Terms and conditions for a data analytics consultancy

An analytics consultancy builds insight on data it did not collect and hands it to people who will act on it, and the terms have to say where the consultancy's responsibility begins and ends: with the quality of the work, not the quality of the client's data or the wisdom of the client's decisions. They also have to settle who owns the models and who is responsible for the personal data inside the datasets. I draft those terms for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Data analytics, data science, business intelligence and reporting consultancies in England and Wales working for business clients on projects, dashboards, models and retained analytics support. These are business-to-business terms.

What matters in data analytics terms

Data access, quality and the client's responsibility

The terms should require the client to provide access to the data and systems the work needs, to warrant that it has the right to use and share the data for the purpose, and to accept that the outputs depend on the completeness and accuracy of the data supplied. Data cleansing and validation should be scoped and priced as work, not assumed, and the terms should say that the consultancy is not responsible for errors in the source data or in third-party systems.

Outputs, insight and decisions

Analysis is performed with reasonable skill and care; the terms should say that outputs are analytical products based on the data and assumptions stated, that forecasts and models are estimates, and that decisions taken on the basis of the outputs are the client's. A dashboard is a tool, not a guarantee, and the terms should describe what is delivered rather than what the client hopes to achieve with it.

Models, code and ownership

Under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 the consultancy owns the code, models and reports it creates until it assigns them. The terms should say what passes to the client on payment (project-specific deliverables) and what the consultancy retains and licenses (its frameworks, libraries, methods and pre-existing models), and that the client's data remains the client's throughout. Where the consultancy wants to reuse learning across clients, the terms should say that it may do so in a form that does not disclose the client's data.

Personal data and confidentiality

Datasets contain personal data more often than clients recognise. The terms should say that the client is the controller, that the consultancy processes personal data as a processor on the client's instructions with the mandatory processor provisions under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, that the client is responsible for the lawful basis for the analysis and, where a model makes decisions about individuals, for the automated decision-making rules as amended by section 80 of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, and how data is secured, retained and deleted at the end. Confidentiality should cover the data, the findings and the consultancy's methods.

Fees, timetable, liability and tools

Fees are by project, milestone or retained days, invoiced in advance or at milestones, with interest and fixed compensation on late payment under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. The timetable depends on data access. Liability should be capped at a figure matching your insurance, with consequential loss, loss of profit and losses from decisions based on the outputs excluded, tested for reasonableness under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977. Third-party tools and platforms are used under their own terms and the client pays their licences where the terms say so.

What it costs

Customer or supplier terms and conditions, £995. One set of terms, customer-facing or supplier-facing, drafted for your business. Five working days.

Review of your existing terms, £495. You already have terms and want them checked and brought up to date. Returned marked up with my amendments and an explanation of the changes. Three working days.

Email me at geoffrey@caesar.co.uk with what you need and any documents, and I will confirm the scope and the fee in writing, usually the same working day. If you would rather pay straight away, buying online forms the engagement on payment: the scope is what the terms and conditions drafting page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I will be in touch promptly to get started.

What you get

• A full set of bespoke terms drafted for your business, reflecting the legal requirements that apply to your business and sector
• A note in plain English explaining the terms I have drafted for you
• Liability, payment, termination and IP provisions that protect your position and are drafted to withstand scrutiny from the other side
• Guidance on how to incorporate the terms properly
• Your questions and comments answered by email or phone
• One round of amendments to finalise the terms ready for use

What is not included

• Negotiating your terms with individual customers (I am happy to quote for this as an additional service if required)
• Sector-specific regulatory compliance beyond the contract terms themselves
• Website privacy notice and cookie compliance, which I quote separately
• Terms governed by the law of another country
• Tax advice

Questions I am often asked

The client made a bad decision using our dashboard and wants compensation. Are we liable?

If the terms say that outputs are analytical products based on the data supplied and that decisions are the client's, and the analysis was done with reasonable skill and care, no. Losses from decisions should be excluded expressly and the cap applies to anything else.

Who owns the model we built?

What the terms say. The usual position is that the client owns the project-specific deliverables on payment and the consultancy keeps its methods, libraries and pre-existing models under licence. The client's data is always the client's.

The client's data was full of errors. Do we have to redo the work for free?

If the terms make data quality the client's responsibility and price cleansing as separate work, rework caused by bad data is chargeable. Say so at the outset and log the data issues as you find them.

Related guidance and services

• Terms and conditions drafting, £995, the service this page describes
• Contract review, £495
• Terms and conditions for a market research agency
• Terms and conditions for a CRM or ERP implementation consultancy

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.