Terms and Conditions of Creative Elements Consulting Inc.

Please read these Terms and Conditions carefully as they govern any product or service offered by Creative Elements Consulting Inc.

IMPORTANT
Before entering into any contract with Creative Elements Consulting Inc., you will be required to acknowledge and agree to these Terms and Conditions. Should you have any question, please contact us.

We reserve the right to update these Terms and Conditions at any time without prior notice and for any reason.

We recommend that you periodically check these Terms and Conditions for updates.

DEFINITION OF TERMS
The client: the entity, company or person that enters into a contract with Creative Elements Consulting Inc.

Website – a collection of web pages and associated code, which forms an integrated online presence.

Domain Name: the URL linking to the website (e.g. www.example.com).

Email: a virtual mailing address that allows a person to send and receive electronic messages through a server.

Downtime: time when the website is not accessible via the Internet. This may be due to a technical issue at the web host site location or regular planned maintenance.

Host: the company on whose system the website physically resides.

Link, Hyperlink: a ‘clickable’ link embedded on a web page, which may take the form of graphics or text.

Search Engine: a website which contains a directory of websites on the Internet enabling users to find websites by subject matter classification.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO): a collection of tools and practices used to optimize the chances of a website to be found by a specific audience according to a variety of criteria.

Content Management System (CMS): a platform allowing the client to update part or all of the website’s content.

Proposal: a document that outlines the solution offered by Creative Elements Consulting Inc. to fulfill the client’s needs.

Statement Of Work (SOW): a document that makes the proposal official and adds any other relevant details the client has requested. This is the contract binding the client and Creative Elements Consulting Inc.

Change Order (CO): an amendment to the SOW (contract) to extend the scope of the project. This usually involves a project timeline extension and/or added investment.

INVESTMENT
WEB DESIGN
Web Design Fees Payable

Prior to initiating the design of a website, 40% (forty per cent) of the total investment presented within the Statement Of Work must be paid to Creative Elements Consulting Inc. The next 30% (thirty per cent) is due when the review of the “Design Phase 2” has been done and the remaining 30% (thirty per cent) must be paid to Creative Elements Consulting Inc. at the time of delivery of the complete project. Creative Elements Consulting Inc. reserves the right to withhold the complete project until all due monies are paid.

Website Maintenance Fees Payable

Website maintenance is based on the monthly website maintenance plan chosen among the available options.

Creative Elements Consulting Inc. reserves the right to modify or update what’s included in such plans and the related investment according to the evolving needs of the client.

APPLE TRAINING
Apple Training Fees Payable

An Apple Training session is based on an hourly fee. The fee varies according to the type of session facilitated. Detailed information about such fees can be found on the pricing page.

DISCLAIMERS
WEB DESIGN
Third Parties

Creative Elements Consulting Inc. cannot be liable for services provided by third parties through us or otherwise, including the hosting of the client’s website and any specific plugins used to implement a feature requested by the client. However, Creative Elements Consulting Inc. is committed to ensuring that the website downtime is kept to a minimum and that each plugin is always up-to-date and 100% compatible. Should a plugin cease to be updated by its developer, Creative Elements Consulting Inc. will strive to find an alternative.

Hosting

The hosting period, for invoicing purposes, starts at the signature date of the Statement Of Work and renews every year at the anniversary date. The hosting doesn’t start when the website is “live” but when the team at Creative Elements Consulting starts designing and developing it on our servers. For security and confidentiality reasons, Creative Elements Consulting can’t provide access to our servers to any clients nor third parties.

Website Maintenance and Correction of Errors

Creative Elements Consulting Inc. cannot be liable for the functionality or maintenance of the website after the project has been completed unless the client has subscribed to a website maintenance plan. Due to the technical nature of a website, a monthly maintenance plan is required to ensure it’s always backed up, updated, secure, functional and delivers the expected user experience. Website monthly maintenance plans can’t be offered to be performed neither every other month nor for longer intervals in order to avoid potential performance and security issues that would affect all other websites that reside on the same server. Errors (both technical and typographical) attributable to Creative Elements Consulting Inc. will be corrected free of charge, but Creative Elements Consulting Inc. reserves the right to charge a fee for correction of errors for which Creative Elements Consulting Inc. is not responsible, including, but not limited to malicious modification of the website by a third party (hacked website), typographical errors contained in materials provided to Creative Elements Consulting Inc. by the client or issues directly related to or caused by the hosting company.

Website Warranty Period

After the launch date of the website, Creative Elements Consulting will provide a two-week warranty period where any omissions or issues within the agreed-upon scope of work detailed in the signed Statement Of Work (SOW) will be fixed by Creative Elements Consulting free of charge. After the warranty period, the ongoing monthly website maintenance plan described within the “Ongoing Support” section of the Statement Of Work will start. Any future requests of changes, improvements, modifications or new features will be scoped for work and billed at our standard hourly rate, provided within the Statement Of Work.

Content Management System (CMS)

Due to the confidentiality of the information that resides on Creative Elements Consulting Inc’s servers and the level of security that Creative Elements Consulting Inc has implemented, Creative Elements Consulting Inc can’t provide access to another company or individual to maintain the website.

Maintenance will be provided by the Creative Elements Consulting Inc’s team.

Creative Elements Consulting Inc will not provide “Admin” level permissions to a client on their website to protect the integrity and security of the website and to better support the client’s needs. The Creative Elements Consulting Inc’s support team is available should a client need specific changes or improvements made that require such “Admin” access level and will be better positioned to determine the resources and course of action to reach the client’s objectives.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Creative Elements Consulting Inc. is committed to setting up an industry-standard SEO solution for any website designed. However, due to the ever changing nature of SEO practices and the numerous factors to take into consideration, Creative Elements Consulting Inc. cannot guarantee such website to be found on the first page of a Google (or any other search engines) search for any specific chosen keywords. As part of regular website maintenance, Creative Elements Consulting Inc. can provide recommendations on how to enhance SEO and adapt it to market and technology changing conditions. Should the client need the services of a professional SEO marketer, Creative Elements Consulting Inc. can provide talented individuals who offer such services.

Search Engine Listings

Creative Elements Consulting Inc. does not guarantee listings on search engines and the client accepts that it is search engines and not Creative Elements Consulting Inc. who determine whom they list and whom they will not. The client further understands there is no guaranteed placement or rank on the search engines. Creative Elements Consulting Inc. does not control search engines’ algorithms and huge shifts can appear daily, weekly and even hourly.

Website Security

Creative Elements Consulting Inc. is committed to implement security features within each website it designs. In general, tools and practices used by Creative Elements Consulting Inc. are secure enough to avoid any security-related issue. However, due to the nature of internet technologies and the practices used by hackers, Creative Elements Consulting Inc. cannot guarantee a website to be 100% secure. Attacks by hackers are unlikely but can happen to any website owned by any company at any time, regardless of the level of security applied. Creative Elements Consulting Inc. can provide suggestions offered by online security companies to strengthen the security of a website if necessary, especially when an e-commerce solution is in place or when clients/customers details are at risk. Creative Elements Consulting Inc. provides help in getting a website up and running after a potential hacker’s attack but cannot be liable for such attack and its results at any time under any circumstances. Creative Elements Consulting Inc. provides continuous monitoring of all websites it designs using Google Webmaster Tools to help prevent any attack.

Consequential Loss

Under no circumstances will Creative Elements Consulting Inc. be responsible or liable for financial or other loss or damage caused by the failure or use or misuse of the software used to develop the website. The client should ensure that data on their site is regularly backed up and that a contingency plan is in place to minimize possible losses as a result of software failure. Should the client subscribe to a website maintenance plan, Creative Elements Consulting Inc. will perform regular monthly backups of all the website’s data under such plan.

Status and Duration of Proposals

Proposals are valid for a period specified on them. Creative Elements Consulting Inc. is not bound to honour proposals that have expired. Proposals are not legally binding until both parties have agreed to the scope, the investment and a project timeline for the project. When the client agrees to the details contained within a proposal, Creative Elements Consulting Inc. turns such proposal into a Statement Of Work (SOW). A Statement Of Work is a legal contract binding both the client and Creative Elements Consulting Inc.

Email Accounts Transfers

When a website is ready to be opened to the public or “live” on the world wide web (i.e. the “coming soon” page is disabled), a transfer of email accounts may be required if the client has opted for Creative Elements Consulting Inc. to host the website’s files. The domain name may remain registered with a third-party registrar but it will “point” towards Creative Elements Consulting Inc.’s server, located at its chosen hosting company.
In the situation where the client’s email accounts need to be recreated on Creative Elements Consulting Inc.’s server where the client’s website resides, it is the sole responsibility of the client to ensure all email accounts, received, sent, archived, email folders have been backed up on multiple secure locations. Creative Elements Consulting Inc. will recreate such email accounts and transfer the backups to the new accounts. However, while Creative Elements Consulting Inc. will take every reasonable precautions to perform the email accounts transfer in the safest manner to avoid any information loss, Creative Elements Consulting Inc. cannot be liable for a loss of emails, email-related information or malfunctioning email backups.

APPLE TRAINING
Third Parties

Creative Elements Consulting Inc. offers training on third parties software outside of Apple-related ones. Creative Elements Consulting Inc. cannot be liable for services provided by third parties through us or otherwise. Should an issue arise with the use of such third party software, Creative Elements Consulting Inc. will strive to offer solutions to the client but may direct the client to the third party’s website for specific help requirements.

Consequential Loss

Under no circumstances will Creative Elements Consulting Inc. be responsible or liable for financial or other loss or damage caused by the failure or use or misuse of the software used during an Apple Training session. The client should ensure that data on their Apple devices is regularly backed up and that a contingency plan is in place to minimize possible losses as a result of software failure. Creative Elements Consulting Inc. will not facilitate a training session that involves actions including but not limited to accessing, moving, updating and deleting the client’s data if the client hasn’t performed a backup at least two days prior to such training session.

COMPLETION OF WORK AND PAYMENT
WEB DESIGN
Completion of Work

Creative Elements Consulting Inc. warrants completing the work in accordance with its Terms and Conditions to the specifications previously agreed with the client included in the Statement Of Work. Creative Elements Consulting Inc. will not charge more than the amount previously agreed unless the client has varied the specifications of the work since the signature of the Statement Of Work. Creative Elements Consulting Inc. will not undertake changes to the specifications of the work, which would increase the cost, without prior written authorization from the client. Such document will be in the form of a Change Order (CO) and will detail the scope of the change requested by the client along with the related investment and project timeline extension.

Supply of Content

The client must supply all content and information required for Creative Elements Consulting Inc. to complete the work in accordance with the agreed specification. Such content may include, but is not limited to, photographs, written-copy, logos and other printed materials. Where the client’s failure to supply such content leads to a delay in completion of the work, Creative Elements Consulting Inc. has the right to extend previously agreed deadlines for the completion of the work by a reasonable amount.

Approval of Work

On completion of the work, the client will be notified and have the opportunity to review it. The client should notify Creative Elements Consulting Inc., in writing and by email, of any feedback within the agreed upon period of time indicated in the project timeline. Any of the work, which has not been reported in writing to Creative Elements Consulting Inc. as feedback needing refinement within the agreed upon period of time, will be deemed to have been approved. Once approved, or deemed approved, work cannot subsequently be rejected, and the contract will be deemed to have been completed and the balancing payment will become due. The contract will remain in effect until all obligations have been completed.

Rejected Work

If the client rejects the work within the agreed upon period of time, or will not approve subsequent work performed by Creative Elements Consulting Inc. to remedy any points reported by the client as unsatisfactory, and Creative Elements Consulting Inc. considers that the client is unreasonable in his repeated rejection of the work, the contract will be deemed to have expired and Creative Elements Consulting Inc. can take any legal measures to recover both payment for the completed work and reasonable expenses incurred in recovering payment.

Payment

Upon completion of the work and after the refinements performed in accordance with the client’s feedback, Creative Elements Consulting Inc. will invoice the client for the remaining balancing payment which, in the absence of agreement to the contrary, is to be paid by the client within 21 days of the date that the invoice was issued. All completed work must be paid in full before additional work commences.

Remedies for Overdue Payment

If payment has not been received by the due date, Creative Elements Consulting Inc. has the right to suspend ongoing work for client, until such time that full payment of the outstanding balance has been received. If full payment has still not been received 21 days after the due date, Creative Elements Consulting Inc. has the right to replace, modify or remove the website and revoke the client’s licence of the work until full payment has been received. By revoking the client’s licence of the work or removing the website from the Internet, Creative Elements Consulting Inc. does not remove the client’s obligation to pay any outstanding monies owing.

APPLE TRAINING
Remedies for Overdue Payment

If payment has not been received by the due date, Creative Elements Consulting Inc. will send up to three late payment reminders. If payment has still not been received upon the third late payment reminder, Creative Elements Consulting Inc. has the right to suspend ongoing work for client, until such time that full payment of the outstanding balance has been received. Should the client repeatedly pay invoices late and abuse the use of all three late payment reminders, Creative Elements Consulting Inc. reserves the right to request an advance payment for future training sessions before any new training session can be facilitated.

No-show/Late Cancellation Fees

A minimum training duration of two hours is required when a client books an on-site training session.
If the client doesn’t show up to such training session, a “no-show fee” equivalent to one hour worth of on-site training session will be invoiced to the client.
A minimum of 24h is required to cancel a training session (on-site or online). For late cancellations, a fee equivalent to one hour of on-site training will be added to the client’s invoice. Creative Elements Consulting Inc. uses a timer to keep track of the duration of a training session to the minute.
If the client is late for the on-site training session, the timer will still start at the time agreed upon at the time of booking and such time will be billable to the client.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
REPRODUCTION OF WORK
The word “Work” hereby represents any original graphic design artwork created for the client by Creative Elements Consulting Inc. and include but is not limited to: company logo, letterhead template design, proposal/statement of work template design, business card design, graphic icons or elements.
The client assumes full reproduction rights upon payment for a completed project.
One time reproduction rights for the specified project, at the agreed fee, are granted to the client. Any other usage must be negotiated.
All reproduction rights on the copyrighted work are retained by Creative Elements Consulting Inc. The work may not be reproduced in any form without consent from Creative Elements Consulting Inc.
Creative Elements Consulting Inc. retains personal rights to use the completed project and any preliminary designs for the purpose of design competitions, future publications on design, educational purposes and the marketing of Creative Elements Consulting Inc.’s business. Where applicable the client will be given any necessary credit for usage of the project elements.

Proposals and Statements Of Work

Proposals and Statements Of Work made by Creative Elements Consulting Inc. to potential clients should be treated as trade secrets and remain the property of Creative Elements Consulting Inc. Such items or the information contained within them must not be passed to third parties or publicly disseminated without prior written authorization from Creative Elements Consulting Inc. This includes, but is not limited to, technical features, functionality, aspects of the design and pricing information.

Warranty by Client as to Ownership of Intellectual Property Rights

The client will obtain all the necessary permissions and authorities in respect of the use of all copy, graphic images, registered company logos, names and trademarks or any other material it supplies to Creative Elements Consulting Inc. for inclusion on the website. The client shall regard the conclusion of a contract between Creative Elements Consulting Inc. and the client as a guarantee that all such permissions and authorities have been obtained and that the inclusion of such material on the website would not constitute a criminal offense or civil offense. By agreeing to these Terms and Conditions, the client removes the legal responsibility of Creative Elements Consulting Inc. and indemnifies the same from any claims or legal actions however related to the content of the client’s site.

Domain Name

Any domain name obtained will belong to the client. The client agrees to indemnify Creative Elements Consulting Inc., including any incidental costs, against any claims that a domain name applied for, or obtained, violates the intellectual property rights of a third party. The client warrants that the domain name sought is not a trademark of a third party.

Licensing

Once Creative Elements Consulting Inc. has received full payment of all outstanding invoices and the client has approved the work hereof, the client will be granted a licence to use the website and its contents. Artwork created for the website by Creative Elements Consulting Inc. or its suppliers will then belong to the client. Creative Elements Consulting Inc. selects professional plugins to achieve the client’s objectives. For some of these plugins, Creative Elements Consulting Inc. holds “professional” or “developer” licences (or named in a similar way) that provide access to a plethora of features to offer to the client. As a token of appreciation for the client’s business, Creative Elements Consulting Inc. usually offers the use of such licences at an attractive discount for the first year from the date a website design project starts and tends to offer complimentary yearly renewal (depending on the plugin) for as long as the collaboration between the client and Creative Elements Consulting Inc. remains. In the unlikely event the collaboration between the client and Creative Elements Consulting Inc. were to end, the client would be responsible to purchase their own licences for all the plugins Creative Elements Consulting Inc. holds “professional” or “developer” licences (or named in a similar way). This is not negotiable.

Promotional Links

By entering into a website design or a digital marketing contract with Creative Elements Consulting Inc, the client agrees to display some promotional links in the footer of their website that redirect to certain pages of Creative Elements Consulting Inc’s website. The purpose is to showcase Creative Elements Consulting’s portfolio and provide an easy way for potential similar clients to find out the author of the work performed. Creative Elements Consulting Inc. reserves the right to update these links at any time and for any reasons. These links are required, this is not negotiable.

Trade Secrets

Any code that is not freely accessible to third parties and not in the public domain, and to which Creative Elements Consulting Inc. or its suppliers owns the copyright, may not be copied, published, distributed or passed to any third parties in any form without prior written consent from Creative Elements Consulting Inc. Unless previously agreed otherwise in writing, no modifications may be made by the client or any third party to code to which Creative Elements Consulting Inc. or its suppliers owns the copyright. Creative Elements Consulting Inc. acknowledges the intellectual property rights of the client. Information passed in written form to Creative Elements Consulting Inc., and that the client has indicated is confidential or a trade secret, will not be published or made available in any other way to third parties without the prior written consent of the client.

RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Right to Terminate

Creative Elements Consulting Inc. reserves the right to refuse or break a contract without prior notice, if it is believed that the client, their website, or any material is illegal, immoral or otherwise unacceptable.
Creative Elements Consulting Inc. reserves the right to break a contract at anytime without prior notice if it is believed that the project is deemed unviable. Any monies related to tasks already performed up to that point will be due.

End of Collaboration

Should Creative Elements Consulting Inc. or the client decide to end the collaboration between both parties, and the collaboration involved the design and regular maintenance of a website, Creative Elements Consulting Inc. is committed to good business practices and will help the client transfer the entire website to their new web designer. The client will be responsible for the payment of the work required to perform the migration and will be billed per hour. In an “end of collaboration” situation, the client will be required to pay the migration work and settle all due invoices at the time before any migration work or any related tasks can commence. The hosting service is non-refundable. If the collaboration between Creative Elements Consulting and the client ends before the hosting renewal date, any remaining time within the yearly hosting service will not be refunded. Creative Elements Consulting Inc. selects professional plugins to achieve the client’s objectives. For some of these plugins, Creative Elements Consulting Inc. holds “professional” or “developer” licences (or named in a similar way) that provide access to a plethora of features to offer to the client. As a token of appreciation for the client’s business, Creative Elements Consulting Inc. usually offers the use of such licences at an attractive discount for the first year from the date a website design project starts and tends to offer complimentary yearly renewal (depending on the plugin) for as long as the collaboration between the client and Creative Elements Consulting Inc. remains. In the unlikely event the collaboration between the client and Creative Elements Consulting Inc. were to end, the client would be responsible to purchase their own licences for all the plugins Creative Elements Consulting Inc. holds “professional” or “developer” licences (or named in a similar way). This is not negotiable.

Access to Creative Elements Consulting Inc. server(s)

For security and confidentiality purposes, and to protect all clients on our server(s), access to any parts of the server(s) such as Cpanel won’t be provided to anyone outside of Creative Elements Consulting Inc’s team. In an “end of collaboration” situation with a specific client, Creative Elements Consulting Inc. will commit to prepare all the website files, database and any other pertaining information to be shared in a timely manner (provided all due invoices have been settled beforehand) with the client for a successful website migration to another web design company of their choice. This is not negotiable.

Events Beyond the Control of Creative Elements Consulting Inc.

Creative Elements Consulting Inc. will not be liable for breach of contract where that breach was due to software, hardware or electrical failure, natural events such as fire or other events beyond the control of Creative Elements Consulting Inc.

Supply and Pricing of Services

Creative Elements Consulting Inc. reserves the right to use whomever it reckons appropriate at the time for third party software and services, and to alter its prices as necessary without prior notice and without affecting existing contractual pricing agreements.

CHANGES TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Occasionally, Creative Elements Consulting Inc. may, at their discretion, make changes to these Terms and Conditions. Should Creative Elements Consulting Inc. makes significant changes to these Terms and Conditions, Creative Elements Consulting Inc. will post them on this page and notify all of their clients. The client’s continued use of Creative Elements Consulting Inc.’s services after the changes have been made and being notified of such changes will constitute the client’s acceptance of the changes.