Terms and conditions
Read the following carefully, as employing S. Group for any service implies that you have read, understood and accepted our terms and conditions and that you agree to be bound by these terms and conditions accordingly.
Mutual cooperation
We agree to use our best efforts to fulfil and exceed your expectation on the deliverables in this project. You agree to aid us in doing so by providing us with all the required information for your project and to review our work, and provide feedback and approval within the timeframe that we agree upon.
Confidentiality and privacy
S. Group acknowledges its responsibility, both during and after the term of its appointment, to use all reasonable efforts to preserve the confidentiality of any proprietary or confidential information or data developed by S. Group on behalf of your organisation or disclosed by you to us, unless you have given us permission to disclose that information.
S. Group has the right to showcase project work, including unused concepts, in any media format, for the purpose of self-promotion. The Client should inform S. Group in writing before the project commences if any material, information or any other part of the project is confidential. In the instance that the project or parts of the project are confidential, S. Group agrees not to publish the project until written confirmation to do so has been supplied by the Client.
Quotes and quote acceptance
Quoted prices are based on the estimated hours that it will take to complete a project and do not include changes, copywriting, stock imagery, stock video, media buying, broadcast costs, printing costs, secondary consultants, council fees, engineering services or otherwise, unless clearly stated otherwise. All quotes are valid for thirty (30) days from the date of issue. S. Group may re-evaluate a quote if the Client requests changes to the brief that goes above and beyond those listed in the quote or proposal. The Client will be notified of any additional costs that may occur before any work is carried out.
Quotes can be accepted in writing, with a physical signature on a printed proposal or via the acceptance button for proposals in Nusii. Payment of a deposit is also considered acceptance of a quote. When you accept a quote with S. Group, you agree to be bound by our terms and conditions.
Do-and-charge works
There are times when a small job or support is requested, and a quote is not provided. This work will be undertaken on a do-and-charge basis whereby the Client will be invoiced for the time spent at our current hourly rate.
Out of hours urgent requests
When out of hours work or support is specifically requested by the Client, an out of hours hourly rate will apply. We will always notify you if out of hours rates apply before work or support commences.
Project resources
The supply of content, images or media files is the responsibility of the Client unless the Client is employing S. Group’s services to do so on their behalf. The Client is required to provide or prepare all information, documentation, images or otherwise before S. Group begin work.
Completion policy (scheduling and deadlines)
We both agree to be bound by the deadlines we put in place. We’ll put those dates in writing to make sure that we both understand what we are agreeing to. In the event that you miss one or more of the deadlines that we’ve agreed upon, or are late in supplying us materials or with approvals, or don’t pay us within the timeframes that we’ve agreed upon, you agree that you won’t hold us responsible or liable for a missed launch date or deadline, or delayed delivery of your project.
Terms of payment
You agree to adhere to the following payment schedule:
- If the project is completed prior to the end of the monthly instalments period, S. Group will invoice the balance in full
- Any changes or additions to the project scope totalling under 30% of the originally quoted price for the project will be added to the final project payment
- Changes or additions totalling more than 30% of the amount originally quoted for the project will be invoiced to you as an additional instalment payment due before the final payment
Please note that work will not commence until the deposit has been received by S. Group.
All invoices will have fourteen-day payment terms. Payments that are not received within 14 days of the original due date may incur an administration fee of 2.5% of the end of month account balance. In addition, S. Group reserves the right to stop work until payment is received. In the event that we incur legal fees, costs and disbursements in an effort to collect our invoices, in addition to interest on the unpaid balance, you agree to reimburse us for these expenses.
Project on hold
If the Client wishes to put a project on hold, the work to date will be invoiced. By default, a project will be considered on hold when S. Group has been waiting four or more weeks for the client to provide information, content, feedback, or otherwise, that results in the project unable to progress further.
Default in payment
The Client shall assume responsibility for cost outlays by S. Group in all collections of unpaid fees and legal fees necessitated by default in payment. Invoices in default will include but are not limited to fees for collection and legal costs.
Cancellation
You have the right to cancel your project. In the event of cancellation, ownership of all copyrights and the original artwork shall be retained by S. Group, and expenses already incurred, shall be paid by the Client. You will be invoiced for the work carried out so far based on the quote provided. If work has been carried out on a do-and-charge basis, you will be invoiced for the work to date based on our current hourly rate.
Copyright and licensing
Architecture
Designs produced by S. Group remain the copyright of S. Group. S. Group reserve the right to utilise both artist impressions, plans and actual constructed images for promotional purposes - including but not limited to social media and website promotion. S. Group reserve the right to install one sign no larger than 2.4 x 1.2m on the said property during construction and for three months after completion.
Photography
Copyright to all images produced by S. Group is retained by S. Group. We are licensing the images to you for the purpose of what has been outlined in the quote. If extra licensing is required, this may incur a fee.
Branding, graphic and web design
All preliminary work, concepts, ideas and/or materials that may be proposed, discussed and/or produced by S. Group for the purposes of obtaining new work remain the sole property of S. Group (excluding any incorporated materials supplied by the Client). Upon S. Group receiving the final payment for a project in full, the copyright to the design is automatically transferred to the Client. The grant of any license or right of copyright is conditioned on receipt of full payment. In the event of multiple proposed designs being submitted to you, the Client, for selection, the one design selected is deemed by S. Group as fulfilling the contract. All other designs remain the property of S. Group, and S. Group retains the right to re-use any original material that does not form part of any final approved work. S. Group retains the right to display designs created by S. Group in our portfolio, and for the purpose of marketing or advertising our services on or offline.
All work supplied by S. Group is believed to constitute original work and is prepared in good faith that it does not infringe the rights of any other party. S. Group cannot provide an absolute guarantee that any specific works do not infringe upon existing third-party rights, inadvertently, by coincidence or otherwise. S. Group cannot take responsibility for any copyright or privacy infringements caused by materials submitted by the Client and may refuse the use of any such material unless proof of permission is provided.
Client responsibility
You guarantee that all elements of text, images, or other artwork you provide are either owned by you or that you have permission to use them. You shall be responsible for the accuracy, completeness and propriety of information concerning your products and services which you furnish to us verbally or in writing in connection with the performance of this agreement.
Term and termination
Termination for cause
Either party to this Agreement may terminate the Agreement if the other party defaults in the performance of any of its material duties and obligations and the default are not cured within thirty (30) days of the receipt of notice of said default, or if the default is not reasonably curable within the said period of time unless the defaulting party commences cure within the said period of time and diligently proceeds to cure the default.
In addition, either party may immediately terminate this Agreement by giving written notice to the other party if the other party is insolvent or has a petition brought by or against it under the insolvency laws of any jurisdiction if the other party makes an assignment for the benefit of creditors, if a trustee or similar agent is appointed with respect to any property or business of the other party, or in the case of the Client, if the Client materially breaches its obligations to make payment pursuant to this Agreement.
Payment for non-cancellable materials
Any non-cancellable materials, services, etc., we have properly committed ourselves to purchase for your account, (either specifically or as part of a plan such as modules, photography and/or external services) shall be paid for by you, in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement. We agree to use our best efforts to minimise such liabilities immediately upon written notification from you. We will provide written proof, upon your request, that any such materials and services are non-cancellable.
General provisions
Governing law
This Agreement shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Tasmania.
Representations and warranties
The parties each individually represent and warrant that each has full power and authority to enter into this agreement and to perform all of their obligations hereunder without violating the legal or equitable rights of any third party. Our services are provided without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied.
Limitation of liability
All works created by S. Group will be considered approved for use by the Client prior to being employed for use in any way. S. Group is unable to guarantee that any third party products or services are suitable for use in any way and under no circumstances shall S. Group be liable for any direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages, including, but not limited to, loss of data or profit, arising out of the use, or the inability to use, the materials provided by S. Group. If your use of materials from S. Group results in the need for servicing, repair or correction of equipment or data, you assume any costs thereof.
Severance
If any term or provision of these Terms and Conditions is held invalid, illegal or unenforceable for any reason by any court of competent jurisdiction such provision shall be severed and the remainder of the provisions hereof shall continue in full force and effect as if these Terms and Conditions had been agreed with the invalid, illegal or unenforceable provision eliminated.
Architecture services
Changes and revisions
Upon commencement of Stage 3, the design will be 'locked', and at this point, if you wish to change your mind or add anything new, the Client agrees to engage S. Group at hourly rates for the additional services.
Marketing services
Printing
We advise the Client to obtain a printed proof from their printer before print production is carried out.
Website compatibility
S. Group will endeavour to ensure that any website or application developed by S. Group will function correctly on the server it is initially installed on. We test our work in current versions of major desktop browsers including Safari, Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer (10 and above). If you require an enhanced design for an older browser, we can provide a separate estimate for that. We'll also test the responsive design on real iPhone and Android devices.
We do not guarantee that the functionality contained in any web page templates or in the completed website will remain error-free forever. S. Group will not be liable to you or any third party for any damages arising out of, or in connection with the project, including lost profits, lost savings, or other incidental, consequential or special damages arising out of the operation of or inability to operate this website and any other web pages, even if you have advised us of the possibilities of such damages.
Due to industry and technology standards and methods continuously evolving, all project content must be supplied within 30 days of the quote acceptance. Otherwise, the quote may become invalid, regardless of whether or not the Client has paid a deposit.
Website bugs or system errors
We will support your site as-is for 30 days after its release, at no additional charge. This support covers bug fixes that are a direct result of our development, and anything this is not working correctly across the site. This does not include additional training, or 'refresher' sessions when procedures have been forgotten. Maintenance may include upgrades to the CMS as they are released. Charges will be incurred for fixing errors caused directly by the Client, or any third party making changes to the website structure or code, or for items that are outside of our control, but we’ll be upfront about these costs.
It is important that all websites are serviced regularly and maintained. We strongly recommend that websites are backups are made on a regular basis.
Support and training
The Client accepts that by requesting any kind of support either through phone, email, in person or otherwise, they are liable to charges at our current hourly rate. Support includes but is not limited to updates, training, fixes, changes, phone support, email requests, consultations and meetings.
If you would like us to facilitate web hosting, we can do so. This is arranged through a certified reseller, based in Australia with 99.9% uptime. This account can facilitate email hosting, but we strongly recommend it be arranged elsewhere through Google Apps or Office 365. We monitor your website for issues related to downtime, and will investigate (according to our support hours) should issues occur. As we do not physically host your web server, we are reliant on our web hosts to rectify serious issues such as hardware failure or network issues that cause server downtime. We work closely with them to rectify any issues that arise to ensure your site is back online quickly.
If you arrange web hosting through a third-party, we do not include technical support for web hosting, email or other services related to that hosting account. However, we will do our best to point you to solutions and information should you need assistance. Similarly, we do not offer or include technical support for issues or problems with your computer or installed computer software such as desktop email programs.
Changes and revisions
All change requests must be made in writing. If work has to be re-done or corrected because an incorrect brief has been supplied by the Client or the brief changes in any way, we have the right to charge for changes made at our current hourly rate.
Proofing and approval of final artwork
The Client is responsible for proofing all artwork and content thoroughly. S. Group accepts no responsibility for typographical errors, spelling mistakes, or incorrect information on any project committed to print, production or otherwise. Any changes made to a project after the Client has approved any final work, whether verbally or in writing, will be billed to the Client.
