Terms & Conditions

1. Introduction

These Terms & Conditions describe the general basis for using the CATDOG website and engaging CATDOG for technology services. They are intended to support clear expectations and practical cooperation. Applicable rights that cannot lawfully be excluded remain unaffected.

2. About CATDOG

CATDOG is a South African technology business providing development, cloud and technical services. Please use the Contact page or the published email or telephone to discuss requirements or ask questions about these Terms & Conditions.

3. Scope of these Terms & Conditions

Quotations, proposals, statements of work, support agreements, hosting agreements, SLAs and data-processing agreements may contain additional or different terms. Where a signed written agreement conflicts with these general Terms & Conditions, the specific written agreement governs that engagement to the extent of the conflict, subject to applicable law.

Browsing this website or sending an enquiry does not by itself order services. Use the site lawfully; do not introduce malicious code, attempt unauthorised access or misuse personal information. Website content and branding remain protected by their applicable intellectual-property rights.

4. Services

Services may include website and application development, booking and business systems, integrations, AWS hosting, cloud infrastructure, storage, Business Intelligence and Amazon QuickSight, technical support, retainers, maintenance and Digital Health Checks. Only services included in the applicable agreement form part of an engagement.

A Digital Health Check is an assessment within an agreed scope and access level. It does not automatically include remediation, a penetration test, legal certification or a guarantee that every issue will be identified.

5. Quotations and proposals

Quotations and proposals set out the proposed services, assumptions, pricing and acceptance requirements. Quote validity and any conditions will be specified in the relevant document. An enquiry or acknowledgement alone is not acceptance of a project.

Work starts according to the agreed acceptance process. Electronic acceptance may conclude an agreement where applicable law and that process allow; a handwritten signature is not the only possible form of acceptance.

6. Project scope

The applicable proposal or statement of work defines deliverables, exclusions, supported platforms, responsibilities and acceptance criteria. A capability described on the website is not automatically included in every project.

7. Changes to scope

Changes should be discussed and agreed in writing before additional work begins. The parties will identify any effect on fees, timelines, dependencies and deliverables, including whether approved retainer hours may be used.

8. Client responsibilities

Clients are responsible for providing accurate requirements, lawful materials, necessary access and timely decisions. Each engagement should identify authorised decision-makers and responsibilities for accounts, licences and approvals. Credentials should be shared only through an agreed secure method.

9. Fees and payment

Payment terms will be specified in the applicable quotation, proposal or agreement. That document should distinguish project fees, retainers, usage charges and applicable taxes, and identify any agreed deposit or payment milestones.

Only agreed and properly disclosed charges apply. Any payment concern should be raised promptly so it can be addressed. These general terms do not establish a deposit percentage, payment period, interest rate or late-payment penalty.

10. Project timelines

Delivery dates and milestones will be set out in the applicable project plan or agreement, together with relevant assumptions. Estimates depend on the agreed scope and available information; any binding delivery commitment must be identified in the agreement.

11. Delays and dependencies

Delivery may depend on client information, approvals, third-party access or external reviews. The parties should communicate delays promptly, assess their effect and agree any necessary changes to the plan. A dependency does not automatically remove either party’s agreed responsibilities.

12. Development and delivery

The project agreement should identify development stages, testing, supported devices, acceptance, deployment and handover, including source files or access where agreed. App-store reviews and third-party approvals may affect delivery and cannot be guaranteed by CATDOG.

13. Hosting and cloud services

Hosting and cloud agreements define the systems CATDOG manages, the underlying provider services and any client-managed accounts or applications. Account ownership, regions, access, monitoring and operational responsibilities should be recorded.

AWS consumption and other infrastructure charges may be included, separately billed or passed through as specified in the proposal. Usage limits, cost alerts and authority for chargeable changes should be agreed; no universal billing model or data location is assumed.

14. Third-party services

External services may have separate terms, licences, charges and operating limits. Relevant dependencies and responsibility for maintaining subscriptions should be identified in the engagement. An external link does not make CATDOG the operator of that website, and a provider dependency does not exclude CATDOG’s own agreed duties.

15. Domain names and DNS

Domain registrant details, registrar accounts, renewals, DNS access and approval responsibilities should be agreed. DNS changes may affect websites and email; implementation should account for dependencies, verification and recovery. Registration and renewal remain subject to registrar and registry requirements.

16. Storage services

An agreed storage service should define permitted data, access, capacity, usage charges and retention or backup arrangements. Clients must have authority to store the supplied material. Storage does not imply unlimited capacity or an automatic backup service; export and deletion arrangements should be agreed.

17. Business Intelligence and reporting

Reporting and Amazon QuickSight engagements should define data sources, business definitions, access, licences, refreshes and authorised viewers. Clients should validate supplied data and consider its limitations when making decisions. Reports support decision-making but do not guarantee commercial outcomes.

18. Support and retainers

Retainer hours and their use will be defined in the applicable retainer agreement. Included work, support channels, priorities, operating hours, reporting, excess-work approval and any rollover arrangements should be specified. A retainer does not imply unlimited support.

19. Service levels

Any applicable service levels will be documented in the relevant support or service agreement. A response target is distinct from a resolution commitment. Priorities, measurement, exclusions and any remedies should be stated; not every engagement includes an SLA.

20. Maintenance and updates

The maintenance agreement defines covered updates, patches, monitoring and routine changes, together with approvals and scheduling. Larger upgrades and new functionality may require separate scope. Testing and recovery arrangements should be appropriate to the affected system.

21. Client content and materials

Clients retain their rights in materials they supply and authorise their use only as needed for the agreed work. They should ensure the materials are accurate and lawfully usable. CATDOG will not publish a client’s name, logo or project as a reference without permission or an applicable agreement.

22. Intellectual property

Ownership or licensing of custom deliverables, transfer conditions and included source files or access will be specified in the project agreement. These general terms do not automatically transfer all code to a client or reserve every deliverable to CATDOG. Third-party and client-owned rights remain distinct.

23. Pre-existing CATDOG tools and components

Pre-existing code, reusable tools, templates and know-how may remain owned by CATDOG or their respective owners. Where included in a deliverable, the agreement should identify the licence needed to use and maintain the result and distinguish it from assigned custom work.

24. Open-source and third-party software

Open-source and other third-party software remain subject to their applicable licences. The project should identify material attribution, distribution, source-availability or other obligations. Open source does not mean that software has no owner or licence conditions.

25. Confidentiality

Information identified as confidential, or reasonably understood to be confidential, should be used for the agreed purpose and shared only with authorised recipients who need it. Applicable agreements may address permitted disclosures, legal obligations and additional protection through a separate confidentiality agreement.

26. Privacy and data handling

The Privacy Policy describes website and enquiry handling. Client engagements may require a separate data-processing agreement addressing responsible-party and operator roles, instructions, providers, security and assistance with individual rights. Roles depend on the actual service and applicable law.

27. Security responsibilities

The parties should agree responsibility for accounts, access approvals, authentication, credentials, updates and incident response. Suspected compromise affecting the engagement should be reported promptly. Security requires ongoing measures across these responsibilities; no system can be guaranteed completely secure.

28. Backups

Backup and restoration services apply as specified in the relevant agreement. The agreement should define covered data, frequency, retention, storage, restore testing and recovery responsibilities. Storage durability or replication alone is not a complete backup plan.

29. Service availability

Maintenance, network failures and external dependencies may affect availability. Any uptime commitment, maintenance allowance or service credit must be set out in the applicable agreement. These general terms do not guarantee uninterrupted operation or remove responsibility that cannot lawfully be excluded.

30. Suspension of services

Any suspension must have a basis in the applicable agreement or law and be proportionate to the circumstances. Agreements should address notice, an opportunity to resolve issues where appropriate, restoration and protection of client data. Urgent security or legal issues may require prompt protective action; no unrestricted right to erase data is created here.

31. Termination

Termination, cancellation, notice, work in progress and any lawful financial adjustment will be addressed in the relevant agreement. Applicable statutory cancellation, cooling-off and refund rights remain unaffected. These terms impose no blanket no-refund rule or automatic cancellation fee.

32. Data return/export

The relevant agreement should address export formats, account and access handover, assistance, agreed charges and lawful retention or deletion when a service ends. Backup expiry may differ from deletion of live data. Return and deletion arrangements must respect applicable law and the parties’ processing roles.

33. Warranties

Any agreed workmanship warranty, defect-reporting process or remedy will be set out in the project agreement. Rights and guarantees that cannot lawfully be waived, including under the Consumer Protection Act where applicable, remain unaffected. Technology services do not by themselves guarantee a particular business result.

34. Limitation of liability

Liability is subject to applicable law and any valid limitation agreed for the engagement. These general terms do not impose a monetary cap or blanket exclusion of loss. Any engagement-specific limitation must be fairly agreed, brought to attention where required and must not exclude liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.

35. Indemnity where appropriate

No open-ended indemnity is imposed by these general terms. If an engagement requires a specific indemnity, its scope, limits, notice and handling of claims must be expressly agreed, subject to applicable law and consumer protections.

36. Events outside reasonable control

An event outside a party’s reasonable control may disrupt performance. The affected party should communicate promptly and take reasonable steps to limit the impact. The applicable agreement should address recovery and prolonged disruption; such events do not automatically remove every obligation or statutory remedy.

37. Governing law

These Terms & Conditions are governed by South African law, subject to mandatory protections applicable to the transaction. They do not select an exclusive court or remove a statutory complaint route.

38. Disputes

Please raise concerns through the Contact page or published contact details so the parties can seek a practical resolution. Any agreed dispute procedure remains subject to applicable law. Nothing here prevents access to an available regulator, tribunal or court, or appropriate urgent relief.

39. Changes to these Terms

The last-updated date identifies the current revision. Changes apply as lawfully communicated and agreed; updating this page does not automatically alter an existing project agreement or remove accrued rights. Engagement-specific changes should follow the agreed change process.

40. Severability

If a provision cannot lawfully operate, the remaining provisions continue to the extent they can fairly and lawfully operate independently. This does not authorise an unlawful term to be rewritten to a consumer’s disadvantage.

41. Contact

Please contact CATDOG through the Contact page or the published email or telephone for questions about these Terms & Conditions or a proposed engagement.

Contact CATDOG