Skills Product & Business Custom SaaS Agreement Drafter

Custom SaaS Agreement Drafter

v20260804
yc-saas-drafter
Automates the creation of professional Customer Agreements for Software as a Service (SaaS). This tool starts with a Y Combinator standard template and customizes it using structured intake questions covering fee structures, data handling, ML rights, and services. It produces a clean, lawyer-ready DOCX and a detailed legal memo.
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Overview

Output Requirements

The final .docx must read like a lawyer drafted it. The output must contain:

  • Zero YC drafting annotations (*[Note:...]*, *[OPTIONAL:...]*)
  • Zero placeholder scaffolding ([OPTIONAL] markers, option guides)
  • Zero unfilled template brackets — except deliberate [TBD — description] markers for values the user couldn't provide, documented in the memo

The agreement title is "Customer Agreement" — NOT "SaaS Services Agreement".

If any annotation, note, or non-TBD bracket appears in the output, the draft is not ready. Fix it before delivering.


Workflow

Step 1: Load References

Before asking any questions, read all three reference files:

  • references/intake-questions.md — 15 question groups with branching and defaults
  • references/decision-matrix.md — maps answers to YC template actions (18 always-apply defaults, 12 conditional decisions, variable substitutions, raise-with-lawyer flags)
  • references/supplementary-language.md — pre-written clause text anchored by ID (always-apply blocks and conditional blocks)

The decision matrix tells you WHAT to change. The supplementary language gives you the EXACT TEXT to insert. Do not improvise contract language — if the matrix says to insert #DATA-PRIVACY, use the verbatim text from supplementary-language.md. The ONE exception is Order Form Service Fees, where the LLM composes from fee pattern examples.

Step 2: Run Intake

Follow the questions in references/intake-questions.md in order. Apply branching logic (e.g., skip implementation fee if no implementation, skip pilot details if no pilot, skip service capacity if flat pricing).

Key principles:

  • Offer defaults but let the user override
  • Use [TBD — description] for any value the user can't provide yet
  • Confirm all decisions in a summary before proceeding (template at the end of intake-questions.md)
  • Do NOT proceed to document assembly without user confirmation

Step 3: Produce the Agreement

Read the YC template from assets/YC_Form_SaaS_Agreement.docx.

Apply modifications in this order:

First — Always-apply defaults (decision-matrix.md Section A, items A1-A18):

  1. Rename Order Form title → "Order Form Number One"
  2. Rename "SaaS Services Agreement" → "Customer Agreement" throughout
  3. Update preamble date year
  4. Section 1.1 SLA reference — remove [OPTIONAL], always on
  5. Section 1.2 — change "Exhibit C" to "Exhibit B"
  6. Section 2.2 — strip export controls note (keep the language)
  7. Section 2.3 — delete customer indemnity clause + note entirely
  8. Section 2.5 — insert #DATA-PRIVACY (new section)
  9. Section 3.3 — remove optional framing (keep analytics language)
  10. Section 6 — restructure into 6.1/6.2/6.3: insert #WARRANTY-REMEDY, #CUSTOMER-WARRANTY, #BETA-DISCLAIMER
  11. Section 7 — remove optional note, remove "United States" from patent scope
  12. Section 8 — strip negotiation note
  13. Section 9 — replace YC press release language with #MARKETING-DEFAULT
  14. Exhibits — replace B + C with #EXHIBIT-B-CONSOLIDATED, delete Exhibit C
  15. Strip ALL remaining annotations and notes

Second — Conditional decisions (decision-matrix.md Section B, items B1-B12): Walk through each conditional decision. For each, look up the intake answer and apply the specified action. When the matrix references supplementary language (e.g., #NO-AUTO-RENEWAL), use the verbatim text.

Third — Variable substitutions (decision-matrix.md Section C): Replace all YC placeholders with intake values. Any field not collected → [TBD — description].

Fourth — Cleanup:

  • Remove any surviving annotations, brackets, or drafting guidance
  • Remove empty paragraphs left by deleted sections
  • Verify section numbering is sequential (especially after §2.5 addition and §6 restructure into 6.1/6.2/6.3)
  • Verify no non-TBD brackets remain

DocX formatting notes:

  • Exhibit B credit table MUST be a proper Word table, not inline text
  • Exhibit B communication channels MUST be a proper Word table
  • Section 6 subsections (6.1, 6.2, 6.3) need proper heading formatting
  • Section 6.3 (Beta Products) must be ALL CAPS

Produce the output as a .docx file: [CompanyName]_[CustomerName]_Customer_Agreement_DRAFT.docx

Use available document creation tools (native DocX skill, python-docx, or equivalent) to produce a professionally formatted Word document.

Step 4: Produce the Lawyer Memo

Create a markdown memo alongside the agreement: [CompanyName]_[CustomerName]_Customer_Agreement_Memo.md

The memo must include:

1. Deal Summary — One paragraph: who, what, fee structure, term.

2. Template Base — "This agreement is based on the Y Combinator standard form SaaS Agreement with the following modifications."

3. Always-Applied Defaults — Itemized list of every always-apply change (A1-A18), with brief rationale for each. Example:

  • "Renamed to 'Customer Agreement' (professional standard)"
  • "Removed 'United States' from IP indemnity patent scope (standard redline)"
  • "Added Section 2.5 data privacy and security provisions (essential for modern SaaS)"
  • "Added Section 6.2 customer warranty and Section 6.3 beta products disclaimer"

4. Intake-Driven Decisions — Each conditional decision and what was selected. Example:

  • "Section 3.2: Customer owns derivative data (bracketed language retained)"
  • "Section 5.1: Auto-renewal with 60-day notice"

5. Items Requiring Attorney Review — This is critical. For each raise-with-lawyer flag (decision-matrix.md Section D), include the flag text verbatim. These are:

  • DPA recommendation (almost always needed)
  • Implementation services IP ownership (if applicable)
  • Derivative data ownership (if company retains)
  • ML training on customer content (if applicable)
  • Data retention timeline confirmation

6. TBD Items — Every [TBD — description] in the document, listed so the founder knows what to fill in before sending.

Step 5: Deliver

Provide the user with:

  1. The clean .docx Customer Agreement
  2. The lawyer memo
  3. Brief summary: key decisions, TBD count, attorney review items

Decision Points Quick Reference

# Location What's Decided
B1 Order Form Services description (from product intake)
B2 Order Form Fee structure + service capacity (8 fee types)
B3 Order Form + Exhibit A Implementation services: include or remove
B4 Order Form Pilot period: include or remove
B5 §2.1 Distributed software license: include or remove
B6 §3.2 Derivative data: customer owns or company retains
B7 §5.1 Auto-renewal: yes (30/60/90 day notice) or no
B8 §5.2 Data retention period on termination
B9 §9 Governing law: state selection
B10 §9 Marketing formulation: default, more, or less
B11 Exhibit B SLA availability: 99.9% / 99.95% / 99.99%
B12 Exhibit B Support details: email, phone, hours, tool

Supplementary Language Reference

Anchor Clause Type
#DATA-PRIVACY §2.5 Data privacy & security Always
#WARRANTY-REMEDY §6.1 Exclusive warranty remedy Always
#CUSTOMER-WARRANTY §6.2 Customer warranty Always
#BETA-DISCLAIMER §6.3 Beta products (ALL CAPS) Always
#MARKETING-DEFAULT §9 Marketing language Always
#EXHIBIT-B-CONSOLIDATED Exhibit B: SLA + Support Always
#NO-AUTO-RENEWAL §5.1 Manual renewal replacement Conditional
#FEE-EXAMPLES Order Form fee patterns (8 types) Conditional
#EXPANDED-DATA-RESTRICTIONS Sensitive data protections Conditional
#ML-TRAINING ML model training rights Conditional
#ML-FEDERATED Federated learning carve-out Conditional

What This Skill Does NOT Do

  • Does not draft DPAs. Flags DPA need in memo; use dpa-drafter separately.
  • Does not handle professional services agreements. If the deal has significant services beyond implementation, use msa-drafter.
  • Does not review or redline incoming contracts. This drafts from a template. For review, use a review skill.
  • Does not invent clause language. Every modification is a deletion, variable substitution, or verbatim insertion from supplementary-language.md. Exception: Order Form Service Fees, composed from fee pattern examples.
  • Does not resolve attorney review items. Flags them in the memo for counsel to address.
Info
Name yc-saas-drafter
Version v20260804
Size 57.62KB
Updated At 2026-09-06
Language