Contract basics for salespeople in depth: SLA schedules, service credits, change control and public-sector terms
For account executives, account managers and customer success managers who sell and manage service contracts. Prerequisite: 'Commercial terms in a deal: what to check and when to escalate', which covers term, auto-renewal, notice periods, payment terms and routing redlines. This course goes behind those terms: which document wins when contract documents conflict, calculating a service credit from an SLA schedule and when other remedies apply, routing scope changes through change control, extension options and termination rights in public-sector contracts, and who can actually change a contract. Public-sector examples come from the UK government's Model Services Contract guidance (England and Wales) and the US Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), which was being overhauled when this course was written. Your company's templates and signing authority apply to private contracts. This course is not legal advice and doesn't qualify you to give it; contract questions go to your legal or commercial team.
- Level
- Intermediate
- Length
- About 98 minutes
- Contents
- 5 lessons · final exam
- Status
- Published · updated 10 Oct 2026
Skills you'll practise
- Identify which document governs when contract documents conflict, using the order of precedence clause
- Calculate a service credit from an SLA schedule and explain when other remedies apply
- Route a requested scope change through change control with the information an impact assessment needs
- Explain extension options and termination rights in public-sector contracts, using the UK Model Services Contract and US FAR clauses
- Identify who has authority to agree contract changes and decline commitments you aren't authorised to make
Course outline
- 1.Identifying which document governs when contract documents conflictLesson · 16 min
- 2.Calculating a service credit from an SLA schedule and explaining when other remedies applyLesson · 22 min
- 3.Routing a requested scope change through change control with an impact assessmentLesson · 18 min
- 4.Explaining extension options and termination rights in public-sector contractsLesson · 18 min
- 5.Identifying who has authority to agree contract changesLesson · 12 min
- 6.Contract basics for salespeople in depth: SLA schedules, service credits, change control and public-sector terms: knowledge checkKnowledge check · 13 questions
- 7.Contract basics for salespeople in depth: SLA schedules, service credits, change control and public-sector terms: practical exerciseKnowledge check · 1 question
- 8.Final exam10 questions · passing it completes the course, so people who already know the material can test out
Sources it draws on
The lessons and questions are written from these references, so learners can go back to the original.
- Cabinet Office and Government Legal Department: Model Services Contract (collection page, v2.2A, updated 1 September 2025) (UK)
- Cabinet Office: Model Services Contract – Guidance for Buyers, v2.2(A), September 2025 (term and extension periods, performance indicators and service credits, rectification, change control, liability) (UK)
- FAR 1.602-1 Authority (contracting officers) (US federal)
- FAR 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions—Commercial Products and Commercial Services (changes, termination, order of precedence, unauthorized obligations) (US federal)
- FAR 52.217-8 Option to Extend Services (US federal)
- FAR 52.217-9 Option to Extend the Term of the Contract (US federal)
- Acquisition.gov: Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (FAR being rewritten; agency deviations) (US federal)
See it with your own jobs and topics
Tell us about your team and we'll walk you through setup, from choosing jobs to your first skills check.