.
3inor: mall degradation 5 few users or one user
afected. Iusiness processes can continue.
3easurement and penalties
Aesponse and resolution times are measured using the supplier's
support ticketing system, which tracks all issues from initial
reporting to resolution.
It is vital the client raises every issue via this system. If an issue is
not raised in this way, the guaranteed response and resolution times
do not apply to that issue.
If the supplier fails to meet a guaranteed response or resolution
time, a penalty will be applied in the form of a credit for the client.
This means the following month's fee payable by the client will be
reduced on a sliding scale.
The level of penalty will be calculated depending on the number of
hours by which the supplier missed the response or resolution time,
minus the downtime permitted by the !")
+riority
level
+enalty per hour
(1ro7rated to nearest minute#
2 =D of total monthly fee
. .D of total monthly fee
, 2D of total monthly fee
Important notes:
Aesponse and resolution time penalties in any month are
capped at =6D of the total monthly fee.
Aesponse and resolution times are measured during working
hours (Cam H =.,6pm#.
>or instance, if an issue is reported at =pm with a response
time of B6 minutes, the supplier has until C.,6am the
following day to respond.
0ight of termination
The supplier recognises that it provides services that are critical to
the client's business.
26
This document has been produced by IT Donut, www.itdonut.co.uk, a website ofering
technology advice for small businesses. -either IT Donut, nor its employees, e+perts,
sponsors or syndication partners are liable for any losses or damages arising from your use
of this document. These individuals and organisations e+clude all warranties and
representations, e+press or implied, in respect of your use of the website and its content.
If the supplier consistently fails to meet the service levels described
in this document, the client may terminate its entire contract with
the supplier, with no penalty.
This right is available to the client if the supplier fails to meet
these service levels more than 6ve times in any single
calendar month.
'ignatures
This service level agreement is agreed as part of the IT support
contract between $client name% and $supplier name%)
'igned on ehalf of the client:
-ame):lick here to enter te+t.
1osition):lick here to enter te+t.
Date)
'igned on ehalf of the supplier:
-ame):lick here to enter te+t.
1osition):lick here to enter te+t.
Date)
22
This document has been produced by IT Donut, www.itdonut.co.uk, a website ofering
technology advice for small businesses. -either IT Donut, nor its employees, e+perts,
sponsors or syndication partners are liable for any losses or damages arising from your use
of this document. These individuals and organisations e+clude all warranties and
representations, e+press or implied, in respect of your use of the website and its content.