Which contract
White label agreement vs reseller
agreement: what differs.
The three get mixed up, and the difference decides whose name your client sees and who they call. If you sell white label web development for agencies or maintenance as your own service, you need the first one.
| Contract | Whose brand the client sees | Who owns the client | What you're buying |
|---|---|---|---|
| White label agreement | Yours | You | The provider's work, rebranded and sold as your own service |
| Reseller agreement | The provider's | Usually shared | The right to sell the provider's product under its name |
| Licence agreement | The provider's | You | The right to use something, not to rebrand it |
Distinctions as BSS Commerce sets them out in its 2026 white label agreement guide, checked November 2026.
The checklist
The 12 clauses every
white label agreement needs.
Most guides explain these in the abstract. Here is what to check in each, what published guides call normal, and what ours says, so you can hold any partner to the same list, us included.
| Clause | What to check | Typical market position | What ours says |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scope and service levels | What's covered, response times as numbers, and who answers. | Measurable SLAs are one of the clauses BSS Commerce says most templates miss. | Care + Secure on every site; first response within one business day; emergencies 2 hours in business hours, 4 outside. |
| Branding | Every report, email and invoice the client sees carries your brand. | — | Reports and anything client-facing carry your brand, not ours. |
| Client non-solicitation | It names your clients, not only your staff, and it's in writing. | Many clauses cover staff only, often for 1–2 years after the project (Che IT Group). | We don't approach, contract with or market to your clients. In writing. |
| Confidentiality and NDA | Signed before client details change hands, and what counts as confidential. | — | We sign your NDA before you share client details. |
| Ownership of work | Who owns the code and content, and from when. | — | Your client, once the project is paid in full. |
| Payment | When money is due, and whether launch depends on it. | Milestone payments rather than one invoice at the end (Che IT Group). | Projects: 50% before work starts, 50% on completion, before go-live. Maintenance: the published per-site rate. |
| Extra work and changes | Who approves extra hours, at what rate, and who gets the bill. | — | Extra hours at the published rate, approved by you first. Never billed to your client. |
| Access and credentials | Whose accounts the sites live on, and how access comes back. | — | Sites stay on the client's or your accounts. We work inside them. |
| Data protection | A data processing agreement where clients fall under GDPR or CCPA. | A data processing addendum is another clause BSS Commerce says templates often leave out. | We sign one when your clients need it. |
| Liability and indemnity | A cap, and who pays if work causes a loss. | — | Agreed in writing per engagement. |
| Warranty window | How long defects are fixed free after delivery. | A defined warranty window is on BSS Commerce's list of clauses most templates miss. | Projects: defects in the work we delivered fixed free for 30 days after launch. |
| Term and exit | Notice period, exit fees, and how fast access comes back. | Notice of about 30 days is usual (Che IT Group; Geeks for Growth says 14–30). | Month to month, 30 days' notice, no exit fee, credentials back within 48 hours. |
Typical positions are quoted only where a named guide states one: Che IT Group's white label web development contracts guide, BSS Commerce's white label agreement guide and Geeks for Growth's white label service agreement guide, all checked November 2026. Ours are our standard terms as of 3 Nov 2026. Liability is agreed per engagement because it depends on the work.
Ours, in full
Our white label partner agreement,
clause by clause.
If you're looking for a white label agreement sample, this is a real one: sixteen terms, each linked to the page that backs it, and what you would sign with us, in plain English.
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Non-solicit | In writing: we don't approach, contract with or market to your clients. |
| Branding | Reports and anything client-facing carry your brand, not ours. How white label WordPress maintenance works day to day. |
| Client contact | Client-facing calls and account management stay with your agency. |
| Escalation | A direct channel to the engineer for client requests and emergencies. |
| Service level | Care + Secure standard on every site: first response within one business day; emergencies 2 hours in business hours, 4 hours outside. |
| Minimum | Five sites for white-label maintenance. |
| Rates | The published Agency rate of $119 per site from five sites (store sites $249); 25 or more sites priced together on a call. |
| Included per site | 2 support hours a month and one hack cleanup a year, with Care + Secure coverage. |
| Extra work | Extra hours at the published rate, always approved by you first; larger jobs quoted to you in writing. Never billed to your client directly. |
| Payment (projects) | Development projects: 50% before work starts, 50% on completion, before the site goes live. |
| Access & ownership | Client sites stay on the client's or your accounts. We work inside them. |
| Warranty (projects) | Defects in the work we delivered are fixed free for 30 days after launch. Maintenance sites are covered by the plan itself. |
| Ownership of work | Code and work we build for your client belong to your client once the project is paid in full. |
| Confidentiality & NDA | We sign your NDA before you share client details, and client details are used only to do the work. |
| Data protection | If your clients need a data processing agreement (for GDPR or CCPA), we sign one. |
| Term & exit | Month to month, thirty days' notice, no exit fee, and every credential handed back within 48 hours. What a client-side website maintenance agreement covers. |
This is a plain-English summary. The binding terms are confirmed in writing before work starts.
The clause that matters most
Non-solicitation and NDA: protecting
your clients, not just your staff.
An NDA protects information. It doesn't stop a partner from taking your client. That's the job of the non-solicitation clause, and it's the one most worth reading twice, because in many contracts it only covers staff: the partner agrees not to hire your employees for a year or two after the project.
For an agency buying white label work, the bigger risk is the client. A partner who builds and maintains the site, holds the logins and answers the support emails is one introduction away from quoting your client directly. So check that the clause names your clients, covers approaching, contracting with and marketing to them, and is written down before any site changes hands.
Ours does exactly that: we don't approach, contract with or market to your clients, and client-facing calls and account management stay with your agency. We also sign your NDA before you share a single client detail, and use those details only to do the work. If your clients fall under GDPR or CCPA, we sign a data processing agreement as well.
Code and accounts
Who owns the code in a
white label project.
In a white label web development contract, ownership has two parts: who owns the work (code, design, content), and whose accounts it lives on. A contract can give your client the code on paper while the hosting, the repository and the admin logins sit in the partner's name, which in practice means the partner still holds the site.
Check when ownership transfers (on delivery, or on payment), whether it covers everything built for the client, and whether the sites run on accounts you or your client control.
Ours: code and work we build for your client belong to your client once the project is paid in full. Projects are billed 50% before work starts and 50% on completion, before the site goes live. Client sites stay on your client's or your accounts, and we work inside them, so when a partnership ends there is nothing to hand back except the credentials, within 48 hours.
Before you sign
Red flags in a white label
partner contract.
Each of these maps to one of the twelve clauses above. For the warning signs that show up before a contract does, see the operational red flags when vetting a white label partner.
Two contracts, not one
Your white label agreement vs your
client's maintenance contract.
A white label arrangement has two contracts. The white label agreement sits between your agency and us, and your client never sees it. Your client signs your own contract with you, with your prices, your service levels and your name on it. Keep the two consistent: don't promise a client a response time your partner hasn't agreed to give you.
If you're writing the client side, here is what a website maintenance contract should cover, and how white label WordPress maintenance with us works day to day.
Questions, answered
White label agreements:
common questions.
What is a white label agreement?
A contract in which one business delivers work that another sells under its own brand. In plain terms, it means your client sees only your agency, while a partner does some or all of the work. For agencies, it settles who owns the client, the brand, the code and the exit.
Is a white label contract the same as a white label agreement?
Yes. The two terms are used interchangeably, and so is "white label partner agreement". What matters is not the name but whether it covers the twelve clauses above.
Is white labeling legal?
Yes. White labeling is an ordinary commercial arrangement: one business does the work and another sells it under its own brand, which is how most agencies scale. What keeps it clean is the agreement, which should give you the right to rebrand the work and settle ownership. This page isn't legal advice; have your own lawyer review any contract you sign.
What should a white label agreement include?
Scope and service levels, branding, client non-solicitation, confidentiality, ownership of work, payment, extra work, access, data protection, liability, warranty, and term and exit. The table above lists all twelve, with what ours says on each.
Will a white label partner sign my NDA?
We do, before you share any client details, and client details are used only to do the work.
Who owns the code built under a white label agreement?
With us, your client does, once the project is paid in full. Sites stay on your client's or your accounts, so there is nothing to hand back but the credentials.
Can a white label partner contact my clients?
Not ours. The non-solicit is in writing: we don't approach, contract with or market to your clients. Client-facing calls and account management stay with your agency.
How do I end a white label partnership?
With us: month to month, thirty days' notice, no exit fee, and every credential handed back within 48 hours.
Is this page the contract?
No. It's a plain-English summary. The binding terms are confirmed in writing before any client site is handed over. For a contract you'll rely on, have your own lawyer review it.