Rolling contract
A contract with no fixed end date that continues from one period to the next until either side gives notice, rather than running a term and renewing.
Also known as: Evergreen contract, Evergreen agreement, Rolling agreement
A rolling contract has no fixed end date. Instead of running a set term and then renewing, it continues from one period to the next, month to month or year to year, until either side gives notice to end it. Vendors also describe this as an evergreen agreement.
The practical difference from a fixed-term contract with an auto-renewal clause is that there is no anniversary to diary. What governs your exit is the notice period alone, so the date that matters is the day you give notice rather than a renewal date somebody wrote in a calendar. A rolling contract is easy to leave and easy to forget, which is why rolling tools are so often the ones still billing long after the team stopped using them.
Related terms
- Notice of non-renewalThe formal notification telling a vendor a contract will not renew, delivered in the form and by the deadline the agreement requires.
- Effective end dateThe date a contract actually ends once notice has been given, as opposed to the renewal date it would otherwise roll past.
- Subscription (term licence)A licence that grants access to software only for as long as you keep paying, billed on a recurring monthly or annual term.