Terms of Service — Punchwell, by Sturdyhaus

DRAFT — NOT YET IN EFFECT. FOR ATTORNEY REVIEW.
This page is a working draft written in plain language to capture our intended terms. It has not been reviewed by a lawyer and is not legally binding in its current form. Bracketed placeholders such as [Legal Entity Name] and [Governing Jurisdiction] must be completed, and the whole document must be reviewed by qualified counsel in the relevant jurisdiction, before it is published or relied upon. Nothing here is legal advice.

Last updated: [DATE] · Effective date: [DATE]

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of the Punchwell website, store, and account/billing services operated by [Legal Entity Name] (“Sturdyhaus,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), the maker of Punchwell. By creating an account, purchasing a subscription, or otherwise using our website and services, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the site or services.

These Terms cover our website and services — the storefront at sturdyhaus.com, your account and billing at app.sturdyhaus.com, and any support or update services tied to a paid subscription. They do not replace the open-source license that governs the Punchwell software itself. See Section 3 — The plugin is GPL for how the two fit together.

1. Who we are

Punchwell is a self-hosted WordPress time-clock and HR plugin suite. It runs on your own WordPress site; your employee and attendance data stays in your database. We do not host your data and we do not operate your installation.

Punchwell is an independent, third-party maintained fork of the GPL-licensed “WP Human Resource Management” plugin. Sturdyhaus is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by wpspear, weDevs, the original author, or any prior maintainer. Other product names are referenced only descriptively to identify the software’s lineage. All third-party names and trademarks belong to their respective owners.

2. What these Terms apply to

These Terms apply to:

the website and store (sturdyhaus.com and related pages);
your account and billing portal (app.sturdyhaus.com), which runs on WHMCS;
support and update services you receive while a paid subscription is active.

A few things are governed separately:

The Punchwell software is licensed to you under the GNU General Public License (GPL) — see Section 3.
Personal data we collect about you (for example, your account and billing details) is handled under our Privacy Policy.

If there is a conflict between these Terms and the GPL as applied to the software, the GPL controls for the software. These Terms still govern your use of the website, store, and account/billing services.

3. The plugin is GPL — a separate license

The Punchwell plugin and its add-ons are free and open-source software, licensed under the GPL. This is important, and it is a feature, not a catch:

You may use, modify, and redistribute the plugin code under the terms of the GPL, on as many sites as you like, for any number of employees. The GPL is your license to the code.
Your paid subscription does not buy the code. It buys access to the Pro builds, software updates, and support for the term you pay for, plus the right to download from your account. This is the standard model for professional WordPress plugins.
Because the code is GPL, you are never locked in. If your subscription lapses, you keep the plugin you already installed and all of your data — you simply stop receiving new updates and support through your account.

Nothing in these Terms limits any right the GPL grants you in the software. Where these Terms talk about a “license” or “subscription,” they mean the service and access subscription, not a license to the GPL code.

4. Eligibility and accounts

To buy a subscription or use the account portal, you must be at least the age of majority in your jurisdiction and able to enter a binding contract. If you act on behalf of a business, you represent that you are authorized to bind it.

When you create an account, you agree to:

provide accurate, current information and keep it up to date;
keep your login credentials confidential and not share them;
be responsible for all activity under your account.

Tell us promptly at [support email / contact] if you believe your account has been accessed without your permission. We are not liable for losses arising from your failure to safeguard your credentials.

We may suspend or close an account that violates these Terms, is used for fraud or abuse, or carries a chargeback or unpaid balance — see Sections 6 and 8.

5. Subscriptions, pricing, and what you get

Punchwell Pro is sold as an annual subscription, priced per site, with unlimited employees:

Pro — 1 site: [price] per year.
Pro — 5 sites (Agency): [price] per year.

“Per site” means the number of distinct WordPress installations on which you may activate the Pro builds and receive updates/support. There is no per-employee or per-seat fee — you may add as many employees as you wish on any plan. A free community edition is available on WordPress.org and is governed by the GPL, not by a paid subscription.

An active subscription entitles you, for the paid term, to: download the Pro builds, receive software updates, and receive support through your account, subject to these Terms and any published support scope. Current prices, plan limits, and what each plan includes are shown at checkout and on the pricing page; those displayed details control if they differ from the summary above. Prices are in [currency] and exclude any taxes unless stated.

6. Billing, renewals, and cancellation

Billing and account management run through our WHMCS portal at app.sturdyhaus.com, which is hosted and operated on our behalf by our billing partner, Kevlar Hosting (kevlarhosting.biz).

Payment. You authorize us and our payment processor(s) to charge your selected payment method for the plan you choose, plus any applicable taxes.
Automatic renewal. Unless you cancel before the renewal date, subscriptions renew automatically for another annual term at the then-current renewal price for your plan, and we (or our processor) will charge your payment method on file. We will make reasonable efforts to send a renewal reminder beforehand, but it is your responsibility to keep your payment details current.
Renewal-price intent. We intend to honor your renewal price for as long as your subscription does not lapse. If your subscription lapses and you re-subscribe, the current price applies. (Counsel: confirm this commitment is one we want to be bound by, and how to express it.)
Cancellation. You may cancel auto-renewal at any time from the account portal. Cancellation stops future charges; it does not retroactively refund the current term. After cancellation you keep access through the end of the paid term, then updates and support stop. You keep the GPL plugin and your data (Section 3).
Refunds. [Refund policy placeholder — e.g., “We offer a [N]-day money-back guarantee on first purchases. To request a refund, contact [support email] within [N] days of purchase.”] (Counsel: set the refund window and conditions; align with any consumer-law requirements in [Governing Jurisdiction] and the EU/UK where applicable.)
Taxes. You are responsible for any sales, use, VAT, GST, or similar taxes, except taxes on our net income. We may collect such taxes where required.
Failed payments. If a renewal payment fails, we may retry and may suspend updates/support until the balance is paid.
Price changes. We may change plan pricing prospectively; changes apply at your next renewal, not mid-term.

7. License to use this website and the services

We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable right to access and use the website and account/billing services for their intended purpose. You may not:

copy, scrape, frame, or resell the website or services (this restriction is about the site/service, not the GPL plugin code, which you may redistribute under the GPL);
circumvent or probe authentication, billing, or rate limits;
use the services to build a competing service offering by automated extraction.

We may update, change, or discontinue parts of the website or services at any time, as described in Section 13.

8. Acceptable use

When using our website and services, you agree not to:

break any applicable law or infringe anyone’s rights;
upload or transmit malware, or attempt to gain unauthorized access to our systems or other users’ accounts;
interfere with or disrupt the website, account portal, or supporting infrastructure (including excessive automated requests);
misrepresent your identity, impersonate others, or submit fraudulent payment information;
use the services to harass, defraud, or harm others;
remove, obscure, or falsify the independent-maintainer and trademark notices in Section 1, or imply an affiliation or endorsement that does not exist.

Your use of the plugin on your own site is your responsibility. Features such as the office-IP clock-in lock, GPS geofence, and attendance records are tools you configure and operate. You are responsible for using them lawfully — including any notice, consent, employment, wage-and-hour, biometric, or privacy obligations that apply to you as an employer in your jurisdiction. Punchwell exports payroll data; it does not move money, file taxes, or act as a payroll processor, and you remain responsible for your payroll and tax compliance.

We may suspend or terminate access for conduct that violates this section.

9. Support and updates

While your subscription is active, you are entitled to software updates and support as described on the site at the time (for example, the support channel and any response-time targets). (Counsel/maintainer: state the actual support channel and any SLA, e.g., email support at [support email] with a [N]-business-day target, and the support scope and exclusions.)

We provide updates and support on a commercially reasonable-effort basis. We do not promise that any particular feature, integration, or third-party connector (such as a payroll connector) will be maintained indefinitely, or that updates will be compatible with every WordPress, PHP, server, or third-party configuration.

10. Your content and data

We do not host your WordPress installation or your employees’ data — those live on your server, under your control. Any information you provide to us (such as your account and billing details, or content you send to support) is handled under our Privacy Policy. You are responsible for the lawfulness of any data you send us and for backing up your own site and data.

11. Intellectual property and trademarks

The Punchwell plugin code is licensed under the GPL (Section 3). Apart from that code, the website content, the “Punchwell” and “Sturdyhaus” names and logos, branding, and copy are owned by [Legal Entity Name] or its licensors and are protected by intellectual-property and trademark law. The GPL license to the software does not grant you rights to our brand names or logos. You may refer to Punchwell and Sturdyhaus descriptively (nominative use), but you may not use our marks in a way that implies endorsement or affiliation. References on our site to “WP Human Resource Management” and other third-party names are descriptive only; those marks belong to their respective owners.

12. Disclaimers

Please read this carefully.

The website, account portal, and services are provided “as is” and “as available,” without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement, to the fullest extent permitted by law.
The Punchwell software is GPL and, per that license, is provided without warranty. We do not warrant that the software or services will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure, or that they will meet your specific requirements.
Security and attendance integrity are not guarantees. Punchwell’s controls — including the office-IP clock-in lock and the optional GPS geofence — are designed to deter and reduce off-site and “buddy” punching, not to make it impossible. GPS in particular can be spoofed and should be treated as a deterrent, not proof of presence. No software eliminates all time theft, fraud, or security risk, and we do not promise that it does.
We are an independent maintainer; we make no claim that the plugin makes you compliant with any specific law or standard (for example, wage-and-hour, biometric-privacy, GDPR, or HIPAA). Compliance depends on your configuration and practices.

Some jurisdictions do not allow certain warranty exclusions, so some of the above may not apply to you. (Counsel: reconcile this section with mandatory consumer warranties in [Governing Jurisdiction] and any applicable EU/UK/Australian consumer law.)

13. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law:

We will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for any lost profits, lost revenue, lost wages, payroll errors, lost or corrupted data, or loss of goodwill, arising out of or relating to the website, services, or software — even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.
Our total aggregate liability for all claims relating to the services in any 12-month period will not exceed the amount you actually paid us for the subscription during that period (or [fallback amount, e.g., USD 100] if you paid nothing). (Counsel: set the cap and confirm enforceability.)

These limits apply regardless of the legal theory (contract, tort, statute, or otherwise) and reflect the allocation of risk between us, including the fact that the software is provided under the GPL. Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability that cannot be excluded or limited by law (for example, for fraud, or for death or personal injury caused by negligence where applicable).

14. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless [Legal Entity Name] and its officers, employees, and contractors from claims, damages, and reasonable expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your misuse of the services, your violation of these Terms or applicable law, or your use of the plugin in a way that breaches the rights of your employees or any third party (for example, employment, wage-and-hour, privacy, or biometric-law claims). (Counsel: confirm scope and mutuality.)

15. Termination

You may stop using the services and cancel your subscription at any time (Section 6). We may suspend or terminate your account or access if you breach these Terms, fail to pay, or use the services unlawfully or abusively. On termination, your right to updates and support ends; sections that by their nature should survive (including Sections 3, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 16) survive termination. Because the plugin is GPL, termination of your subscription does not remove your right to keep using the code you already have, or your data.

16. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of [Governing Jurisdiction], without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. The parties agree to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located in [Venue / Jurisdiction] for any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the services, except where mandatory consumer-protection law gives you the right to bring a claim in your home jurisdiction. (Counsel: decide on governing law, venue, and whether to include arbitration and/or a class-action waiver; confirm consumer-law carve-outs for the EU/UK/Australia and any other markets sold to.)

17. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we make material changes, we will update the “Last updated” date above and, where appropriate, give notice through the account portal or by email. Changes take effect when posted (or on the stated effective date). Your continued use of the services after changes take effect means you accept the updated Terms. If you do not agree, stop using the services and cancel any subscription.

18. Miscellaneous

Entire agreement. These Terms, plus the pricing/plan details shown at checkout, the Privacy Policy, and the GPL (for the software), are the entire agreement between you and us regarding the website and services.
Severability. If any provision is held unenforceable, the rest remains in effect, and the unenforceable provision is limited to the minimum extent necessary.
No waiver. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver of it.
Assignment. You may not assign these Terms without our consent; we may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.
Force majeure. We are not liable for delays or failures caused by events beyond our reasonable control.
Notices / contact. Questions about these Terms? Contact us at [support email] or [Legal Entity Name], [registered address].

Independent GPL fork. Not affiliated with wpspear, weDevs, or the original author. Product names referenced descriptively only.

Reminder: this is a draft for attorney review. Complete every [bracketed placeholder], resolve the (Counsel: …) notes, and have qualified legal counsel review and approve it before publishing.