What Most Tech Contracts Miss (And Why It Matters)
For developers, digital agencies, and tech consultants navigating client agreements.
Most people commissioning software or outsourcing a tech project believe they’re covered once a contract is signed.
But here’s what we often see:
A contract is downloaded, recycled, or patched together from older projects. It looks official, but it misses the mark in the places that matter most.
And for developers, designers, SaaS founders or digital agencies that can cause real problems. Especially when something goes wrong, or when the business grows and suddenly needs to scale, attract investors, or sell.
These are the common gaps we find in tech contracts. They're simple on the surface, but messy (and expensive) to fix later.
Unclear IP Ownership
This one comes up a lot.
Who actually owns the code, designs, content or backend?
We’ve seen situations where a founder assumed they owned the tech stack only to learn the developer still held the rights because the contract didn’t say otherwise. That can derail funding, partnerships, or a sale.
Make sure intellectual property clauses are specific and accurate. It’s not enough to say “you own what you paid for.” Spell it out. Who owns what? When does ownership transfer? What happens if the project ends early?
2. Scope Creep Without a Safety Net
It starts small — an extra feature here, a quick tweak there.
Before long, the project is 40 hours over, deadlines are off, and no one can agree who’s responsible. This is classic scope creep, and it happens when contracts don’t include a clear process for managing changes.
A strong commercial contract should include:
What’s in scope, in plain terms
What happens when something outside scope is requested
How changes get approved, costed, and signed off
This protects everyone not just the service provider. Clients also benefit from clarity, predictability, and accountability.
3. Liability and Indemnity Are an Afterthought
Most templates include generic legal language about liability — but in tech, that’s not always enough.
If a website crashes, if customer data is exposed, if a SaaS platform goes offline for days, who’s responsible? And to what extent?
Boilerplate clauses often don’t cover the real risks. They also don’t reflect the size, complexity or value of the work.
If you’re a developer, think about how exposed you are under a contract. If you’re the client, ask yourself how much risk you’re accepting by default. These clauses deserve attention not a copy-paste job.
This is where talking to a lawyer who understands tech and business can make all the difference.
It’s Not About Paranoia. It’s About Preparedness.
“Contracts don’t need to be scary or full of legalese. But they should match the complexity and value of the work. That’s true for $2k websites and $200k SaaS platforms alike.”
If you're working with clients in the tech world, help them pause and ask: Does this contract actually reflect what we're building?
Because patching problems mid-project (or worse, mid-dispute) is always more painful than getting it right at the start.
Need a second set of eyes on a contract?
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