Evergreen contracts, explained for small businesses
An evergreen contract is one that has no fixed end date — it renews continuously until one party gives notice to cancel. Vendors love them because they turn one sale into recurring revenue by default. Buyers get burned by them because a missed notice window means paying for another full term.
How evergreen differs from a fixed term
A fixed-term contract ends on a set date. An evergreen contract renews on that date unless you actively cancel. The commercial impact is opposite: with fixed-term, the default is you stop paying; with evergreen, the default is you keep paying.
Why vendors use them
Predictable revenue, lower churn, less selling. Enterprise sales teams are compensated on retained ARR, and evergreen clauses do most of that work automatically.
The trap for SMBs
Small businesses rarely have a contracts manager. The person who signed left. The renewal calendar is a shared Google Sheet nobody updates. The reminder from the vendor (if any) goes to an unmonitored inbox. Result: you pay for another year.
How to take back control
Centralise every contract. Extract the notice period. Set reminders before the last day you can cancel — not the renewal date. Assign an owner. This is a one-hour setup with Kept and it usually pays for itself the first time you cancel something.
Frequently asked
Track 10 contracts free. Then $29/year for unlimited.
AI extracts the terms and reminds you before every deadline. Upgrade when you need unlimited contracts, chat and MCP.
Track 10 contracts free