The contract framework that governs every engagement, project, retainer and SaaS subscription with Sitect (Pty) Ltd. Written in plain English where we could, in legalese where we had to.
Effective 1 May 2026Version 1.0Governed by South African law
Read this with the proposal you signed.
These Terms apply to every Sitect engagement unless your signed Statement of Work expressly says otherwise. Where the two conflict, the signed SoW wins.
1 Acceptance & scope
These Terms of Service ("Terms") form a binding agreement between Sitect (Pty) Ltd, a private company duly incorporated under the laws of the Republic of South Africa ("Sitect", "we", "us" or "our"), and you — whether you are a prospective client, a signed client, a SaaS subscriber, or a visitor to sitect.co.za ("you", "your" or "Client").
By signing a proposal, statement of work, order form, or by using any Sitect-provided service or website feature, you confirm that you have read, understood and agreed to these Terms.
If you are entering into these Terms on behalf of a company or other legal entity, you represent that you have the authority to bind that entity. If you do not, do not accept these Terms or use our services.
2 Definitions
In these Terms, unless context indicates otherwise:
"Agreement" means these Terms together with any signed Statement of Work, Proposal, Order Form, or SaaS subscription.
"CPA" means the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008.
"Deliverables" means the work product Sitect agrees to deliver under a Statement of Work, including software, code, designs, documents, content and access credentials.
"Effective Date" means the date the relevant Statement of Work or Order Form is signed.
"Fees" means the amounts payable to Sitect under the Agreement, denominated in South African Rands (ZAR) unless otherwise stated.
"POPIA" means the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013.
"SoW" means a Statement of Work signed by you and Sitect.
"VAT" means Value-Added Tax under the Value-Added Tax Act 89 of 1991, currently at 15%.
3 Our services
Sitect provides digital agency services across the following disciplines:
AI Consultation & Integration — strategy, custom AI agents, LLM integration, document automation, voice agents, predictive analytics, content automation.
Business & Digital Strategy — digital transformation, go-to-market, product strategy, operations audits, KPI frameworks.
Software & SaaS Development — bespoke SaaS platforms, internal tools, API design, cloud infrastructure, legacy modernisation.
Website Design & Development — corporate websites, landing pages, headless CMS builds, SEO & performance optimisation.
Mobile App Development — React Native, Flutter, progressive web apps, App Store & Play Store launches.
Sitect also operates several of its own SaaS products (including LocalHands, HelixDash, PowerWeb, BestDealz and UrbanFind). Use of those products is governed by their own terms; these Terms apply to all client engagements with Sitect as a service provider.
4 Proposals, quotes & contracts
Proposals and quotes issued by Sitect are valid for 30 days from the date of issue unless otherwise stated. After 30 days, pricing, scope and availability may change.
An engagement is only binding once you have signed a Statement of Work or Order Form (electronically or in writing). Verbal agreements, email confirmations or "go ahead" instructions are not by themselves binding agreements — but may be evidence of intent to contract.
Each SoW will set out at minimum: (a) scope of work, (b) deliverables, (c) timeline and milestones, (d) fees and payment schedule, (e) any client responsibilities, and (f) warranty period.
5 Fees & payment terms
Fees are denominated in South African Rands (ZAR) and are exclusive of VAT unless explicitly stated. Where applicable, VAT will be added at the prevailing rate (currently 15%).
Standard payment terms
Unless your SoW says otherwise:
Project work: 50% on signature, 50% on go-live — or as set out in the SoW (often 30/30/40, 25/25/25/25, or milestone-based for larger builds).
Monthly retainers: invoiced in advance on the 1st of each month, payable within 7 days.
One-off consulting: 50% on signature, 50% on delivery.
SaaS subscriptions: billed monthly or annually in advance, auto-renewing unless cancelled.
Payment methods
We accept EFT (preferred for invoices over R10 000), card via Yoco/Payfast/Peach Payments, and debit order for retainers. International clients may pay in USD/EUR/GBP via Stripe with prior arrangement.
Late payment
Invoices are due on the date stated. If an invoice is not paid by the due date:
Reminders are sent on day +3, +7 and +14 after the due date.
Interest accrues from day +14 at the prescribed legal rate under the Prescribed Rate of Interest Act 55 of 1975, or the repo rate +3.5% (whichever is higher).
Work on the engagement may be suspended after day +21 until the account is settled.
Accounts +60 days overdue may be handed to our debt-collection agent. Recovery costs (including legal fees on attorney-client scale) are for the Client's account.
6 Intellectual property
What you own after payment
On full payment of all amounts due under the relevant SoW, the following Deliverables become your property:
The final code we wrote specifically for your project (MIT-licensed for clarity).
Final design files, brand assets, copy and content created specifically for you.
Production-ready data & database schemas built for your project.
Documentation and runbooks specific to your deployment.
What Sitect retains
Sitect's pre-existing tools, libraries and boilerplates remain Sitect's property. Where these are embedded in your Deliverable, you receive a perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide licence to use them as part of the Deliverable.
General know-how, methodologies, frameworks and processes learned during the engagement remain Sitect's intellectual property.
The right to identify you as a client on our website and in marketing materials, unless you opt out in writing.
Third-party components
Some Deliverables include third-party software, APIs, fonts, images or libraries. These are governed by their own licences. Sitect documents third-party dependencies and their licences in the project handover pack.
7 Confidentiality
Both parties commit to keeping confidential information confidential, both during the engagement and for three (3) years after termination. "Confidential information" includes business strategies, financial data, customer lists, technical architecture, source code, and anything reasonably understood to be confidential.
This obligation does not apply to information that is:
Already public knowledge through no fault of the receiving party.
Lawfully received from a third party with no duty of confidentiality.
Independently developed without reference to the other party's confidential information.
Required to be disclosed by law, regulation, or court order (in which case prompt notice will be given where lawfully possible).
A separate Non-Disclosure Agreement may be signed for engagements with elevated sensitivity (financial services, healthcare, government).
8 Client responsibilities
For us to do our work effectively, you commit to:
Providing accurate, complete information about your business, goals and constraints.
Nominating a single point of contact with authority to make decisions and provide approvals.
Responding to requests for input, decisions or feedback within 3 business days unless a different timeline is agreed.
Providing necessary access to systems, accounts, hosting, repositories and third-party services in good time.
Delivering content, assets, brand materials and product information as scheduled in the SoW.
Paying invoices on the agreed dates.
Sitect is not liable for delays, cost overruns or quality issues that result from material Client delays or non-cooperation. Where Client delays cause a project to exceed the timeline, Sitect may charge a re-mobilisation fee equal to 10% of remaining project fees, capped at R25 000.
9 Acceptance, revisions & sign-off
Deliverables are reviewed and accepted in stages set out in your SoW. The standard cycle is:
Delivery of the milestone Deliverable.
Client review within 5 business days (extended to 7 business days for milestones over R100 000).
Up to 2 rounds of revisions at no additional cost, provided revisions are within the agreed scope.
Acceptance or deemed acceptance — if Client does not raise specific written feedback within the review window, the Deliverable is deemed accepted.
Revisions outside the agreed scope (changes to brief, late additions, fundamental changes of direction) are charged at our prevailing time-and-materials rate (currently R950/hour ex VAT for senior engineering, R750/hour for design and content).
10 Warranties & defect-warranty period
Sitect warrants that all Deliverables will:
Substantially conform to the specifications set out in the SoW.
Be performed with reasonable skill and care, by suitably qualified persons.
Not knowingly infringe on the intellectual-property rights of any third party.
Defect-warranty period
For software builds, Sitect provides a defect-warranty period of 60–90 days from launch (the exact period is stated in the SoW). During this period, any defect that prevents the Deliverable from working as specified will be fixed at no additional cost.
The warranty does not cover:
Changes made by the Client (or third parties) after handover that introduce defects.
Issues caused by hosting failures, third-party APIs, browser updates, OS updates, or other external systems outside our control.
Feature requests, design preferences, or scope changes (these are new work).
Performance issues caused by changes in usage patterns beyond the design assumptions of the original SoW.
Beyond the warranty period, ongoing maintenance is available on a monthly retainer.
11 Limitation of liability
Subject to the requirements of the Consumer Protection Act (which applies to qualifying clients), the following limits apply:
Sitect's aggregate liability arising from or related to the Agreement is limited to the total fees paid to Sitect by the Client under the relevant SoW in the 12 months preceding the event giving rise to the claim.
Sitect is not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary or punitive damages, including loss of profit, loss of business, loss of data, or loss of goodwill, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.
Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability for gross negligence, wilful misconduct, fraud, death or personal injury caused by negligence — or any liability that cannot lawfully be limited or excluded.
The Client acknowledges that the limits in this clause reflect a fair allocation of risk in light of the Fees charged.
12 Termination
Termination for convenience
Either party may terminate a project SoW on 14 days' written notice. On such termination:
Sitect invoices for all work done up to the termination date plus any non-cancellable third-party costs incurred.
Sitect delivers all work-in-progress in its current state.
IP transfer applies only to fully paid milestones.
Termination for cause
Either party may terminate immediately if the other party commits a material breach that remains unremedied for 14 days after written notice. Material breaches include insolvency proceedings, persistent late payment, abusive conduct toward team members, or fraud.
Retainer and SaaS cancellation
Monthly retainers may be cancelled on 30 days' written notice. SaaS subscriptions are cancellable in line with the subscription terms: monthly subscriptions cancel at the end of the current month; annual subscriptions cancel at the end of the current annual period (no pro-rata refund, but the CPA gives qualifying consumers an early-cancellation right at a reasonable cancellation charge).
13 Refunds & cancellations
Sitect's refund policy aligns with the Consumer Protection Act where it applies (typically to natural persons and "small juristic persons" under the CPA threshold).
Cooling-off period: for distance-sales agreements with consumers under the CPA, you may cancel within 5 business days of signature provided no Deliverable has yet been provided.
Pre-Deliverable cancellation: if work has commenced but no Deliverable has been provided, Sitect may retain a reasonable charge for work done (typically 25% of fees paid for project setup).
Defective deliverables: where a Deliverable does not substantially conform to specification, Sitect will repair, replace or refund (Sitect's choice in line with section 56 of the CPA).
SaaS: subscription fees already paid for active periods are not refundable except where required by law.
14 POPIA & data processing
Where Sitect processes personal information on behalf of the Client (in our capacity as an "operator" under POPIA), the Client remains the "responsible party". Sitect will:
Process personal information only on the Client's documented instructions.
Implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information.
Assist the Client in responding to data-subject requests under POPIA.
Notify the Client of any data breach within 72 hours of becoming aware of it.
Delete or return personal information at the end of the engagement, at the Client's choice.
Neither party is liable for delay or failure to perform due to causes beyond reasonable control, including (but not limited to): natural disasters, pandemics, war, terrorism, civil unrest, government action, internet outages, cloud-provider outages, major cyber-attacks, and (relevant to South Africa) Stage 5+ loadshedding, prolonged loadshedding ramps, or grid failures.
The affected party must promptly notify the other and use reasonable efforts to mitigate. Force-majeure delays extend any related deadlines accordingly. If a force-majeure event persists for more than 60 consecutive days, either party may terminate the affected SoW without penalty.
16 Dispute resolution
The parties shall use reasonable efforts to resolve any disputes through good-faith negotiation. If a dispute cannot be resolved within 14 days of being raised in writing:
Mediation — referred to mediation under the Rules of the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa ("AFSA"). The mediator's fees are shared equally.
Arbitration — if mediation fails within 30 days, finally resolved by arbitration under AFSA's Expedited Rules. The seat of arbitration is Johannesburg; the language is English. The arbitrator's award is final and binding.
Court — the parties retain the right to approach a competent court for urgent interdictory relief or to enforce an arbitration award.
17 Governing law & jurisdiction
These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of South Africa. The parties consent to the jurisdiction of the Magistrate's Court / High Court of Gauteng (Johannesburg Division) for any matter arising from these Terms, subject to the dispute-resolution clause above.
18 General provisions
Whole agreement: these Terms together with the signed SoW constitute the entire agreement between the parties.
No assignment: the Client may not assign these Terms or any SoW without Sitect's prior written consent. Sitect may assign with notice in the case of a sale or restructuring.
Severability: if any provision is held invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full force.
No waiver: failure or delay to enforce a right does not waive that right.
Notices: formal notices must be sent in writing to the email address or registered postal address of the relevant party. Electronic signed emails count as written notice.
Counterparts: SoWs may be signed in counterparts, including by electronic signature (Adobe Sign, DocuSeal, Dropbox Sign and equivalent platforms are explicitly accepted).
19 Changes to these terms
Sitect may amend these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be notified to active clients by email at least 30 days before they take effect. Continued use of Sitect services after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms. Where a signed SoW is in effect, the Terms in force at the date of SoW signature continue to apply to that engagement until completion.
20 Contact us
For legal matters, contract queries or notices under these Terms:
Sitect (Pty) Ltd — 139 Davies Street, Doornfontein, Johannesburg, 2001 Gauteng, South Africa
We're happy to explain anything that's unclear, walk you through a specific clause, or discuss bespoke contractual arrangements for larger engagements.
