Document structure
Which document carries the money
Documents in a vendor relationship fall into four commercial roles: frameworks that set terms and commit nothing, commitments that carry the money and the dates, amendments that modify a parent, and ancillary documents with no commercial terms at all. Only commitment documents belong in a spend total. Summing every document you hold counts the same money more than once.
The Vendor Squeezer team. Last reviewed 2026-08-08. General guidance on contract structures, not legal advice, and not a statement about any particular vendor's terms.
The four roles
The role a document plays is independent of what it is called. A master agreement is normally a framework, but one with a minimum commitment is also a commitment. An order form is normally a commitment. The classification follows what the document does commercially rather than its title.
| Role | Typical documents | Counts toward spend |
|---|---|---|
| Framework | Master services agreement, master subscription agreement, framework agreement | No |
| Commitment | Statement of work, order form, purchase order, standalone agreement | Yes |
| Amendment | Amendment, addendum, change order | Only the value it adds |
| Ancillary | NDA, data processing agreement, service level agreement | No |
The double counting failure
The mistake is easy to make and hard to see. A master agreement is recorded with a value, because a value field existed and a number was available. The statements of work beneath it are recorded with their own values. The total now contains the same money twice, and it looks entirely plausible.
It is hard to detect because nothing is obviously wrong: every row is a real document with a real number. The only defence is classifying the role when the document is recorded, rather than trying to reconcile a total afterwards.
Two questions the classification answers for free
Once roles are recorded, two useful checks fall out without extra work. A framework with no commitment beneath it means either the relationship is dormant or spend has not been captured. A commitment with no framework above it means the governing terms are not on file, so nobody can state the liability position or the termination rights.
Both are worth surfacing as tasks with an owner rather than as observations, because both are closable.
Questions to ask about your own agreement
- 1.For each document on this vendor, which of the four roles does it play?
- 2.Does any framework document carry a value that is also carried by documents beneath it?
- 3.Are there frameworks with no commitment documents beneath them?
- 4.Are there commitments whose governing framework we do not hold?
- 5.Does the portfolio total include only commitment documents?
Common questions
What if one document is both a framework and a commitment?
That happens, particularly with standalone agreements that contain both the terms and the order in one file. Classify it as a commitment, since it carries money, and note that no separate framework exists.
How do I check an existing register for double counting?
Look for parent documents that carry a value and also have children with values. That pattern is the signature of the error, and it is usually a small number of rows carrying a large share of the overstatement.
Put this against your own vendors
Record the term, the notice deadline, and the exit cost against the vendor once, and the next renewal review starts from an answer instead of a search. Free while in early access.