Service level agreement (SLA)

A contract provision defining the specific performance standards an agency commits to — response times, uptime, turnaround times — typically used in ongoing retainer or support engagements.

Example

A retainer's SLA commits the agency to responding to urgent client requests within 4 business hours and completing standard content edits within 2 business days.

Why it matters for agencies

An SLA defines service-quality commitments, which is a different axis from scope (what's included) — but the two interact, since a client pushing for faster turnaround on out-of-scope work is effectively asking for both an SLA violation risk and unbilled scope at once.