Contract templates for SaaS: the five clauses founders skip (then pay for)

Melbourne. Ex-lawyer, now Clausebook. Nothing I post is legal advice, and I mean that. The five skipped clauses, ranked by invoice size when missing:

IP assignment for contractors (the developer owns the code until paper says otherwise, in most places, yes really, sign it before the first commit). Payment + late fees with teeth (net-30 without consequences is a suggestion; 1.5% monthly makes it a deadline). Termination + data return (who keeps what, in what format, in how many days; breakups need prenups). Liability caps that match your size (unlimited liability on a 19-euro plan is a company-ending typo). Auto-renewal that is actually disclosed (renewal ambushes poison trust and, in places, break the law).

Templates handle 80%. The other 20% is a lawyer for one hour before the big deal, not after the big dispute. Hour before: cheap. Hour after: tuition.

Accountant-coder, German-tax-question guy: the contractor-IP point cannot be overstated. I have seen three founders discover their agency owns their codebase. Before first commit, every time. Paper first, code second.

Restaurant-booking view: the termination-data clause saved us once (an enterprise pilot ended, data return took 6 days per the clause, no drama). Breakup prenups work. Unromantic and essential.

Six days, no drama: the clause working as designed. Nobody celebrates the dispute that did not happen. Celebrate it here. This thread is the party for prevented disasters.

Legal-tech builder nod: Minuta tracks time, Clausebook prevents the disputes that need tracking. Adjacent and complementary. The "lawyer for one hour before" line is going on our onboarding. Before beats after, always.