Terms and Conditions

These Terms and Conditions ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the website, communications, and document management services provided by BARTONFREE ("BARTONFREE", "we", "us", or "our"). By visiting our website, requesting a proposal, or engaging our services, you ("you", "the Client") agree to be bound by these Terms. Please read them carefully. If you do not agree with any part of these Terms, you should not use our website or services.

1. About BARTONFREE and the scope of our services

BARTONFREE provides remote document organization and management services for entrepreneurs and small businesses. Our work includes, without limitation, structuring digital documentation, designing file storage systems, organizing digital archives, creating business document templates, advising on document workflows, and supporting recurring administrative processes. All of our services are delivered online. We do not provide legal, accounting, tax, or other regulated professional advice, and nothing we deliver should be interpreted as such.

The precise scope, deliverables, timeline, and fees for any engagement are described in the proposal, statement of work, or written confirmation we provide to you before work begins. Where a separate Service Agreement exists between you and BARTONFREE, that agreement, together with these Terms, forms the complete understanding between the parties. If there is a conflict between the two, the Service Agreement controls for the specific engagement it covers.

2. Eligibility and authority

By engaging our services, you represent that you are at least eighteen years of age and that you have the legal authority to enter into a binding agreement on behalf of yourself or the business you represent. You further represent that any documents, files, or information you provide to us are ones you are entitled to share and that our organization of them will not violate any third-party rights or applicable law.

3. Requesting and accepting work

A request submitted through our website, by email, or during a consultation is an invitation for us to prepare a proposal; it does not by itself create a binding engagement. An engagement begins only when we have issued a written proposal or statement of work and you have accepted it, whether by written confirmation, electronic acceptance, or payment of a deposit or fee. We reserve the right to decline any request at our discretion, including where a project falls outside our expertise or where we are unable to meet the requested timeline.

4. Fees, invoicing, and payment

Fees for our services are set out in the applicable proposal and may be structured as a fixed project fee, an hourly rate, or a recurring monthly retainer. Unless stated otherwise, project fees may require a deposit before work begins, with the balance due on delivery, and recurring services are billed in advance for each billing period. Invoices are payable within the period stated on the invoice. Late payments may result in the suspension of work until the account is brought current. All fees are stated in United States dollars and are exclusive of any taxes that may apply, which are your responsibility unless stated otherwise.

5. Client responsibilities and cooperation

The quality and timeliness of our work depend heavily on your cooperation. You agree to provide accurate information, timely access to the files and systems relevant to the engagement, and prompt responses to our questions and review requests. Delays in providing materials, approvals, or feedback may extend timelines and, in some cases, affect fees. You remain responsible for maintaining your own independent backups of any documents before, during, and after our work. A fuller description of your obligations appears in our Client Responsibilities Policy.

6. Deliverables, revisions, and acceptance

We will deliver the agreed work product using the tools and platforms specified in the engagement. Where a proposal includes a defined number of revision rounds, additional revisions beyond that number may be billed separately. Unless you notify us of a specific, material issue within the review period stated in the engagement, deliverables will be deemed accepted. Acceptance does not limit your rights in respect of defects that could not reasonably have been discovered during the review period.

7. Intellectual property

Your documents, data, and business content remain your property at all times. Upon full payment for an engagement, you own the specific deliverables we create for you, such as the folder structures, templates, and documentation prepared under that engagement. BARTONFREE retains ownership of its pre-existing methods, know-how, general frameworks, and any reusable components that do not contain your confidential information, and we may continue to use those methods for other clients. You grant us a limited license to access and handle your materials solely to perform the services.

8. Confidentiality

We treat the information you share with us as confidential and use it only to provide the services. Our handling of your information is described in more detail in our Privacy Policy and our Confidentiality and Data Security Policy, which are incorporated into these Terms by reference. You likewise agree to keep confidential any non-public information we share with you about our methods, pricing, or systems.

9. Third-party platforms and tools

Our services often operate within third-party platforms that you already use, such as cloud storage and productivity tools. Your use of those platforms is governed by the terms of the platform provider, not by us. We are not responsible for the availability, security practices, pricing, or changes made by third-party providers, and any interruption or limitation imposed by such a provider is outside our control.

10. Disclaimers and limitation of liability

We perform our services with reasonable skill and care. However, to the fullest extent permitted by law, our services and website are provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis, and we make no warranties, whether express or implied, other than those expressly stated in a written engagement. We do not warrant that a particular organizational outcome will produce specific commercial results. To the fullest extent permitted by law, BARTONFREE's total aggregate liability arising out of or related to an engagement will not exceed the total fees you paid for that engagement in the three months preceding the event giving rise to the claim. We will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for any loss of data that you have not independently backed up. Additional disclaimers relevant to document management appear in our Document Management Service Disclaimer.

11. Suspension and termination

Either party may terminate an engagement in accordance with the cancellation terms set out in the applicable proposal, Service Agreement, or our Refund and Cancellation Policy. We may suspend or terminate services immediately if you materially breach these Terms, fail to pay amounts due, or use our services in a manner that is unlawful or that risks harm to us or to a third party. On termination, you remain responsible for fees for work performed up to the effective date of termination, and we will make your delivered materials available to you where reasonably possible.

12. Acceptable use of the website

You agree not to misuse our website, including by attempting to gain unauthorized access, interfering with its operation, introducing malicious code, scraping content on a large scale, or using it in a way that violates applicable law. We may restrict or terminate access to the website for anyone who breaches these Terms.

13. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time to reflect changes in our services, technology, or legal requirements. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date above. Your continued use of our website or services after a change takes effect constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. For active engagements, material changes will not apply retroactively without your agreement.

14. Governing law and dispute resolution

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the applicable laws of the United States, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Before pursuing formal proceedings, the parties agree to attempt in good faith to resolve any dispute through direct, informal discussion. Any dispute that cannot be resolved in this way will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located in Kentucky, unless otherwise required by applicable law.

15. Miscellaneous

If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect. Our failure to enforce a right does not waive that right. You may not assign your rights under these Terms without our written consent, while we may assign ours in connection with a reorganization or transfer of our business. These Terms, together with any applicable engagement documents and the policies referenced here, constitute the entire agreement between you and BARTONFREE regarding the subject matter.