Enterprise deals come with enterprise expectations—longer cycles, deeper legal scrutiny, and custom terms that can’t always be addressed with standard templates. One of the most common complexities in these high-value contracts is the introduction of a third-party Master Service Agreement (MSA).
Rather than negotiating on your paper, the buyer provides theirs. For many teams, that’s where efficiency breaks down. But with the right CLM strategy—and the right technology—third-party MSAs can be absorbed, negotiated, and tracked without derailing the sales process.
In a recent walkthrough with Marshfield Consulting and DocuSign, we saw exactly how this is done using DocuSign CLM and Microsoft Dynamics.
Here’s how organizations are managing third-party MSAs without sacrificing speed or control.
What Is a Third-Party MSA—and Why Does It Matter?
A third-party MSA is simply a Master Service Agreement provided by the customer, rather than generated internally. It often includes their preferred terms around liability, IP ownership, payment schedules, data handling, and other risk-heavy elements.
This adds complexity, but it’s not uncommon—especially in enterprise deals, or when the customer holds more negotiating power.
If your team can’t efficiently manage and track third-party paper, it leads to:
- Delays in legal review
- Lost version control
- Manual redlining and offline approval processes
- Data gaps post-signature
DocuSign CLM solves for all of these by embedding support for third-party MSA workflows directly into the contract generation process.
Seamless Handling of Third-Party MSAs in Dynamics
Using Marshfield’s certified connector, sales reps working in Microsoft Dynamics can generate agreements with a built-in option to upload third-party MSAs. Here’s what that workflow looks like:
- From the quote or opportunity, the sales rep selects “Generate Agreement.”
- Based on customer segment or deal size (e.g., enterprise), the system intelligently offers a third option: attach third-party MSA.
- The rep simply drags and drops the MSA file received from the customer into the generation interface.
- DocuSign CLM dynamically adjusts the order form to reflect the presence of a third-party MSA—visually marked (e.g., with green text or status) to distinguish it from standard paper.
This means no separate email threads, no disjointed Word file versions, and no ambiguity. The entire package flows through the same workflow—negotiation, redlining, approval, and signature—within a single system.
The Value for Sales, Legal, and Operations
By bringing third-party MSAs into your standard contract lifecycle, you unlock real efficiencies:
1. Sales Doesn’t Lose Momentum
Reps stay in Dynamics, use a familiar process, and don’t have to guess how to route or handle custom terms.
2. Legal Gains Control and Visibility
Third-party terms are tracked, versioned, and passed through AI-assisted review, clause libraries, and approval workflows—just like internal templates.
3. Operations Get Cleaner Data
Even with third-party paper, DocuSign CLM can extract key terms post-signature (renewals, payment schedules, risk clauses) and sync them to your CRM or ERP.
This eliminates the black box effect and ensures downstream teams have access to the terms that impact their work.
Final Thought
Third-party MSAs don’t have to stall deals or create chaos. With the right configuration in DocuSign CLM, they’re just another branch in a smart, streamlined contracting workflow.
By enabling reps to upload customer paper directly from Dynamics—and routing those terms through the same system of negotiation, AI review, and finalization—organizations can maintain speed without sacrificing legal rigor.
Need help managing custom contracts with efficiency?
Marshfield Consulting specializes in CLM workflows tailored for enterprise deals, including support for third-party paper, clause negotiation, and post-signature visibility. Let’s talk about your contracting challenges.
