Terms of Service

Version 1.2. Revision Date: March 31, 2020

1. Acceptance of Terms

1.1 By accessing the SMALL IMPROVEMENTS website located at http://www.small-improvements.com (the “Service”), You agree to be bound by these Terms Of Service (“TOS”).

1.2 You may access the Service as either an individual or on behalf of a company. If You are signing up for the Service on behalf of a company, You represent and warrant that You are duly authorized to represent the company and that You accept the TOS on behalf of the company.

1.3 The TOS may be revised or modified from time to time and all subscription renewals will be subject to the TOS in effect at the time of the renewal. You may review the most current version of the TOS and a history of past versions at any time at: http://www.small-improvements.com/terms.

2. License and Restrictions

2.1 For the Term set forth below and subject to these TOS, We grant You a limited, non-transferable, non-exclusive right to access and use Our proprietary software products and related documentation (“Software”) found on the Service for Your internal business use only (collectively referred to as the “Service”).

2.2 Nothing contained in these TOS shall transfer or be deemed to transfer to You any rights in or to the Service other than those specifically stated herein.

2.3 You will not (i) copy, reproduce, alter, modify, or create derivative works from the Service; (ii) rent, lease, distribute, or resell the Service, or use the Service as the basis for developing a competitive solution (or contract with a third party to do so); or (iii) remove or alter any of the logos, trademark, patent or copyright notices, confidentiality or proprietary legends or other notices or markings that are on or in the Service. You will use the Service in compliance with all applicable local, state, national, and international laws, rules and regulations.

2.4 You will not nor will You authorize or encourage any third party to (i) use the Service to upload, transmit or otherwise distribute any content that is unlawful, defamatory, harassing, abusive, fraudulent, obscene, contains viruses, or is otherwise objectionable as reasonably determined by Us; (ii) resell, duplicate, reproduce or exploit any part of the Service without Our express written permission; or (iii) use any robot, spider, other automated device, or manual process to monitor or copy any content from the Service.

2.5 The license granted to You includes basic support at no additional charge. Basic support includes commercially reasonable efforts to make the Service available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except for: (a) planned downtime (which We shall schedule to the extent practicable during the weekend hours from 6:00 p.m. Friday to 3:00 a.m. Monday Pacific Time), or (b) any unavailability caused by circumstances beyond Our reasonable control, including without limitation, acts of God, acts of government, floods, fires, earthquakes, civil unrest, acts of terror, strikes or other labor problems (other than those involving Our employees), Internet service provider failures or delays, or denial of service attacks.

3. Data Security

3.1 We shall maintain appropriate administrative, physical, and technical safeguards for protection of the security, confidentiality and integrity of Your data in our possession. We shall not disclose Your data except as compelled by law or as expressly permitted in writing by You, or access Your data except to provide the Service and prevent or address service or technical problems, or at Your request in connection with support matters. Except as specified above, You are responsible for protection of the security, confidentiality and integrity of Your accounts and your data

3.2 In the event We discover that the security of Your data has been breached, We will promptly notify You of the nature and scope of such breach and will immediately initiate remedial actions consistent with industry standards.

3.3 Individual users and companies are responsible for implementing a system to ensure the strength of user passwords.

3.4 Requests for deletion of user personal data must be submitted by You in writing.

4. Payment Terms

4.1 Your Service subscription renews automatically at the end of each billing period until cancelled. We will automatically adjust Your license count to match Your user count at the start of Your billing period. We will invoice You by email. If You do not pay the invoice before the due date, Your subscription may be suspended. You can resume or cancel your subscription at the end of your billing period in the billing section of the admin interface, or by reaching out to Us at subscriptions@small-improvements.com.

4.2 If you provide a payment method such as Your credit card information or a SEPA mandate, the payment method will be charged at the beginning of a billing cycle.
For wire transfers, Payment terms are indicated on your invoice.

4.3 All fees are exclusive of taxes or duties imposed by governing authorities. You are responsible for payment of all such taxes or duties.

4.4 Current customers will be notified of future price increases 90 days before they begin to take effect. The price will then increase upon the next renewal.

5. Intellectual Property Rights

5.1 You acknowledge that We own all right, title and interest in and to the Software, Service and any modifications and enhancements, including all intellectual property rights protected by U.S. and international intellectual property laws. We also retain all right, title and interest to transactional and performance data related to use of the Service that We may collect, use and disclose for Our business purposes (including software use optimization and product marketing) provided that such use does not reveal any of Your Confidential Information.

5.2 You retain all right, title and interest to any and all information provided, input or uploaded to the Service by You, or by Us on Your behalf.

6. Acknowledgements and Disclaimer of Warranty

6.1 You accept and acknowledge that We do not exercise any control over Your specific human resource practices or decisions related to employment, promotion, advancement, termination or compensation of Your employees when using the Software or the Service. You assume full responsibility for any and all decisions with respect to Your use of the Service and agree to use the Service at Your own risk.

6.2 You further acknowledge that it is Your sole responsibility to monitor Your and Your employees’ compliance with all applicable laws when using the Service.

6.3 TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” WITHOUT ANY CONDITION OR WARRANTY WHATSOEVER. THE ENTIRE RISK ASSOCIATED WITH THE USE, PERFORMANCE AND RESULTS OF THE SERVICE RESIDES WITH YOU AND WE SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE WITH RESPECT TO THE SERVICE OR ANY HARMFUL DATA OR CODE UPLOADED TO THE SERVICE BY YOU, YOUR EMPLOYEES OR CONTRACTORS. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT OPERATION OF THE SERVICE IS ERROR-FREE OR THAT IT WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED.

7. Limitation of Liability

EXCEPT IN THE CASE OF GROSS NEGLIGENCE OR WILLFUL MISCONDUCT, IN NO EVENT SHALL EITHER PARTY BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, EXEMPLARY, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS OR REVENUES, LOSS OF USE, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF DATA OR BREACH OF SECURITY WITH RESPECT TO YOUR DATA, LOSS OF BUSINESS INFORMATION AND OTHER PECUNIARY LOSS AND COSTS OR LEGAL EXPENSES) INCURRED BY THE OTHER PARTY OR ANY THIRD PARTY, ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO THE SERVICE OR ITS USE, HOWEVER CAUSED AND WHETHER BASED IN CONTRACT, STATUTE, TORT, OR ANY OTHER THEORY OF LIABILITY, EVEN IF A PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. EACH PARTY’S TOTAL LIABILITY TO THE OTHER PARTY OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY CLAIM OR DAMAGES UNDER THESE TERMS OF SERVICE SHALL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNTS PAID TO US DURING THE SIX (6) MONTHS PRIOR TO THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO SUCH CLAIM OR DAMAGES. THE PARTIES ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT THE FOREGOING IS A REASONABLE ALLOCATION OF RISK.

8. Term and Termination

8.1 The term of these TOS begins the day You first access the Service (“Effective Date”) and continues until all subscriptions granted in accordance with these TOS have expired or been terminated (the “Term”). If You elect to use the Service for a free trial period and do not purchase a subscription before the end of the trial period, the TOS will terminate at the end of that period.

8.2 User subscriptions purchased by You commence on the start date specified in the applicable Order Form and continue for the subscription term specified on that Form.

8.3 Either of Us may terminate the TOS at any time in the event of a material breach by the other that is not cured within thirty (30) days after receiving written notice of such breach. If these TOS are terminated due to Your breach, You will receive no refund. If the cause of termination is Our breach, You will receive a pro-rata refund of the fees paid calculated from the first day of the month after the termination takes effect.

8.4 Upon Your request made within thirty (30) days after the effective date of termination, We will make a file of Your data in XML format available to You for download. After such thirty day period, We will have no obligation to maintain or provide any of Your data and shall thereafter, unless legally prohibited, delete all of Your data in Our systems or otherwise in Our possession or under Our control.

9. Publicity

If You subscribe to the Service, You agree that We may disclose the fact that You are Our customer. While these TOS are in effect, You grant Us the right to reference Your company name, along with Your logo, in marketing materials and on Our public web site until such time as Your use of the Service is discontinued.

10. Miscellaneous

10.1 Governing Law. These TOS are governed and construed under the laws of Germany without reference to its conflicts of laws principles. In no event shall these TOS be subject to the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.

10.2 Dispute resolution. We shall attempt in good faith to promptly resolve any disputes that arise under these TOS by negotiation between executives who have authority to settle the controversy. If the dispute cannot be amicably resolved within 45 days or any other mutually agreed to period, the matter will be submitted to binding arbitration before a single arbitrator under the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce. The arbitration will take place in Berlin, Germany. Arbitration costs and reasonable documented attorneys’ costs of both parties will be borne by the party that ultimately loses.

10.3 Assignment. Neither of Us will assign its rights or obligations under these TOS without the other’s prior written consent, except that either party may, without such consent, assign or transfer these TOS to an affiliate or a purchaser of all or substantially all of its assets or to a successor organization by merger, consolidation, change in control or otherwise. These TOS are binding upon the parties and their respective successors and permitted assigns.

10.4 Severability. If any provision of these TOS should be held invalid, illegal or unenforceable by a court having jurisdiction, We will negotiate in good faith a valid, legal and enforceable substitute provision that most nearly reflects Our original intent and all other provisions of these TOS shall remain in full force and effect and shall be liberally construed in order to carry out the intentions of the parties hereto as nearly as may be possible. Such invalidity, illegality or unenforceability shall not affect the validity, legality or enforceability of such provision in any other jurisdiction.

10.5 Entire Agreement. These TOS as amended from time to time including any attached schedules and exhibits and any executed Order Forms comprise the entire agreement between Us with respect to the Service and supersede all prior representations, agreements and understandings, written or oral.


Please also see our privacy policy.

Changelog

As outlined above, we rework parts of the terms of services every now and then. When You sign up to Small Improvements or renew your subscription, the most up to date terms apply. For Your reference, here are the previous versions of the terms of service.

Version Applies from Details
1.2 April 15, 2020 onwards
  • Simplified section 4 on payment terms, removed refunds option, and replaced language about a price per-user guarantee with a 90-day notification period for price increases.
  • Dropped the indemnification language in 7.1
  • Assignment in 10.3 less restrictive, allowing mergers and acquisitions.
  • Dropped 8.3 as cancellation is now covered in 4
  • Removed 10.4 (force majeure) as it is covered in 2.5 already.
  • Several smaller wording changes
1.1.3 May 25, 2018 onwards Minor adjustments to 3.1, and added 3.3 and 3.4
1.1.2 March 1, 2015 onwards Retouched the style, exchanging some wording that sounded overly dated or formal. Minor changes to 7.2, starting the paragraph with "Except in the case of gross negligence..."
1.1.1 February 10, 2013 onwards Minor adjustment: Rewrote 4.5
1.1.0 August 10, 2012 onwards We revisited and reorganised the entire document. The spirit is the same, but it's more concise now, and we've added arbitration.
1.0.1 June 5, 2012 — August 9, 2012 Minor changes to 6.1
1.0 December 3, 2011 — June 4, 2012 Initial version