A plain-language reader for service agreements
Know the way out before you sign in.
Lawn plans, alarm monitoring, gym memberships, home warranties, service contracts. Answer nineteen short questions about the fine print and get one page back: what it really costs a month, what leaving costs, the last day to cancel before it renews, and the questions to ask before you sign.
- No account, no email
- Nothing stored unless you save it
- Every fact linked to its source
4. Term. This Agreement begins on the Start Date and continues for twelve (12) months. It renews automatically for successive twelve-month terms unless Customer gives written notice at least sixty (60) days before the end of the then-current term.
Renews by itselfLast day to cancel: 60 days before each renewal
5. Fees. Customer agrees to pay $39.00 per month and a one-time start-up fee of $49.00. Example Lawn Co. may adjust pricing at any time.
Price can changeAsk how much notice you get
9. Early cancellation. If Customer ends this Agreement before the end of the term, all remaining monthly payments become due.
Leaving costs the rest of the termAfter month 1: $429.00
What you get back
The fine print, as four numbers and a date.
The same example, read by the Reader. The FTC suggests dividing a contract's total cost by its length to compare plans1; the Reader does that, then works out the cost of leaving at every point in the term.
- Per month
- $39.00from the monthly price
- First year
- $517.0012 months plus the $49 start-up fee
- Committed
- $517.00what the first term binds you to
- Cost to leave
- $429.00after the first month: every month left
Example figures for the invented agreement above. Your term sheet also shows the renewal date, the last day to cancel, and a note on each clause: CLEAR WATCH ASK.
How the Reader works
Five parts. Nineteen questions. About six minutes.
Have the agreement (or the sales page) in front of you. For each clause you pick what it says, including “it does not say”. A clause the agreement leaves out becomes a question to ask, in writing, before you sign.
- IThe serviceWhat it is and who stands behind the coverage.
- IIMoneyPrice and billing period, sign-up fee, per-visit fees or deductibles, price changes.
- IIITime and renewalStart date, term, automatic renewal, notice to cancel.
- IVGetting outHow you may cancel, the fee to leave early, any free cancellation window.
- VCoverage and disputesWhat is covered and excluded, overlap with a maker's warranty, claims, arbitration.
Cooling-Off Check
Signed at your kitchen table? You may have three business days to change your mind.
The FTC's Cooling-Off Rule covers many sales made at your home ($25 or more) or at a seller's temporary spot like a hotel room or fair ($130 or more).4 Tell the check where and when you bought, and it works out whether the rule looks likely to apply and the last day to cancel, skipping Sundays and federal holidays.
Check a sale- SatOct 10
day 1 - SunOct 11
not counted - MonOct 12
holiday - TueOct 13
day 2
- WedOct 14
day 3: last day
Example: a sale made on Friday, October 9, 2026. Saturday counts; Sunday and Columbus Day do not. You can cancel until midnight on Wednesday, October 14.
Pricing
Free to read. $1.95 a month to keep a shelf.
The Reader and the Cooling-Off Check are free for everyone. The Shelf plan is for people with several agreements to keep track of. Free during preview: payments are not switched on yet, so every feature is open and nothing is charged.
Free
$0
No account, no card.
- The Agreement Reader: every clause, the numbers, the questions
- The Cooling-Off Check
- A shelf with 2 saved term sheets
- Compare 2 agreements side by side
- Print any term sheet
Shelf plan Free during preview
$1.95 a month
or $19.50 a year (two months free). Cancel any time.
- Up to 25 saved term sheets
- Compare up to 4 agreements side by side
- Renewal calendar: every cancel-by and renewal date as a calendar file (.ics) for your phone or computer
- Signing packet: one printable page per agreement with every question to ask
Preview: payments are not switched on yet. Nothing is charged, there is no checkout, and every Shelf feature is on for everyone. Sheets you save now stay yours after launch.