Terms of service

These terms explain how our services work. We've written them in plain English, but they are still a legal agreement, so please read them carefully. [Placeholder: have these terms reviewed by a solicitor before relying on them.]

About us

Bit19 is a trading name of Soxsoftware Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales (company number [company number]), with its registered office at [registered office address]. In these terms, "we" and "us" means Soxsoftware Ltd, and "you" means the business or person buying our services.

Our services and packages

We plan, design, build, host and maintain websites, apps and custom software. Our packages, and what each one includes, are described on our pricing page. Before we start, we'll confirm your package, prices and any agreed extras in writing [by email / in a proposal].

Setup fee and monthly subscription

• Setup fee: a one-off fee covering planning, design, building, testing and launch. It is payable [when you accept our proposal / in stages: confirm].
• Monthly subscription: covers hosting, maintenance, support and your monthly edit allowance. It starts [when your site goes live: confirm] and is paid monthly in advance [by card or Direct Debit: confirm].
• Prices are shown [including / excluding] VAT. [Placeholder: confirm VAT status.]
• If a payment is late, we may pause work and, after giving you [14 days'] notice, suspend hosting until it's paid.

What we need from you

You're responsible for supplying your business information, text, images and anything else we reasonably ask for, and for making sure you have the right to use them. Light copy improvement, such as tidying up wording, is included, but you're responsible for the accuracy of your content. Delays in supplying content may delay your project.

Your monthly edit allowance

Each package includes a number of minutes of edits a month for small changes to your existing site, such as updating text, prices, photos or opening hours. We record the time spent on each request, and you can see it in your client area.

Unused edit time doesn't roll over. It expires at the end of each month, and your allowance resets on the 1st.

Quoted work

Larger changes, new features and work beyond your remaining edit time are quoted separately. We'll always give you a quote and wait for your go-ahead before doing chargeable work.

Third-party fees

Some features rely on third-party services, such as card payment providers or booking systems. Their fees, including card payment processing fees, are paid by you and aren't included in our prices. We'll always tell you about these costs upfront.

Domain names, accounts and ownership

• Your domain name belongs to you. [Placeholder: confirm how domains are registered and renewed in the client's name.]
• Payment accounts, such as Stripe, are set up in your name and belong to you.
• [Placeholder: confirm who owns the website design, code and content once the setup fee has been paid.]

Support

We provide support during UK business hours [Placeholder: confirm days and times, e.g. Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays] through your client area. We'll respond to requests as quickly as we reasonably can, but we don't guarantee specific response times unless we've agreed them in writing.

Acceptable use

You agree not to use the services we provide for anything unlawful, harmful or misleading, including sending spam, hosting malware or infringing anyone else's rights. We may suspend services that are being misused, and we'll tell you why.

Hosting and availability

We work hard to keep your site online and secure, and we take regular backups. Occasionally your site may be unavailable, for example during maintenance or because of problems with a third-party provider. [Placeholder: confirm any uptime commitment.]

Liability

[Placeholder: limitation of liability clause, to be drafted by a solicitor. For example, limiting our total liability to the fees paid in the previous [12 months] and excluding indirect losses, without limiting any liability that cannot be limited by law.]

Cancellation and notice

[Placeholder: minimum term, notice period, and what happens to your website, files and data when the subscription ends.]

If you decide to leave, your domain name is yours and we'll help you move your website to another provider.

Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. We'll tell you about any significant changes at least [30 days] before they take effect.

Governing law

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales will deal with any disputes.