Professional Standards • Client Protection

Terms & Conditions of Service

These Terms govern all services delivered by The Marketing Systems Collective.
Clear expectations. Clean processes. Zero ambiguity.

Effective Date

May 1, 2025 (Updated)

By submitting payment, approving a proposal, or signing an onboarding agreement,
you agree to these Terms & Conditions.

1. Service Model

We operate under two primary structures:

Partnership Agreements — ongoing, high-touch collaboration.
Project Engagements — defined deliverables and timelines.

Access to development, consulting, automation, or analytics work requires an active
partnership agreement or project engagement.

2. Partnership Support

Partnership clients are those covered under an active partnership agreement.

Priority access within your partnership scope
Time tracked in 15-minute increments
Additional work billed at a reduced partnership rate
Emergency support billed at the same reduced partnership rate
Partnership terms and included scope are defined in your specific agreement

3. On-Demand Support (Non-Partnership)

For clients not covered under a partnership agreement, on-demand support is available as follows:

Work billed at a higher contracted support rate
A minimum time commitment applies per request
Best-effort scheduling based on availability
Emergency work (if accepted) billed at a higher non-partnership emergency rate
Work estimated over 10 hours may require a formal project scope

4. Project Engagements

Projects follow milestone-based billing unless otherwise agreed.

Projects over 10 hours:

30% deposit
40% at midpoint
30% before launch

Projects under 10 hours:

50% to start
50% at delivery

Deposits are non-refundable once work begins.
Includes 3 rounds of revisions; additional work or re-scoping may incur added cost.

5. Website Design & Development Workflow

All website development projects follow a structured
Concept → Approval → Revision → Launch model to ensure clarity, quality, and alignment throughout the build.

Concept Phase

Initial strategic direction, wireframes, or design concepts are created based on your project goals.
This phase defines layout, structure, branding approach, and required functionality.

Approval Phase

You review and approve the concept direction before full development begins.
Changes requested after approval may be considered out of scope and may impact cost or timeline.

Revision Phase

Website projects include a set number of revision rounds as defined in your proposal or SOW.
Revisions must remain aligned with the approved direction and do not include new pages, features, or structural changes unless scoped separately.

Launch Phase

A project is considered complete only once the website is fully launched to your live domain.
Launch includes migration, DNS assistance, and live environment verification unless otherwise noted.

Additional revisions, new feature requests, or scope changes beyond the included revision rounds
may require new billing, an adjusted timeline, or conversion to a partnership agreement.

6. Emergency Support

Emergency work includes time-sensitive, business-impacting issues such as:

Website outages (not related to hosting provider)
Broken checkouts or lead/booking forms
Fatal errors or confirmed security issues

Billing:

Partnership clients: billed at the reduced partnership rate defined in your agreement
Non-partnership clients: billed at a higher non-partnership emergency rate

All emergency work is subject to availability and may be scoped before work begins.

7. Inactivity & Pausing

If a project or task is delayed due to client inactivity (21+ days):

Work may be paused
A $250 reactivation fee may apply
Timelines may reset
Future work may be limited to partnership-only formats

8. Client Responsibilities

Provide timely approvals and requested materials
Respond to communication within 3 business days
Use the agreed communication channels
Understand that delays may impact scope, timeline, and cost

9. Hosting & Maintenance

Includes basic security, uptime monitoring, and core updates (when hosting is provided)
Does not include content edits, design changes, or custom development unless specified
Non-payment may result in temporary suspension of hosting or maintenance
Hosting provider issues are not treated as emergency items

10. Custom Software & Automations

Support for APIs, scripts, and automation tools is scoped per engagement
Light support may be included for smaller tools or integrations
Expanded software support may be included under a dedicated partnership plan
All work follows staging → review → production workflows wherever possible

11. Ownership & Intellectual Property

Deliverables transfer to you upon full payment
All work remains the property of The Marketing Systems Collective until paid in full
We may showcase non-confidential work in our portfolio unless requested otherwise in writing

12. Refund Policy

Ongoing partnership payments are non-refundable
Project deposits are non-refundable once work begins
No refunds for subjective dissatisfaction when revision opportunities were available
Chargebacks constitute breach and may result in service suspension or revocation of access

13. SEO & Marketing Services

SEO, ranking, and performance results vary due to market conditions, competition,
and algorithm changes. No guarantees are made regarding specific rankings, traffic, or revenue outcomes.

Strategy, content, and implementation work are scoped under your partnership agreement or project engagement.

14. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California.
Both parties agree to attempt mediation before pursuing litigation.

Questions

Email: info@themarketingsystemscollective.com

Terms & Conditions of Service | The Marketing Systems Collective