Terms of Use

Who we are

SmallPie is a boutique web studio based in New Zealand. We design, build, and support fast websites and related digital assets for real businesses using a mix of in house work and contractors who act under our instructions.

How these terms work

These terms apply to your use of our site and to studio work unless your signed proposal or master services agreement says something different. If there is a conflict, the signed document wins for that project.

Eligibility

• Use the site only if you can legally agree to contracts in your region.
• Our services target business and professional users, not consumers under local age limits.
• Do not impersonate another person or misstate your affiliation with a company.

Acceptable use

• Do not break any law when you use our site.
• Do not try to hack, scrape, overload, or reverse engineer our code or infrastructure.
• Do not submit content that is abusive, unlawful, or that infringes someone else’s rights.

Proposals and scope

• We usually send a written scope that sets out deliverables, timelines, and investment.
• Accepting a proposal by email, signature, or payment creates a binding agreement.
• Changes outside the agreed scope may be treated as additional work with fresh estimates.

Your responsibilities

• Provide timely feedback, approvals, and access so we can keep momentum.
• Make sure any content or instructions you give us are accurate and lawful.
• Nominate a single project contact for decisions and sign offs where possible.

Pricing

• Prices are usually quoted in New Zealand dollars and may be exclusive of GST unless we say otherwise.
• Retainers and care plans renew on the cycle described in your plan details.
• We can review pricing for future work with reasonable notice.

Invoicing and late payment

• Invoices are due on the date stated on the invoice.
• We may pause work or limit access if invoices remain unpaid after reminders.
• You are responsible for bank fees, taxes, and charges on your side of any transfer.

What we own

• We own our studio name, logos, website design, internal tools, and base components.
• We may reuse non client specific patterns, code, and processes in other projects.
• Nothing in these terms transfers our general know how or underlying frameworks.

What you receive

• Once paid in full you get a license or ownership as set out in your proposal.
• Typically you receive the right to use the delivered site and assets for your business.
• You must not resell our work as a template or toolkit unless we agree in writing.

Portfolio use

We may display non confidential parts of your project in our portfolio, on social media, or in pitches as examples of our work. If you need a quiet period for launch or special confidentiality, tell us in writing and we will respect reasonable limits.

Your content

• You keep ownership of your logos, copy, images, and other assets you provide.
• You give us a license to use that content so we can deliver the project and support it.
• You promise that your content does not infringe any third party rights.

Confidential information

• Both sides may share confidential information during a project such as plans, pricing, and internal documents.
• Each side will protect the other’s confidential information and use it only for the project.
• This duty does not apply to information that is already public or that we receive from another lawful source.

External tools

• We often integrate platforms such as hosting providers, CDNs, analytics, and payment tools.
• Each third party service is governed by its own terms that you may need to accept directly.
• We are not responsible for changes those providers make to features, pricing, or availability.

Links from our site

• Any links to other sites are provided for convenience only.
• We do not control and are not responsible for any content or policies on those sites.

General disclaimers

• Our site is provided on an as is and as available basis.
• We do not promise that our site or any project work will be free of errors or always available.
• Results like conversion lift or ranking improvements depend on many factors outside our control.

Limit of liability

To the maximum extent allowed by law, our total liability for all claims relating to a project or your use of our site is limited to the amount you paid us for the service that gave rise to the claim during the twelve months before the event. We are not liable for lost profits, lost revenue, loss of data, or indirect or consequential loss.

Suspending access

• We may suspend or limit access to the site or a project environment if we believe there is a security risk, misuse, or non payment.
• We will act reasonably and aim to resolve any issue with you quickly.

Ending a project

• Either side can end a project for convenience if your written agreement allows it.
• If a project ends early you must pay for work done and approved up to that point.
• Clauses relating to fees, IP, confidentiality, liability, and disputes continue after termination.