The deal, on one page. No legalese.

1 · Who we are

"Octava Solutions", "we", "us" and "the studio" refer to a small senior team based in Johannesburg, South Africa, that ships custom software, business systems, and the marketing assets that launch them. "You" or "the client" refers to the company or individual that engages us.

You can reach us any time at support@octava.co.za.

2 · Scope of work

Each engagement is described in a written proposal that lists the deliverables, the timeline, the price, and any third-party services required. The proposal and these terms together form the agreement between us; if the two ever conflict, the proposal wins.

Out-of-scope work — features beyond the proposal, design rounds beyond the agreed budget, or pivots that materially reshape the project — is quoted separately before we begin, never billed by surprise.

3 · How an engagement runs

• Discovery (week 1):a 30–60 minute call, written brief, and a fixed-price proposal back to you in 48 hours. No charge.
• Kick-off (week 2): on signed proposal and 50% deposit, we open a shared workspace and start.
• Weekly demos: every Friday we ship a running build to a private link. You see real progress each week, not at a single big-bang launch.
• Launch: on the agreed date, we cut a production release, hand over admin access, and run a 30-minute walk-through. Final payment is due within 14 days.

4 · Payment terms

• Fixed-price projects: 50% deposit on signature, 50% on launch. NET 14 days.
• Retainers / subscriptions: billed monthly in advance on the same calendar date each month.
• Late payments:we charge interest on balances overdue more than 30 days at the prime rate plus 2%. We'll always email you first; no surprise fees.
• Currency: ZAR by default for South African clients, USD or EUR otherwise. Bank-transfer or credit-card details are on the invoice.

5 · Code & IP ownership

On final payment, all custom source code we write for you, all design files, and all brand assets we create become the client's exclusive property. We keep a non-exclusive right to reference the project in our portfolio and case studies, with prior approval of any screenshots.

Pre-existing libraries, templates, components, and internal frameworks owned by Octava Solutions remain ours — you receive a perpetual, royalty-free, irrevocable licence to use them within the deliverable.

Third-party software (e.g. open-source dependencies, paid SaaS APIs) is governed by its own licence, which we surface clearly in the project README before launch.

6 · Confidentiality

Everything you share with us — code, financials, customer data, strategy, internal Slack screenshots — is treated as confidential by default. We don't need a separate NDA; this clause is mutual and binding for three years after the engagement ends.

We can and do share what we've learned generally(e.g. "a fitness brand we worked with saw a 30% lift in checkout conversion when we redesigned the cart") unless you specifically ask us not to.

7 · Warranty & support

We warrant that the deliverables will substantially conform to the proposal for 30 days after launch. Any genuine bugs (not new feature requests) reported in that window are fixed at no additional cost.

Beyond 30 days, we offer optional retainers covering monitoring, security patches, dependency updates, and minor enhancements. Quoted on request.

8 · Liability

Our total aggregate liability under any engagement is capped at the fees you have paid us under that engagement in the preceding 12 months. We are not liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, special, or punitive damages — lost profits, lost data, business interruption, or third-party claims — even if we've been advised of the possibility.

The cap above doesn't apply to our intentional misconduct, gross negligence, or breach of confidentiality.

9 · Termination

Either party can end an engagement at any time with 14 days' written notice. On termination:

• We invoice for work performed up to the termination date, pro-rated against the agreed scope.
• On final payment, we hand over all deliverables in their then-current state, code repository included.
• Confidentiality, IP, and liability clauses survive termination.

10 · Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa. Any dispute that can't be resolved by a good-faith conversation goes first to mediation in Johannesburg, and only thereafter to a court in the same jurisdiction.

11 · Contact

Questions, edits, or a clause you want to negotiate before signing? Email support@octava.co.za or call +27 11 555 0199. We answer ourselves.