Where an SLA gets tested
A service level agreement defines the performance a provider commits to, how it is measured, and what happens when a target is missed. Disputes usually turn on details: whether scheduled maintenance counts as downtime, whose monitoring data controls, whether an outage caused by a subcontractor is excluded, and whether service credits are the customer's only remedy. Many SLAs say credits are the sole remedy for missed service levels, which can limit a claim for larger losses unless the failure also breaches other terms or opens a right to terminate. How the SLA interacts with the master agreement's limitation of liability is often the deciding question.
What to keep when service slips
Document each incident as it happens, including the time, duration, what was affected, and the ticket numbers and responses from the provider. Many agreements require the customer to claim credits or give notice within a short window, and missing that step can forfeit the credit. Save the provider's status page reports and incident summaries, and keep your own logs if you monitor the service independently. Record business effects, such as lost transactions or staff overtime, in a form your finance team can support later. Raise each missed target with the provider in the way the agreement requires, not only in calls with an account manager, so there is a record that notice was given.
Terms to settle before signing
Before signing, we focus on definitions, because an uptime commitment means little if the measurement window, the exclusions, and the calculation method all favor one side. We look at whether repeated failures give you a right to terminate without penalty, whether credits are automatic or must be claimed, and how data return and transition assistance work if you leave. Customers handling sensitive data should connect the SLA to the security commitments and breach notification terms in the main contract. Where a dispute has already started, we read the SLA alongside the main agreement to see which remedies remain outside the credit scheme.
