Terms of business

Who these apply to

Otis Powell, a sole trader, 47c Brownhills Road, Cannock, Staffordshire, WS11 9SE ("I"), supplies services to businesses, charities and other organisations ("you") for business or organisational purposes, not as a consumer.

Quotes and prices

Prices on the Services page are starting prices, except the bottleneck audit, which is a fixed fee. Before work begins I send a written quote with the scope, the price and the timetable. A quote is valid for 14 days. Not VAT-registered, so no VAT is added to my prices. Hosting, domains and third-party subscriptions are listed in the quote and billed at cost.

Payment

For projects other than the bottleneck audit, a 50% deposit is invoiced to start the work, and work begins once it is paid. I invoice the balance on handover. All invoices are payable within 14 days of issue, by bank transfer, and late payments can carry statutory interest and compensation under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. For the £245 bottleneck audit, I invoice the fee when we agree the audit, and it is due before the session. If you cancel or reschedule with at least 48 hours’ notice, I refund the fee or move the session free. With less notice the fee is kept, and you can use it for one rescheduled session within three months. The fee is credited in full as a deduction from the deposit invoice of any project you agree in writing within three months of the audit date.

Changes to scope

Each quote says how many rounds of changes are included. Anything outside the agreed scope is quoted separately before I start it.

Acceptance checks

We agree how the work will be checked before I start. Within 14 days of handover, tell me in writing about anything that does not pass those checks and I will fix it at no extra cost. If I hear nothing within 14 days, the work counts as accepted.

Ownership

Once the final invoice is paid, you own the finished work I have created for you, and each quote, once signed by both of us, assigns those rights to you. Code and tools I had before your project, or reuse across projects, stay mine, and you get a permanent, free, non-exclusive licence to use, change and maintain them as part of your work, which passes to anyone who takes over that work from you. Open-source and third-party tools stay under their own licences. Domains, hosting and accounts are registered in your name wherever possible. I may show finished work in my portfolio unless you ask me not to, and I will not show anything that contains confidential or personal information.

Confidentiality

I keep your business information confidential and use it only for your project. If you ask me to remove work from my portfolio, I will.

Your content and access

You are responsible for the accuracy of the content you give me and for having the right to use it. I will ask for the access I need and will use it only for the agreed work.

Personal data in projects

If a project involves personal data that you control, such as member or client records, I handle it as your processor. The contract includes data-protection terms covering what I may do with it, security, sub-suppliers and deletion at the end. My own handling of enquiries is covered by the privacy notice.

Use of AI

When I use AI tools in work I deliver, I check what they produce before it reaches you. If I build an AI step into your process, we agree where one of your people reviews its output.

Support and care plans

For 30 days after handover I fix faults in what I delivered at no charge; report them to me by email. A covered fault is a failure of what I delivered to meet the agreed specification; changes you ask for, and failures of third-party services, are quoted separately. Ongoing updates and monitoring are covered by an optional care plan. A care plan runs month to month with its own scope and price in the quote, and either of us can end it with 30 days' written notice.

Liability

I take reasonable care and skill over the work. I am not liable for indirect or consequential loss, or for loss caused by third-party services, and my total liability for any project is limited to the fees paid or payable for it. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law.

Ending a project

Either of us can end a project by written notice. Each quote lists a price for each stage of the work. I value the work done up to that date by those stage prices, and a stage that is part done is charged in proportion. If that is less than your deposit, I refund the difference within 14 days; if it is more, I invoice the difference. Costs I have already committed for you, such as domains, are charged at cost. I hand over what has been completed once it is paid for.

Law

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales.

Questions about any of this: otis@otispowell.co.uk.