Terms for a Slack or Teams app

An app inside a collaboration platform is installed by one administrator on behalf of a whole organisation, reads and posts messages in channels the app's developer never sees, and depends on the platform's APIs, marketplace terms and review process for its existence. The terms have to say who the customer is, what the app can read and do, that message data is the customer's and processed on its behalf, how the app is billed, and what happens when the platform changes the rules. I draft those terms for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Businesses and developers in England and Wales offering apps, bots or integrations for Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Chat or similar platforms, whether free, paid through the platform's marketplace, or billed directly to the customer organisation.

What matters in terms for a collaboration platform app

The administrator, the organisation and who contracts

The terms should say that the app is installed by a workspace or tenant administrator on behalf of the organisation that runs the workspace, that the organisation is the customer and is bound by the terms, that the administrator warrants their authority, and that individual users use the app under the organisation's contract rather than their own; a business customer is governed by the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 test rather than consumer rules. Where users can add the app to a personal workspace, a short consumer section is needed.

The platform's marketplace terms and the app's dependence

The developer's agreement with the platform requires the app to meet the platform's policies and often prescribes provisions for the developer's own terms, and the terms should be consistent with them, say that the platform is not a party and does not support the app, and disclose that the app depends on the platform's APIs, may change or stop working when the platform changes them, and may be withdrawn if the platform withdraws approval. Availability commitments should exclude platform outages, with the developer's obligation limited to reasonable care and skill under section 13 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982.

Message data and the processor position

Messages, files and user directories the app reads contain the organisation's confidential information and its employees' personal data, and the developer processes them as a processor for the organisation, so the terms must contain the provisions Article 28 of the UK GDPR requires, describe what data the app accesses, stores and for how long, list subprocessors including any AI model provider, state security under Article 32, and say that the developer does not use message content for any purpose other than providing the app, including training, unless the terms say otherwise and the organisation has agreed.

Scopes, what the app can read and post, and conduct

The terms should state the scopes the app requests and what it does with each, that the app posts messages only as its function and the organisation's configuration require, that users are responsible for what they ask the app to do, and that the organisation controls which channels the app joins. Access to a workspace beyond what the organisation authorised would be an offence under section 1 of the Computer Misuse Act 1990, and the terms should say that the app acts only within its granted scopes.

Billing through or outside the platform

Where the app is billed through the platform's marketplace, the terms should say that the platform's billing terms govern when payment is taken and refunds are made, with the developer's pricing plans stated; where the developer bills the organisation directly, the terms should state the plan, the per-user or per-workspace price, renewal and notice, and interest on late payment under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. Seat counting should be defined, because active users in a workspace fluctuate and the argument is always about the number.

AI features, liability and the boilerplate

Where the app summarises, drafts or answers using AI, the terms should describe the feature, say that outputs may be inaccurate and must be reviewed, allocate responsibility for use to the organisation, state whether message content trains any model, and name the model provider as a subprocessor with its location addressed under Article 46 of the UK GDPR. Liability should be capped at the fees paid in the preceding twelve months with consequential loss excluded, tested under section 11 of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, and the app's code should remain the developer's under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, with English law applying and third-party rights excluded under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.

What it costs

SaaS terms of service, £995. Your standard customer-facing terms. Five working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the saas and technology contracts page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A bespoke contract drafted for how your product is sold, delivered and supported
• Service levels you can meet, with remedies that are proportionate rather than aspirational
• A liability position that is defensible and will survive enterprise procurement
• IP and data provisions that fit together rather than contradicting each other
• A commercial note on where you will get pushback and what is worth conceding
• One round of amendments

What is not included

• Negotiating individual enterprise deals, which I quote separately
• Advice on the law of jurisdictions outside England and Wales
• Technical security certification or audit
• Regulatory advice for regulated sectors such as financial services or health

Questions I am often asked

An employee installed our app in a company workspace. Who is our customer?

The organisation, if the terms say the app is installed on its behalf by someone with authority, and the platform's admin controls support that. If the platform lets individuals install without approval, the terms treat the individual's use as within the organisation's contract once an administrator has approved the app.

Do we need a data processing agreement with each customer?

The processor terms must be in the contract, and the terms contain them in a schedule. Larger customers may ask for their own, which is a review.

The platform changed its API and our app stopped working. Do customers get refunds?

The terms disclose the dependence and exclude platform changes from availability commitments; prepaid fees for a period in which the app cannot be used at all are refunded, which is what the terms provide.

Related guidance and services

• SaaS and technology contracts, £995, the service this page describes
• Contract review, £495
• Data protection agreements and privacy terms, £795
• Terms for a Shopify app or plugin
• Terms for an AI-powered SaaS feature

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.