Support Policy (Enterprise SaaS) — Texas

ENTERPRISE SAAS SUPPORT POLICY

TEXAS-SPECIFIC EDITION

Support Policy Reference Number: [________________________________]

Effective Date: [__/__/____]

Last Revised: [__/__/____]

This Enterprise SaaS Support Policy ("Support Policy" or "Policy") is incorporated into and forms part of the Master SaaS Agreement or equivalent subscription agreement ("Master Agreement") between the parties identified below. Capitalized terms not defined herein shall have the meanings set forth in the Master Agreement.

Provider: [________________________________] ("Provider")

• Address: [________________________________]
• State of Organization: [________________________________]

Customer: [________________________________] ("Customer")

• Address: [________________________________]
• State of Organization: [________________________________]

Master Agreement Date: [__/__/____]

Master Agreement Reference: [________________________________]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Definitions
2. Scope of Support
3. Support Tiers and Pricing
4. Support Hours and Channels
5. Named Support Contacts
6. Severity Definitions
7. Response and Resolution Targets
8. Escalation Matrix
9. Customer Obligations
10. Exclusions
11. Status Updates and Communication
12. Maintenance Windows
13. Version Support and End-of-Life
14. Service Credits
15. Support Performance Reporting
16. Security Incident Support
17. Changes to Support Policy
18. Order of Precedence
19. Texas-Specific Legal Provisions
20. Electronic Signatures
21. Signature Blocks
22. Exhibit A: Support Contact Information
23. Exhibit B: Supported Configurations

1. DEFINITIONS

1.1 "Authorized Contact" means an individual designated by Customer authorized to submit support requests, access the Support Portal, and communicate with Provider's support personnel.

1.2 "Business Day" means Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays and Texas state holidays, including but not limited to Texas Independence Day (March 2), San Jacinto Day (April 21), Emancipation Day/Juneteenth (June 19), and Lyndon Baines Johnson Day (August 27).

1.3 "Business Hours" means 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM Central Time (CT) on Business Days, unless otherwise specified by Support Tier.

1.4 "Customer Environment" means Customer's hardware, software, network infrastructure, configurations, third-party integrations, and operating conditions.

1.5 "Defect" means a reproducible failure of the SaaS Service to perform materially in accordance with the Documentation.

1.6 "Enhancement" means a request for new functionality not described in the Documentation.

1.7 "Error" means a verifiable and reproducible failure to conform to Documentation specifications.

1.8 "Fix" means a permanent code change resolving a Defect or Error.

1.9 "Hot Fix" means an emergency code change for Severity 1 or Severity 2 Incidents outside the standard release cycle.

1.10 "Incident" means any event causing or potentially causing an interruption or reduction in SaaS Service quality.

1.11 "Maintenance Window" means a designated period for scheduled maintenance, updates, patches, or upgrades.

1.12 "Named Support Contact" means an individual designated in Exhibit A as Customer's primary liaison with Provider.

1.13 "Production Environment" means the live SaaS Service instance for actual business operations.

1.14 "Resolution" means Incident resolution through a Fix, Hot Fix, Workaround, or corrective action.

1.15 "Root Cause Analysis" ("RCA") means a structured investigation with written report covering timeline, contributing factors, corrections, and preventive measures.

1.16 "Service Credit" means a credit against future fees per Section 14.

1.17 "Service Level" means a measurable performance standard per Section 7 and the Master Agreement.

1.18 "Severity Level" means Incident classification per Section 6.

1.19 "Support Portal" means Provider's web-based system at [________________________________].

1.20 "Ticket" means a uniquely numbered record tracking a support request.

1.21 "Uptime" means monthly Production Environment availability percentage per the Master Agreement.

1.22 "Workaround" means a temporary method circumventing a Defect or Error without a permanent Fix.

2. SCOPE OF SUPPORT

2.1 Included Support Services

(a) Break/Fix Support — Diagnosis and resolution of Errors, Defects, and Incidents.

(b) Configuration Assistance — Guidance within documented parameters.

(c) Standard Integration Support — Provider-documented integrations and published APIs.

(d) Software Updates — Patches, minor and major releases.

(e) Knowledge Base Access — Self-service articles, guides, FAQs.

(f) Health Checks — Periodic reviews for Premium and Enterprise customers.

2.2 Excluded Services

(a) Custom development or source code modifications;
(b) On-site support;
(c) Training beyond standard onboarding;
(d) Data migration or conversion;
(e) Third-party items not in Exhibit B;
(f) Customer infrastructure optimization; and
(g) End-of-life version support per Section 13.

3. SUPPORT TIERS AND PRICING

Selected Tier: ☐ Standard | ☐ Premium | ☐ Enterprise

4. SUPPORT HOURS AND CHANNELS

4.1 Support Hours by Tier

Texas Time Zone Note: Texas spans two time zones. The majority of the state observes Central Time (CT). El Paso County and Hudspeth County observe Mountain Time (MT). Unless otherwise agreed, all time references in this Policy use Central Time.

4.2 Support Channels

4.3 After-Hours Support

Severity 1/2 outside standard hours: Premium and Enterprise via emergency line at [________________________________]. Standard tier SLA clock begins next Business Day.

4.4 SLA Clock

Begins on Ticket creation with sufficient information. Pauses awaiting Customer input.

5. NAMED SUPPORT CONTACTS

5.1 Allocation

Standard: 2 | Premium: 5 | Enterprise: 10

5.2 Requirements

Complete Provider onboarding; technical triage capability; Workaround approval authority; Business Hours availability.

5.3 Changes

Via Portal or email to [________________________________]. Effective within two (2) Business Days. Onboarding within fifteen (15) calendar days.

6. SEVERITY DEFINITIONS

6.1 Disputes

Escalate to Support Manager within two (2) hours. Unresolved disputes per Section 8.

7. RESPONSE AND RESOLUTION TARGETS

SLA clock pauses for Customer input, third-party fixes, and force majeure.

8. ESCALATION MATRIX

Customer-initiated escalation via Portal or [________________________________].

9. CUSTOMER OBLIGATIONS

9.1 Supported Configurations

Maintain environment per Exhibit B.

9.2 Log Access

Provide logs, screenshots, diagnostics. For Sev 1/2, within one (1) hour.

9.3 Patches

Critical within fourteen (14) days; non-critical within thirty (30) days.

9.4 Contact Availability

One Named Contact during Business Hours; for Sev 1, within thirty (30) minutes outside hours.

9.5 Ticket Quality

Include: description, expected/actual behavior, reproduction steps, business impact, environment, logs/screenshots.

9.6 Environment Changes

Five (5) Business Days' advance notice.

10. EXCLUSIONS

No support obligation for: (a) Customer network/hardware; (b) unsupported third-party items; (c) unauthorized use; (d) unauthorized modifications; (e) missed patches; (f) unsupported configurations; (g) unsupported browsers/OS; (h) force majeure; (i) Customer data issues; (j) EOL versions.

11. STATUS UPDATES AND COMMUNICATION

12. MAINTENANCE WINDOWS

12.1 Scheduled

Standard window: [________________________________] (e.g., Sundays 1:00 AM – 5:00 AM CT). Seventy-two (72) hours' notice.

12.2 Emergency

For critical security or data integrity. Four (4) hours' notice when feasible.

12.3 Uptime Impact

Scheduled maintenance excluded from SLA. Emergency counts unless force majeure or Customer-caused.

12.4 Status Page

[________________________________]

13. VERSION SUPPORT AND END-OF-LIFE

13.1 Supported Versions

Current version plus two (2) prior major versions.

13.2 EOL Notice

One hundred eighty (180) calendar days.

13.3 Post-EOL Patches

Ninety (90) calendar days of critical security patches.

13.4 Migration Assistance

Free for Premium/Enterprise who initiate within notice period.

14. SERVICE CREDITS

14.1 Eligibility

For missed Response Times or Uptime SLA, subject to Section 10 exclusions.

14.2 Response Time Credits

14.3 Uptime Credits

14.4 Cap

100% of affected month's fees. Non-cash, applied to next invoice.

14.5 Claim Process

Written claim within thirty (30) days of month-end. Provider responds within fifteen (15) Business Days.

14.6 Sole Remedy and Texas DTPA Preservation

Service Credits are sole and exclusive remedy for SLA failures, except for willful misconduct, gross negligence, or confidentiality breaches.

Texas DTPA Notice: This sole remedy provision shall not limit or waive any rights under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code § 17.41 et seq.) where Customer qualifies as a "consumer" under the DTPA. Under the DTPA:

• A "consumer" is an individual, partnership, corporation, or governmental entity that seeks or acquires goods or services by purchase or lease (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code § 17.45(4)).
• Knowing violations may result in up to three times (3x) actual damages (treble damages) (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code § 17.50(b)(1)).
• The DTPA requires sixty (60) days' written notice before filing suit, giving the defendant an opportunity to cure (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code § 17.505).
• A mere breach of contract, without more, does not constitute a DTPA violation; there must be a false, misleading, or deceptive act.

15. SUPPORT PERFORMANCE REPORTING

15.1 Monthly Reports

Within ten (10) Business Days: Tickets by Severity, Response/Resolution vs. targets, escalations, Uptime, Sev 1/2 summaries, Service Credits.

15.2 Reviews

Quarterly for Premium; monthly for Enterprise.

15.3 KPIs

First Response Time, MTTR, CSAT, Reopen Rate, Escalation Rate, Uptime.

16. SECURITY INCIDENT SUPPORT

16.1 Classification

Security Incidents default to Severity 1.

16.2 Elevated Support

(a) Dedicated coordinator within 15 min; (b) updates every 30 min; (c) coordination with Customer security; (d) interim report within 24 hrs; (e) full RCA within 5 Business Days.

16.3 Texas Data Breach Notification Compliance

Per Tex. Bus. & Com. Code § 521.053:

(a) Consumer Notification Deadline. Notification to affected individuals must be provided without unreasonable delay and not later than sixty (60) calendar days after the date on which the person determines the breach occurred.

(b) Attorney General Notification. Notice to the Texas Attorney General must be provided as soon as practicable and not later than thirty (30) calendar days after determination of the breach, via the electronic form on the AG's website.

(c) Scope. Texas law requires notification to any individual (not limited to Texas residents) whose sensitive personal information was, or is reasonably believed to have been, acquired by an unauthorized person.

(d) Personal Information. Sensitive personal information includes: name plus Social Security number, driver's license or government-issued ID, financial account number with security code, or information that identifies an individual and relates to health insurance or mental/physical health.

(e) Substitute Notice. Permitted when cost exceeds $250,000, affected individuals exceed 500,000, or sufficient contact information is unavailable.

(f) Provider Obligations. Provider shall notify Customer promptly upon discovery of any breach involving Customer's data. Provider shall cooperate in all notification obligations and provide forensic data and investigative reports.

16.4 Texas Data Privacy and Security Act

Provider acknowledges the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code Chapter 541), which provides Texas consumers with rights regarding their personal data. To the extent Provider processes personal data as a data processor on behalf of Customer, Provider shall comply with applicable obligations.

16.5 Coordination

Provider's security support integrates with Customer's incident response plan. Security contact in Exhibit A.

17. CHANGES TO SUPPORT POLICY

17.1 Notice

Sixty (60) days for material changes; thirty (30) days for non-material.

17.2 Material Reduction Protections

Customer may accept or require prior version through current term.

17.3 Non-Diminishment

No reductions below Effective Date levels without consent.

18. ORDER OF PRECEDENCE

This Policy is subject to the Master Agreement. Support metrics/procedures in this Policy control; otherwise the Master Agreement governs.

19. TEXAS-SPECIFIC LEGAL PROVISIONS

19.1 Governing Law

This Policy is governed by the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to conflict of laws principles.

19.2 Venue and Jurisdiction

Exclusive jurisdiction in state and federal courts in [________________________________] County, Texas (e.g., Harris County — Houston, Dallas County — Dallas, Travis County — Austin, Bexar County — San Antonio, Tarrant County — Fort Worth).

19.3 Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act (DTPA)

The Texas DTPA (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code § 17.41 et seq.) is one of the most significant consumer protection statutes in the United States. The DTPA prohibits:

(a) False, Misleading, or Deceptive Acts — Including "representing that an agreement confers or involves rights, remedies, or obligations which it does not have or involve, or which are prohibited by law" (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code § 17.46(b)(12));

(b) Breach of Express or Implied Warranties — The DTPA creates a cause of action for breach of express or implied warranties;

(c) Unconscionable Actions — An act or practice that, to a consumer's detriment, takes advantage of the consumer's lack of knowledge, ability, experience, or capacity to a grossly unfair degree; and

(d) Specifically Identified Deceptive Practices — The DTPA enumerates a laundry list of prohibited practices in § 17.46(b).

Key DTPA Provisions for SaaS Contracts:

• Consumer Definition. A "consumer" includes an individual, partnership, corporation, or governmental entity that seeks or acquires goods or services (§ 17.45(4)). Enterprise SaaS customers may qualify as consumers under this broad definition.

• Pre-Suit Notice. At least sixty (60) days before filing a DTPA suit, the consumer must give written notice of the specific complaint and the amount of actual damages and expenses (§ 17.505).

• Damages. For knowing violations, the trier of fact may award up to three times actual damages (§ 17.50(b)(1)). For intentional violations, the court may also award mental anguish damages.

• Limitation. The DTPA may not be waived. Any waiver by a consumer is contrary to public policy and void (§ 17.42), except that a consumer with legal representation may waive DTPA protections in a transaction exceeding $500,000 (§ 17.49(f)).

Provider represents that all Service Levels and commitments herein are truthful and not deceptive, misleading, or unconscionable.

19.4 Implied Warranty

Under the Texas UCC (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code § 2.314), a warranty of merchantability is implied when the seller is a merchant. To disclaim, the language must mention merchantability and be conspicuous (§ 2.316). Texas courts apply the "predominant purpose" test to determine whether UCC Article 2 applies to mixed goods-and-services transactions. This Policy does not disclaim warranties; any disclaimer is in the Master Agreement and must comply with Texas law. Note that DTPA liability for breach of implied warranty cannot be disclaimed.

19.5 Jury Waiver

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY TEXAS LAW, EACH PARTY WAIVES ANY RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY.

Texas Practice Note: Texas courts generally enforce jury waiver provisions when the waiver is conspicuous, voluntary, and knowing. In re Prudential Ins. Co. of Am., 148 S.W.3d 124 (Tex. 2004) (enforcing jury waivers). However, a jury waiver may not be enforceable in DTPA claims.

19.6 Cure Period — DTPA Alignment

Provider shall have sixty (60) calendar days to cure a material breach or DTPA complaint after written notice from Customer, consistent with the DTPA pre-suit notice requirement (§ 17.505). For non-DTPA contract breaches, the cure period is thirty (30) calendar days. For Severity 1 failures unresolved beyond twice the Resolution Target, no cure period is required for escalation.

19.7 Statute of Limitations

Written contract claims: four (4) years (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.004). DTPA claims: two (2) years from the date the deceptive act occurred, or two years from the date the consumer discovered or should have discovered the act (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code § 17.565).

20. ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES

This Policy may be executed electronically per the Texas Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code § 322.001 et seq.) and the federal E-SIGN Act (15 U.S.C. § 7001 et seq.). Electronic signatures have the same legal effect as manual signatures.

21. SIGNATURE BLOCKS

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties execute this Policy as of the Effective Date.

PROVIDER:

Signature: [________________________________]

Printed Name: [________________________________]

Title: [________________________________]

Date: [__/__/____]

CUSTOMER:

Signature: [________________________________]

Printed Name: [________________________________]

Title: [________________________________]

Date: [__/__/____]

EXHIBIT A: SUPPORT CONTACT INFORMATION

Provider Support Contacts

Customer Named Support Contacts

Security Incident Contact

EXHIBIT B: SUPPORTED CONFIGURATIONS

Browsers

Operating Systems

Network

Third-Party Integrations

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

1. Texas DTPA — Tex. Bus. & Com. Code § 17.41 et seq.
   https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/BC/htm/BC.17.htm

2. Texas Data Breach Notification — Tex. Bus. & Com. Code § 521.053
   https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/GetStatute.aspx?Code=BC&Value=521.053

3. Texas Data Privacy and Security Act — Tex. Bus. & Com. Code Chapter 541
   https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/BC/htm/BC.541.htm

4. Texas UETA — Tex. Bus. & Com. Code § 322.001 et seq.
   https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/BC/htm/BC.322.htm

5. Texas UCC (Sales) — Tex. Bus. & Com. Code Chapter 2
   https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/BC/htm/BC.2.htm

6. Texas Attorney General — Consumer Protection
   https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/consumer-protection

7. Texas Attorney General — Data Breach Information
   https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/consumer-protection/data-breach-reporting

This template is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. It must be reviewed and customized by a qualified attorney licensed in Texas before use. Laws change frequently; verify all citations. This template is designed for the ezel.ai platform.