# How to Write Terms of Service for a SaaS (Without a Lawyer)

> How to write SaaS terms of service without a lawyer: the clauses that matter, a clickwrap acceptance flow, generator prices, and when to pay a lawyer.

- Canonical: https://zeroraised.com/blog/how-to-write-terms-of-service-for-a-saas
- Published: 2026-11-07T13:30:00Z
- Author: ZeroRaised Team (https://zeroraised.com/blog/authors/zeroraised)
- Publisher: ZeroRaised (https://zeroraised.com/)
- Section: Building
- Tags: legal, saas, guide, solo-founders

**Short answer:** You can write usable terms of service for a small SaaS without a lawyer. Start from a generator or template, edit every clause against the checklist below so it matches how your product really works, and collect agreement with a clickwrap checkbox at signup. Pay a lawyer for one review once real money, enterprise customers or regulated data are involved.

This is not legal advice. Prices, rules and quotes come from the linked sources, checked 7 Nov 2026; opinions are marked as ours.

## TL;DR

- **Draft from a starting point, not a blank page.** Termly has a free plan with 1 basic legal policy. GetTerms Starter is $5/mo billed annually, or $199 for lifetime access ([Termly pricing](https://termly.io/pricing/), [GetTerms pricing](https://getterms.io/pricing)).
- **Edit 12 clauses carefully.** They cover accounts, licence, acceptable use, payment, cancellation, data, liability and the rest. The table below explains each one.
- **Get real agreement.** In [Nguyen v. Barnes & Noble](https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2014/08/18/12-56628.pdf), the court held that "the proximity or conspicuousness of the hyperlink alone is not enough to give rise to constructive notice." Use a checkbox.
- **Know the consumer rules.** EU and UK consumers get a 14-day cancellation right for online purchases, with an exception for digital content. In the US, the FTC's 2024 Click-to-Cancel rule was vacated, and the FTC opened a new rulemaking in March 2026.
- **Merchants of record bring their own buyer terms.** Paddle and Lemon Squeezy both publish terms the buyer accepts at checkout.

**Disclosure:** ZeroRaised is a launch site for bootstrapped products and has no commercial relationship with any tool named here. We are not lawyers, and nothing here is legal advice.

## Step by step: write your terms in an afternoon

Terms of service are the contract between you and each user. For a one-person company they cap your downside, let you suspend abusers and change prices, set renewal and refund expectations, and choose the law that applies. Our read: termination, payment and liability are the clauses you will actually rely on, so write those most carefully.

1. **List the facts.** Note your legal entity and country, whether you sell to consumers, businesses or both, how you charge, your refund policy, what data users upload, and any AI features.
2. **Pick a starting point.** Use a generator (below) or a template published under a reuse licence. Do not copy a competitor's terms. They describe someone else's product and may be protected by copyright.
3. **Edit against the checklist.** Go through the table below line by line and delete what does not apply. Generators tend to over-include.
4. **Make it match reality.** If your pricing page says "cancel anytime" and your terms say otherwise, a customer or regulator can use that contradiction. Check the terms against your pricing page, checkout and privacy policy.
5. **Write money clauses plainly.** Renewal and cancellation should be readable by a tired customer at 11pm.
6. **Publish at a stable URL** such as `/terms`, with a "last updated" date, and keep old versions in git.
7. **Wire up acceptance** with the clickwrap flow below.
8. **Review** whenever you change pricing or add a major feature.

Terms are one part of pre-launch admin. Our [product launch checklist for bootstrapped makers](https://zeroraised.com/blog/product-launch-checklist-for-bootstrapped-makers) covers the rest.

## The clause checklist

This is our editorial checklist, not a legal standard.

| Clause | What it says | Why it matters for a solo SaaS |
|---|---|---|
| Parties | Your legal entity and how the user agrees | Users contract with your company, not with you personally. |
| Accounts | Eligibility, one person per login, keeping credentials safe | A basis to act on shared or compromised accounts. |
| Licence | A limited, revocable right to use the software; you keep the code | Stops "I paid, so I own it" and bans reselling or scraping. |
| Acceptable use | No spam, illegal content, API abuse or reverse engineering | The clause you cite when you suspend someone. Name the abuse you actually fear. |
| Payment and renewal | Prices, billing cycle, auto-renewal, taxes, price change notice | Auto-renewal is where consumer law bites hardest. |
| Cancellation and refunds | How to cancel, when it takes effect, refund policy | Matching checkout and your MoR's terms prevents chargebacks. |
| Customer data | Users own their content; you get a licence only to run the service | B2B buyers check this first. Link your privacy policy. |
| AI features | Outputs may be wrong; who owns them; whether data trains models | Answers the training-data question before buyers ask. |
| Disclaimers | Service provided "as is", no uptime guarantee beyond what you promise | One person cannot promise 99.99%. |
| Liability cap | Liability capped (often at fees paid in the last 12 months); indirect losses excluded | Your most important protection. Consumer law may limit it. |
| Termination | You can suspend for breach or non-payment; what happens to data | Lets you remove bad actors and shut down gracefully. |
| Governing law and changes | Which law applies, where disputes go, how you announce changes | Pick your company's country. Email notice of material changes. |

## How to get users to agree: clickwrap, not browsewrap

How users accept matters as much as what the terms say. In its [opinion](https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2014/08/18/12-56628.pdf) in *Nguyen v. Barnes & Noble* (9th Cir. 2014), the court describes two "flavors" of online contract:

- **Clickwrap:** "in which website users are required to click on an 'I agree' box after being presented with a list of terms and conditions of use".
- **Browsewrap:** "where a website's terms and conditions of use are generally posted on the website via a hyperlink at the bottom of the screen".

Barnes & Noble's Terms of Use link sat on every page and close to the checkout buttons. The court still held that "the proximity or conspicuousness of the hyperlink alone is not enough to give rise to constructive notice." It noted that courts have been more willing to enforce terms "where the user is required to affirmatively acknowledge the agreement before proceeding with use of the website."

A practical acceptance flow:

1. **At signup,** put an unticked checkbox above "Create account", labelled "I agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy", with both linked. Disable the button until it is ticked.
2. **At checkout,** repeat the notice next to the pay button.
3. **Record acceptance:** user ID, timestamp and terms version.
4. **For material changes,** email a summary and prompt re-acceptance at next login.
5. **Never rely on a footer link alone.**

The case applies US law. Other countries have their own rules, but a checkbox is a safe default.

## Consumer rules that genuinely apply

Selling only to businesses removes much of this, so say so in your terms. If individuals can buy, these points matter.

**EU.** The EU's Your Europe portal says consumers buying online "can cancel the contract within 14 days without providing any justification". For services, the 14 days start the day the contract is agreed. The exception is "online digital content, such as a song or movie, that you started downloading or streaming after you expressly agreed to lose your right of withdrawal by starting the performance" ([Your Europe](https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/shopping/returns/index_en.htm)).

**UK.** Under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, for digital content not on a physical medium "the cancellation period ends at the end of 14 days after the day on which the contract is entered into" ([reg 30](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/3134/regulation/30)). Supply cannot start earlier unless the consumer gives "express consent" and acknowledges losing the right to cancel ([reg 37](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/3134/regulation/37)). The subscription rules in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 start on a day set by regulations ([s. 339](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2024/13/section/339)). We could not confirm a start date today, so check before relying on them.

**US.** The FTC's 2024 Click-to-Cancel amendments to its Negative Option Rule were vacated by the Eighth Circuit. On 11 March 2026 the FTC announced an advance notice of proposed rulemaking asking whether to amend the existing rule and what alternatives to consider, including adopting provisions of the vacated 2024 rule, with comments due by 13 April 2026 ([Steptoe summary](https://www.steptoe.com/en/news-publications/ftc-reopens-negative-option-marketing-rulemaking-seeks-comments-by-april-13-2026.html)). We found no final rule since. The [Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act](https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/statutes/restore-online-shoppers-confidence-act) still applies, as do state auto-renewal laws.

Our read: an easy online cancel button and a clear renewal notice at checkout are cheap and remove most of the risk.

## If you sell through a merchant of record

A merchant of record (MoR) is the legal seller to your customer; our guide to [merchant of record vs payment processor](https://zeroraised.com/blog/merchant-of-record-vs-payment-processor) explains the model.

- **Paddle's** [checkout buyer terms](https://www.paddle.com/legal/checkout-buyer-terms) (dated 31 March 2026) say "Paddle is an authorised reseller of Products for Suppliers". They give buyers a 14-day withdrawal right that is lost once they have "started downloading, streaming, using or benefiting from the Product".
- **Lemon Squeezy's** [buyer terms](https://www.lemonsqueezy.com/buyer-terms) name "Lemon Squeezy, the merchant of record for the product or service", and ask subscribers to cancel "at least 48 hours before the end of the current billing period".

For your own terms, this means: do not contradict the MoR's buyer terms, name the MoR in your payment section, and focus on use of the software. If you charge through Stripe directly, you are the seller, so the payment, refund and cancellation clauses are all yours. Our guide on [how to sell software online](https://zeroraised.com/blog/how-to-sell-software-online) covers that choice.

## Generator tools and current prices

Prices below were checked on each vendor's pricing page on 7 Nov 2026 and are per website.

| Tool | Free option | Paid entry point that includes terms | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| [Termly](https://termly.io/pricing/) | Free: 1 basic legal policy | Starter $10/mo billed annually or $14/mo monthly (2 policies); Pro+ $15/mo annually or $20/mo monthly (unlimited policies) | Bundles a cookie banner. The plan table does not say which policy types each tier covers. |
| [GetTerms](https://getterms.io/pricing) | Free version with GetTerms branding | Starter $5/mo annually or $9/mo monthly ($199 lifetime); Business $8/mo annually or $12/mo monthly ($249 lifetime), "All Legal Policies" | Its [homepage](https://getterms.io/) says "A standard Terms of Service document is included with every generated policy." |
| [iubenda](https://www.iubenda.com/en/pricing) | A free plan exists; terms generation not confirmed on it | Advanced $24.99/mo annually or $27.99/mo monthly, which includes a Terms and Conditions document | Prices exclude VAT. Essentials ($5.99/mo annually) is not listed with terms. 14-day trial. |

Our read: for just terms and a privacy policy, a lifetime GetTerms plan is the cheapest long-run option on these numbers. If you also need a cookie banner, Termly or iubenda fit better. Either way, the output is a first draft to edit against the checklist.

## When to pay a lawyer

These triggers are our opinion, not legal advice. Pay for a review when:

- **A big customer sends their own paper,** such as a master services agreement or data processing agreement.
- **You handle sensitive data,** such as health, financial or children's data, or you work in a regulated sector.
- **Your AI features act on customer data** or drive decisions customers rely on.
- **You raise money, sell the company, or receive a legal threat.**
- **A bad dispute could cost more than the review.**

To keep the cost down, send your edited draft and a one-page product summary, and ask for a review rather than a redraft.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can I write my own terms of service for a SaaS?

Yes. Nothing requires a lawyer to draft them. The risk is publishing clauses you have not read or that contradict how your product works. Start from a generator, edit it to match your product, and pay for a review when the stakes rise. This is not legal advice.

### Is it legal to copy another company's terms of service?

It is a bad idea. The text may be protected by copyright, and it describes their product and jurisdiction, not yours. Use a generator or licensed template and rewrite it for your service.

### What is the difference between clickwrap and browsewrap?

Clickwrap makes users click an I agree box after seeing the terms; browsewrap just links the terms at the bottom of the page. In Nguyen v. Barnes & Noble (9th Cir. 2014), the court held that a conspicuous link alone is not enough for constructive notice. Use an unticked checkbox at signup.

### Do I need terms of service if I use Paddle or Lemon Squeezy?

Yes. Paddle's and Lemon Squeezy's buyer terms cover the purchase, as reseller and merchant of record. You still need your own terms for use of the software: accounts, licence, acceptable use, data, liability and termination.

### When should a solo SaaS founder pay a lawyer for terms of service?

Our read: for your first enterprise contract, sensitive or regulated data, AI features acting on customer data, fundraising, or a legal threat. Reviewing your own draft is usually cheaper than drafting from scratch.

## Ship it, then launch it

Once your terms are live and the checkbox is wired up, [launch your product on ZeroRaised](https://zeroraised.com/submit). It is a free launch directory for products built without venture capital. For more practical guides on building without investors, [join the ZeroRaised newsletter](https://zeroraised.com/newsletter).

*Not legal advice. ZeroRaised is not a law firm. For advice on your specific situation, consult a qualified lawyer in your jurisdiction.*

## Sources

- [Nguyen v. Barnes & Noble, Inc., No. 12-56628 (9th Cir. 2014), opinion PDF](https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2014/08/18/12-56628.pdf), last checked 7 Nov 2026
- [Your Europe: guarantees and returns](https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/shopping/returns/index_en.htm), last checked 7 Nov 2026
- [Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 30](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/3134/regulation/30), last checked 7 Nov 2026
- [Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 37](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/3134/regulation/37), last checked 7 Nov 2026
- [Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, section 339](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2024/13/section/339), last checked 7 Nov 2026
- [Steptoe: FTC reopens negative option rulemaking (March 2026)](https://www.steptoe.com/en/news-publications/ftc-reopens-negative-option-marketing-rulemaking-seeks-comments-by-april-13-2026.html), last checked 7 Nov 2026
- [FTC: Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act](https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/statutes/restore-online-shoppers-confidence-act), last checked 7 Nov 2026
- [Paddle checkout buyer terms](https://www.paddle.com/legal/checkout-buyer-terms), last checked 7 Nov 2026
- [Lemon Squeezy buyer terms](https://www.lemonsqueezy.com/buyer-terms), last checked 7 Nov 2026
- [Termly pricing](https://termly.io/pricing/), last checked 7 Nov 2026
- [GetTerms pricing](https://getterms.io/pricing), last checked 7 Nov 2026
- [GetTerms homepage](https://getterms.io/), last checked 7 Nov 2026
- [iubenda pricing](https://www.iubenda.com/en/pricing), last checked 7 Nov 2026

## Frequently asked questions

### Can I write my own terms of service for a SaaS?

Yes. Nothing requires a lawyer to draft them. The risk is publishing clauses you have not read or that contradict how your product works. Start from a generator, edit it to match your product, and pay for a review when the stakes rise. This is not legal advice.

### Is it legal to copy another company's terms of service?

It is a bad idea. The text may be protected by copyright, and it describes their product and jurisdiction, not yours. Use a generator or licensed template and rewrite it for your service.

### What is the difference between clickwrap and browsewrap?

Clickwrap makes users click an I agree box after seeing the terms; browsewrap just links the terms at the bottom of the page. In Nguyen v. Barnes & Noble (9th Cir. 2014), the court held that a conspicuous link alone is not enough for constructive notice. Use an unticked checkbox at signup.

### Do I need terms of service if I use Paddle or Lemon Squeezy?

Yes. Paddle's and Lemon Squeezy's buyer terms cover the purchase, as reseller and merchant of record. You still need your own terms for use of the software: accounts, licence, acceptable use, data, liability and termination.

### When should a solo SaaS founder pay a lawyer for terms of service?

Our read: for your first enterprise contract, sensitive or regulated data, AI features acting on customer data, fundraising, or a legal threat. Reviewing your own draft is usually cheaper than drafting from scratch.