You are about to spend $29 to have your elevator service contract read line by line. Fair question first: what exactly do you get back?
Here is a complete, redacted example of a real Contract Decode report, start to finish. Building name, addresses, and account numbers are removed. Nothing else is dressed up. This is the deliverable.
Why this page exists: most contract-review tools ask you to hand over your actual signed agreement before they show you anything. That is backwards. Read the sample below first. If it is not worth $29 to have this run against your own contract, do not buy it.
Contract Decode Report - Sample
Contract type: Full Maintenance (FM), single hydraulic elevator Building profile: 7-story mixed-use, equipment ~14 years old Current annual rate: $9,480/year ($790/month) Report run: redacted example
1. Your rate vs. the market
Your rate of $9,480/year on a single 14-year-old hydraulic elevator sits in the upper third of the Full Maintenance band for this equipment profile.
| Your contract | Market band (FM, aging hydraulic, single unit) | Where you land |
|---|---|---|
| $9,480/year | $4,500-$12,000/year | 78th percentile - high, but not off the map |
Read this carefully: a high rate is not automatically a bad deal. On 14-year-old equipment, a genuinely comprehensive FM contract that actually covers the controller and power unit can be worth the premium. The problem is not your number. The problem is what your exclusions section does to it. See flags 3 and 4.
2. Clause-by-clause flags
We read every clause. Here is every one that runs against you, most costly first.
RED - Section 7.3, Exclusions
"Obsolete parts" are excluded, and the contractor alone defines "obsolete." On 14-year-old equipment, this is the single most expensive line in your contract. A controller board failure gets ruled "obsolete," you pay retail ($3,000-$8,000), and it is technically within the terms you signed. This is how a $9,480 contract becomes a $16,000 year.
RED - Section 11.1, Auto-Renewal
Evergreen clause: the contract auto-renews for successive 5-year terms unless you cancel in writing 90-120 days before the anniversary. Miss that window by a day and you are locked in for another five years. Most owners never diary this date and find out only when they try to leave.
YELLOW - Section 4.2, Escalator
Annual price increase is tied to a labor index with no cap. In practice this has run 4-7%/year. Over a 5-year term, an uncapped escalator on a $9,480 base compounds to roughly $2,000-$3,500/year more by year five. Negotiable: a hard 3% annual cap is standard and reasonable to ask for.
YELLOW - Section 9, Callbacks
After-hours callbacks billed at $400-$800 each, on top of the FM rate you already pay. For a building your size that is a predictable $1,000-$2,500/year of "extra" that a properly scoped FM contract should already absorb.
GREEN - Section 6, Response Time
2-hour emergency / 24-hour non-emergency SLA with defined remedies. This is a genuinely fair term. Do not trade it away chasing a lower base rate.
3. What to renegotiate - ranked
Bring these to your service manager, in this order, before you sign or renew.
- Rewrite the "obsolete parts" exclusion (Section 7.3). Either strike the contractor-sole-discretion language or cap your out-of-pocket parts exposure. Highest-value single change - worth $3,000-$8,000 on a single major-component event.
- Cap the escalator at 3% (Section 4.2). ~$2,000-$3,500 saved over the term.
- Diary the auto-renewal notice date now (Section 11.1), and ask to shorten the notice window to 30-60 days. This one costs nothing and preserves your leverage.
- Fold routine after-hours callbacks into the FM scope (Section 9). ~$1,000-$2,500/year.
Estimated value of acting on this report: $6,000-$14,000 over the contract term, on a single elevator.
That is the whole deliverable. Now run it against your contract.
Upload your actual agreement and get this same breakdown on your real rate and your real clauses, usually within minutes. One flat $29. No subscription, no sales call. If it does not surface at least one issue worth acting on, you pay nothing.
Decode My Contract →Compiled from real signed contracts. Reply to your receipt within 7 days and we refund the $29, no questions.
Compliance alerts, contract negotiation tactics, and cost-saving moves. Written by an elevator expert, for the people who deal with elevator companies. Free, unsubscribe anytime.
How your report is built
Your contract is scored against a library compiled from real signed elevator service and maintenance contracts across multiple markets. The report is not a generic template. It reads your specific rate against the actual cost bands for your contract type, equipment age, and building profile, then flags your clause language against the patterns that most reliably cost building owners money: contractor-defined exclusions, uncapped escalators, evergreen auto-renewals, and one-sided termination terms.
If you want to understand the underlying cost structure before you buy, start with our full breakdown of elevator maintenance contract costs, the contract red flags checklist, and the guide on how to read an elevator service contract.
Related Resources
- Elevator Maintenance Contract Costs (2026 Guide) - the full cost breakdown behind the market bands used in your report
- Otis vs KONE vs Schindler vs TK Compared - who each company is best for, and where independents win
- How to Get Out of an Elevator Contract - if your report surfaces a lock-in you want out of
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the $29 Contract Decode report actually include?
The Contract Decode report includes four things: (1) your real monthly or annual rate scored against the market cost bands for your contract type and equipment, (2) a flag on every escalator, auto-renewal, exclusion, and termination clause that runs against you, (3) plain-English 'here is what this means' on the lock-in language most contracts bury, and (4) a short, ranked list of exactly what to renegotiate before you sign or renew, with roughly what each line item is worth. It is delivered to your inbox, usually within minutes, with no subscription and no sales call.
Is the Contract Decode report worth $29?
The report costs $29 flat, once, with no subscription. A single flagged escalator clause or a mispriced base rate typically represents hundreds to thousands of dollars per elevator per year over the contract term. If the report does not surface at least one issue worth acting on, you pay nothing. That asymmetry is the entire point: the downside is a coffee's worth of money, the upside is catching a five-year lock-in before you sign it.
Do I have to upload my real contract to see a sample?
No. This page is a complete, redacted example of a real Contract Decode report so you can see exactly what you get before you upload anything. You only upload your own contract after you decide the deliverable is worth $29 to you, and even then you are covered by the results-or-free guarantee and a 7-day refund.
How is my contract analyzed?
Your contract is scored against a library compiled from real signed elevator service and maintenance contracts across multiple markets. The report compares your rate to the actual cost bands for your contract type (Oil and Grease vs Full Maintenance), equipment age, and building profile, then reads your specific clause language against the patterns that most commonly cost building owners money: buried escalators, evergreen auto-renewals, wide exclusion lists, and one-sided termination terms.