terms and conditions

Estimates and quotes are valid for 90 days from the date provided.

hairyLemon will use commercially reasonable efforts to perform the services described in the relevant proposal, statement of work and/or agreed email communication.

If an expedited project timeline is requested during the project, urgent rates may apply. Project timelines are dependent on timely feedback, approvals, access and information being provided by the Client. Delays caused by the Client or external factors outside of hairyLemon’s reasonable control may result in adjusted delivery timelines.

Support work requested outside of the agreed scope will be charged at hairyLemon’s standard hourly rates unless otherwise agreed.

The scope of works is outlined in the agreed proposal and/or email/s. Any functionality, services or deliverables not specifically outlined within the agreed proposal, statement of work or written communications shall be considered out of scope.

Additional work, projects, tasks, support requests or change requests may be added during the engagement subject to agreement between both parties. Unless otherwise agreed, such work will be governed by these terms and conditions.

The scope and estimate will not be adjusted without prior discussion and consent from the Client.

hairyLemon assumes that all relevant technical, operational and project information has been disclosed by the Client. If previously undisclosed information, dependencies or technical constraints materially impact the agreed scope, timeline or implementation approach, hairyLemon reserves the right to revise the estimate, scope or delivery timelines accordingly.

All prices are in New Zealand dollars and exclude GST unless stated otherwise.

Retainers, ongoing services, third-party software, AI platforms, usage and tokens, licensing and recurring service rates may be subject to periodic review and adjustment due to supplier pricing changes, exchange rate fluctuations, inflationary pressures or changes to hairyLemon’s standard rates. Any significant adjustments will be communicated to the Client in advance.

Any additional costs outside of the agreed scope will be discussed with the Client and approved prior to the work being undertaken where reasonably practicable.

All fees are due on the 20th of the month following and will be billed based on project progress unless otherwise agreed.

Where the Client requests advance invoicing, prepayment, deposits or early budget allocation for services not yet commenced or completed, such payments will be treated as a commitment against future delivery capacity and agreed services.

As advance payments may trigger immediate tax, accounting and resource allocation obligations for hairyLemon, such payments are non-refundable unless otherwise agreed in writing.

Where the associated engagement scope changes materially, hairyLemon may, at its discretion, apply prepaid amounts toward revised agreed services rather than issuing a refund.

Invoices paid by credit card will incur a transaction fee of 2.7% + 30c per transaction.

Late payment fees of 10% will be charged monthly on outstanding amounts unless discussed prior.

If you have signed up for a payment plan, the terms of that payment plan are to be adhered to over our general late payment fees.

If payments are missed without an agreement in writing between hairyLemon and the Client, hairyLemon reserves the right to suspend services, withhold deliverables and/or refer outstanding accounts to debt recovery services where invoices remain unpaid without prior written agreement.

Should non-payment be escalated to debt collection services, any additional fees around debt recovery will be added onto the total amount owing from the client.

Unless otherwise agreed as part of a separate support agreement or SLA, support services are provided during standard business hours of Monday to Friday, 9am–5pm NZT, excluding public holidays.

Ad hoc support outside the agreed project scope will be charged on a time and materials basis at hairyLemon’s current standard hourly rates.

Where urgent support, expedited response times, after-hours work, weekend work or public holiday work is requested, urgent rates may apply.

hairyLemon will make commercially reasonable efforts to respond to urgent issues as resources allow; however, response times outside of agreed SLA arrangements cannot be guaranteed.

Clients on active support retainers or SLA agreements may receive prioritised response times and support coverage as outlined within their specific agreement.

hairyLemon reserves the right to determine the appropriate prioritisation and response approach for support requests based on severity, client agreements, system access and operational availability.

Either party may terminate ongoing services with 30-days’ written notice unless otherwise agreed.

Where project work has already commenced, the Client remains responsible for payment of completed work, committed project allocations and any applicable third-party costs incurred up to the date of cancellation.

Where the Client is on a retainer or SLA arrangement, hairyLemon reserves an agreed allocation of hours each month for the Client's use. Therefore, as 30 days' notice will typically extend into part of the following month, that following month will be billed based on the date written notice is received: notice received on or before the 15th of the current month will result in 50% of the standard retainer fee being billed for the following month; notice received after the 15th will result in 100% being billed. This reflects hours already reserved and allocated against the Client's account.

Following termination of services, the Client is responsible for retrieving any required files, data, credentials or backups prior to service closure. Unless otherwise agreed, hairyLemon is not responsible for the ongoing retention or storage of project assets, hosting environments or backups after the engagement ends. Support in retrieving the files or creating backups will be confirmed prior with the client and charged under hairyLemon’s hourly support rate.

hairyLemon reserves the right to suspend, close or terminate projects that remain inactive or materially delayed for more than 6 months unless otherwise agreed. In such cases, hairyLemon may invoice for completed work, committed project allocations and applicable third-party costs incurred to date.

Approved project budgets apply only to the originally scoped services and cannot automatically be transferred or redeployed to unrelated work, support or alternative activities unless otherwise agreed in writing.

hairyLemon provides a 3-month warranty period following project completion for the remediation of defects directly relating to the workmanship of the implemented solution.

This warranty does not apply to:

• changes made by the Client or third parties;

• issues caused by third-party software, plugins, hosting providers or external services;

• changes in third-party APIs, platforms or operating environments;

• security incidents, malicious attacks or unauthorised access;

• issues arising from previously undisclosed requirements or technical constraints; or

• normal software maintenance, enhancements or feature requests.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, hairyLemon shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages, including loss of profits, loss of revenue, loss of data, business interruption or reputational damage arising from the services provided under this agreement.

hairyLemon’s total aggregate liability arising from any claim relating to the services shall not exceed the total fees paid by the Client to hairyLemon for the specific services giving rise to the claim during the preceding 12-month period.

hairyLemon may use or integrate third-party platforms, hosting providers, plugins, APIs, software and other services in delivering the services. hairyLemon will use reasonable endeavours in the selection, implementation and management of such services where these are within its control, but does not warrant their uninterrupted availability, security, performance or continued functionality. hairyLemon is not liable for failures, outages, changes, vulnerabilities or other issues arising from third-party services, except to the extent directly caused by hairyLemon’s failure to perform its obligations under this agreement.

Where the Client, its personnel or any third party authorised by the Client has access to or makes changes to the services, systems, platforms or environments managed or supported by hairyLemon, hairyLemon shall not be responsible for any loss, failure, security issue, vulnerability or additional work resulting from those actions or changes. Any investigation, remediation or additional work required as a result may be treated as additional services.

To the extent any services involve the use of artificial intelligence or AI-assisted tools, hairyLemon’s liability is limited in the same manner as set out above. hairyLemon does not warrant that AI-assisted outputs will be fully accurate, complete or fit for a particular purpose, and the Client remains responsible for reviewing and approving AI-assisted outputs prior to their use or publication.

Upon full payment of all applicable fees, the Client shall own the final deliverables specifically developed by hairyLemon for the agreed project.

hairyLemon retains ownership of all pre-existing intellectual property, reusable code libraries, frameworks, utilities, tools, methodologies, processes and development techniques used in delivering the services.

Any third-party software, plugins, frameworks, APIs, fonts, libraries or licensed assets remain subject to their respective third-party licence terms and ownership rights.

Where reasonably practicable, third-party service accounts and platform assets established specifically for the Client may be transferred to the Client upon request, subject to all outstanding invoices being paid and any applicable third-party platform limitations or licensing requirements.

Concepts, designs or proposals not selected or implemented as part of the final approved deliverables

Both parties acknowledge that they may receive confidential, proprietary or commercially sensitive technical and business information during the engagement. Each party agrees to maintain strict confidentiality and not disclose or use such information except as required to fulfil their obligations under the agreement or where required by law.

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, neither party shall publicly disclose confidential project information belonging to the other party.

Unless otherwise requested by the Client in writing, hairyLemon may reference the Client and use completed project work, deliverables, visuals, outcomes and related materials for portfolio, marketing, promotional, capability and case study purposes.

These confidentiality obligations continue following completion or termination of the engagement.

During the engagement, and for a period of 12 months following completion of the services, the Client agrees not to directly solicit for employment any hairyLemon employee or contractor who has been materially involved in providing the services, unless otherwise agreed in writing.

hairyLemon may provide recommendations and guidance relating to security, privacy, infrastructure and platform best practices throughout the engagement. The Client acknowledges that security and privacy are shared responsibilities involving the Client, hosting providers, third-party vendors, administrators and operational processes.

While hairyLemon will use commercially reasonable efforts to implement secure development and deployment practices, no website, application, platform or third-party software environment can be guaranteed to be completely secure or immune from compromise.

Unless otherwise agreed as part of an active SLA or managed services agreement, hairyLemon does not provide guaranteed 24/7 monitoring, incident response or security management services.

hairyLemon may implement security updates, patches and maintenance updates for the Client’s chosen content management systems, plugins, frameworks and relevant third-party software as agreed with the Client. hairyLemon is not responsible for faults, incompatibilities or operational issues arising from third-party software updates, vendor changes or conflicts between third-party systems.

Security incidents, malicious attacks, compromised websites or emergency remediation work may require immediate investigation and response outside of standard support arrangements. Unless otherwise covered under an agreed SLA or managed services agreement, such work may be billed at urgent support rates.

Remedial investigation, troubleshooting or recovery work resulting from third-party vulnerabilities, software conflicts, hosting failures, malicious attacks or security incidents may be billed at hairyLemon’s standard or urgent support rates depending on the nature and timing of the work.

hairyLemon may provide recommendations relating to GDPR, privacy obligations and other applicable data protection requirements on a best endeavors basis. However, ultimate responsibility for compliance with applicable privacy, data protection and regulatory obligations remains with the Client.