General Terms & Conditions
We aim to produce the best possible product for our clients. Bearing this in mind, it is important to understand each other correctly.
1) Quotations
It is Cubic Snap's pleasure to provide the client with a cost estimate or quotation on any specified work. Quotations are valid for fourteen (14) days from the document date and are subject to the standard conditions and recognised customs of the web development and hosting industry in South Africa. Estimates and quotations not accepted within fourteen (14) days thereof shall be deemed withdrawn and cancelled. Clients will be notified prior to expiry and given an opportunity to extend a quote's expiry date should they require.
Quotations are based on the following critical condition: all content, text, images or any other relevant information will be supplied in final format, by the client, to Cubic Snap.
Quotations may include a design brief for the requested work stipulating the specific requirements and methods for the project, if required. Alterations to the quotation can be made within the 14 days; however any alterations will result in a new quotation being issued, and the new quotation will override the previously issued quotation.
All our quotations are carefully considered before being presented to the client. Reasonable assumptions are made based on the original request as to the exact workings or technical requirements of the project. We therefore reserve the right to amend our quotation should technical requirements change, or where requirements were not communicated properly to us at the time of the original request.
2) Deposit & Placement of Order
A 50% deposit of the total amount stipulated on the quotation becomes payable immediately on acceptance of the quotation. Cubic Snap (Pty) Ltd accepts the following payment methods: cash, electronic transfers and credit card payments.
All accepted quotations are added to our design/development schedule the moment the quote is accepted. Should the required 50% deposit not be received shortly after accepting the quotation, we reserve the right to move the project forward in our schedule until the deposit is received. No work will commence before a deposit or financial arrangement is made. We work on a first-come, first-served basis and prioritise clients who have already paid their deposit.
Placement of the order will only be accepted once we receive the signed quotation and proof of payment for the deposit. Alternatively, quotations can be accepted online via our website's quotation system. Accepting a quotation via our website binds you to our company's standard Terms & Conditions.
Cubic Snap (Pty) Ltd will issue the order and tax invoice on receipt of the required documents and deposit. Should a formal project plan and schedule document be required, the client may request their project manager to furnish them with such details.
Cubic Snap (Pty) Ltd reserves the right not to take on a new project under certain circumstances, at our discretion. Deposit payments received will not attract interest under any circumstances.
3) Conditions of a Project / Order
By accepting the quotation via our website, the client will be deemed to have ordered subject to the following standard conditions and recognised customs of the web development and hosting industry in South Africa, unless otherwise agreed in writing:
3.1 The client shall pay for any preliminary work which is produced at their request, whether experimentally or otherwise.
3.2 The client shall supply all the material required for inclusion in the client's website as stipulated in the specifications document, on the date specified by Cubic Snap (Pty) Ltd or as advised by the project manager. The client will not refuse or delay this process. Delaying the process could result in the project being rescheduled to a later stage.
3.3 Client's property and property supplied on behalf of the client will be held at the client's risk.
3.4 This agreement will commence on the effective date of the order and shall continue thereafter until completion of services. The actual completion date may vary from the estimated completion date due to numerous factors; the client cannot hold the developer responsible for the change in completion date. No development work will commence until the development specifications document is signed by the client.
3.5 The project manager requires approval from the client for the different stages in the development process. The project manager will inform the client when and by what date approval is required; the client will not refuse or delay the approval process. A delayed response on behalf of the client will result in the extension of project completion as determined by the developer and could result in an additional charge. After approval the client shall have no claim against the developer for any errors as approved by them.
3.6 Alterations or changes can be requested by the client at any stage during the development process, with restrictions on the number of requests as determined by the project manager, taking into consideration the specified design brief requirements and development time frame. Where requested alterations fall outside that criteria, the project manager will provide the client with a new cost estimate. The client will need to approve the new cost estimate before development can proceed.
3.7 On completion of the project the developer will request final approval from the client by issuing the final website approval agreement. The client will be responsible for approving all aspects of the project or website by signing the agreement and returning it to the developer. The client can report any errors or alterations required within seven (7) days of the agreement issue date. The developer will accept the project/website as approved after seven (7) days, with or without the signed agreement. Any alterations requested after the expiry date of the final website approval agreement will be charged for according to the developer's additional cost estimates.
3.8 Depending on the size of the project, Cubic Snap may issue a progress payment invoice not exceeding 85% of the total project value once the client has either come to our offices for a demo, or been presented with the demo URL of the completed website. Progress payment invoices are due immediately after the demo URL has been received or the demo has been completed.
3.9 Final payment becomes payable seven (7) days after the issue date of the final website approval agreement, on which date the final invoice will be issued. All services and/or products are rendered on a "cash on delivery" basis; accordingly all outstanding fees will be payable before delivery of the final product. Where a project is complete but no response is received from the client for a period exceeding 7 days, we reserve the right to deem the project complete and require final payment.
3.10 Once the developer has completed the project according to specifications, the project will be seen as complete and payment will become due as per point 3.9 above — irrespective of any outstanding content or 3rd-party information critical to the functioning of the website, such as terminal IDs and booking systems. Final payment cannot be delayed due to any 3rd-party vendor delays such as banks or payment gateway providers. All static content provided after completion of the project will be added under our general maintenance terms and billed at our prevailing standard hourly rate.
3.11 When payment is overdue, the developer may suspend the website without notice and without prejudice to any other legal remedy until due payment has been made. Any work started but incomplete may be suspended and payment therefore becomes immediately due and payable. If the client delays completion or payment for more than 30 days from the specified due date, there may be a penalty charge of not more than 10% of the quoted price per month. After thirty (30) days' notice the developer may exercise a general lien on the client's goods and property in their hands and may dispose of such goods and apply the proceeds towards such debts.
3.12 It is the sole responsibility of the client to determine whether the project/website ordered is suitable for the purpose for which they intend using it. The developer gives no warranty, express or implied, concerning the suitability of the goods for any purpose whatsoever, and shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, consequential or other loss to third parties.
3.13 Any contract is subject to cancellation or variation by reason of force majeure, or from any cause beyond the developer's control, including inability to secure labour, materials, power or supplies, or by reason of war, civil disturbance, riot, state of emergency, strike, lock-out or other labour dispute, fire, flood, theft or legislation.
3.14 Cubic Snap (Pty) Ltd offers free technical support for the lifetime of your website, unless: (a) the source code is edited or tampered with by either the client or a 3rd-party provider; or (b) your website is hosted by a 3rd-party company and not Cubic Snap (Pty) Ltd.
3.15 Cubic Snap (Pty) Ltd takes no responsibility or liability for content provided by the client. It is the client's sole responsibility to ensure that all content provided to Cubic Snap (Pty) Ltd is free of any copyright infringement or plagiarism.
3.16 The development specifications document is a binding contract between Cubic Snap (Pty) Ltd and the client. Should requirements not be listed in the specifications document, Cubic Snap reserves the right to bill additionally to cover the cost of developing the additional feature/requirement.
3.17 It is the client's sole responsibility to ensure that the supplied specifications document accurately details the development requirements. Any misunderstandings after completion of the project will not be entertained and may result in additional charges. It is therefore the client's responsibility to clarify all features and technical functionality before signing the specifications document and development commences.
4) Maintenance & Hourly Rate
We provide our clients with various maintenance packages. Cubic Snap (Pty) Ltd offers free technical support for the lifetime of your website should your website be hosted by Cubic Snap. If content changes or revisions are required, we strongly suggest a maintenance package. Where no maintenance package is in place, we will bill changes at our prevailing standard hourly rate (excluding VAT). Should your website be edited or changed by yourself or another 3rd-party vendor after finalisation of the project, we will not take responsibility to fix any errors or make revisions, and our prevailing standard hourly rate will apply.
5) Changes to Submitted Text
Please send us your final text. Time required to make substantive changes to client-submitted text after the web pages have been constructed will be billed at our prevailing standard hourly rate.
6) Web Hosting
The client understands that web hosting services require a separate contract. We strongly suggest that Cubic Snap (Pty) Ltd be used to host your website, as we can then guarantee correct functionality and deal with any support issues speedily. It is to be noted that we do not offer support on any 3rd-party hosting service. Should you decide not to host your website with us, we will do our best to accommodate your chosen hosting company, however we cannot take responsibility for their service, delays or any other problem which might arise. Any additional costs will be covered by the client, and could result in additional hours being billed at our prevailing standard hourly rate (excluding VAT).
6.1 Should you host your website with Cubic Snap (Pty) Ltd, we will bill monthly for any hosting fees payable. Traffic (bandwidth) and disk usage are provided as per the specific package the client has signed up for. Should usage exceed the allocated amount, we will bill for the additional usage on the next billing run as per our current published price structure, or automatically upgrade the hosting package to accommodate the requirement. We reserve the right to add such fees to your monthly debit order.
6.2 Any annual domain renewal fees will automatically be added to the client's debit order unless a written request not to do so has been received. Cubic Snap will always notify clients of domain renewals. Should you not wish to renew your domain name, we require a written request. If the request is received before the required notification date, no renewal fee will be payable; if received after, the client will be liable for the renewal fee irrespective of domain cancellation.
6.3 Should a client want to cancel their hosting with Cubic Snap, we require a request in writing. We have a one (1) calendar month notification policy and domains will only be cancelled after one calendar month.
6.4 Should a client wish to transfer their domain to another company, we require a request in writing. No transfer request will be honoured until all applicable hosting fees have been collected.
6.5 To safeguard your domain, Cubic Snap will under no circumstances provide FTP, database or email usernames or passwords unless specifically requested in writing by the authorising contact person, from the authorising email address/account.
6.6 Cubic Snap (Pty) Ltd reserves the right to terminate hosting and/or any services in the event of: failure to honour our billing terms; failure to abide by our Acceptable Use Policy in terms of spam and any other unlawful activities; poor business ethics and practices; or use of foul language and abuse toward staff, whether verbal or written.
7) Retention Period
Should web hosting or email hosting be cancelled, transferred, or pointed by means of a DNS update to a 3rd-party provider, Cubic Snap will retain backups of website files and/or email accounts for a period of 30 days after cancellation or transfer of services. Any websites we have built, including all design source files (if applicable), databases and source code, will be stored for a period of 5 years unless we are requested to destroy backups of the project.
8) Unattended Mailboxes
Should a mailbox be unattended for more than 90 days with no incoming or outgoing email recorded, it may automatically be deleted as unused.
9) Copyrights & Trademarks
The client warrants and unconditionally guarantees that any elements of text, graphics, photos, designs, trademarks or other artwork furnished to Cubic Snap (Pty) Ltd for inclusion in web pages are owned by the client, or that the client has permission from the rightful owner to use each of these elements, and will hold harmless, protect and defend Cubic Snap (Pty) Ltd from any claim or suit arising from the use of such elements furnished by the client.
10) Laws Affecting Electronic Commerce
From time to time governments enact laws and levy taxes and tariffs affecting internet electronic commerce. The client agrees that the client is solely responsible for complying with such laws, taxes and tariffs, and will hold harmless, protect and defend Cubic Snap (Pty) Ltd and its subcontractors from any claim, suit, penalty, tax or tariff arising from the client's exercise of internet electronic commerce.
11) Copyright to Web Pages
Copyright to the finished assembled work of web pages produced by Cubic Snap (Pty) Ltd is owned by Cubic Snap (Pty) Ltd. Upon final payment of this contract, the client receives full rights to all web page content, programming source code, pictures and any other media.
12) Refund Policy
This agreement begins with an initial payment of 50%. If the client halts work and applies by registered letter for a refund within 7 days of the initial deposit payment date, to the Directors of Cubic Snap (Pty) Ltd, work completed shall be billed at our prevailing standard hourly rate and deducted from the initial payment, the balance of which shall be returned to the client. If, at the time of the request for refund, work has been completed beyond the amount covered by the initial payment, the client shall be liable to pay for all work completed at our prevailing standard hourly rate. No portion of the initial payment will be refunded after the initial 7-day grace period.