Terms and conditions

1. About these terms

These Terms and Conditions ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the SmartQS platform, website, and related services ("the Service") operated by SmartQS ("we", "us", "our"). By creating an account or using the Service you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the Service.

2. The service

SmartQS is an online tool that assists construction professionals with pricing Bills of Quantities (BOQs). The Service extracts, structures, and prices BOQ line items using South African rate data and produces exportable pricing schedules.

Pricing outputs are decision-support estimates. While we work to keep rates accurate and up to date, outputs are provided for guidance and must be reviewed by a qualified professional before being used in tenders, contracts, or other commitments. SmartQS is not liable for commercial outcomes resulting from submitted pricing.

3. Accounts

You must provide accurate information when creating an account and keep your credentials secure. You are responsible for all activity under your account. We may suspend or terminate accounts that breach these Terms, abuse the Service, or attempt to circumvent usage limits.

4. Subscriptions, billing and cancellation

Paid plans are billed in advance on a monthly or annual cycle. Document quotas reset each billing cycle and unused documents do not roll over unless stated otherwise. You can cancel at any time from your account; access continues until the end of the paid period. Per-document purchases are consumed on use and are non-refundable once processing has begun.

Prices may change with reasonable notice. Any change takes effect from your next billing cycle.

5. Your content

You retain ownership of the documents you upload. You grant us a limited licence to process them solely to provide the Service (extraction, pricing, export, and support). You confirm you have the right to upload the documents you submit.

6. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

• reverse engineer, scrape, or bulk-extract the rate databases or underlying data;
• resell or provide the Service to third parties without our written consent;
• upload unlawful content or content that infringes the rights of others;
• interfere with or disrupt the integrity or performance of the Service.

7. Intellectual property

The Service, including its software, design, rate database structures, and branding, is owned by SmartQS and protected by applicable intellectual property laws. These Terms do not grant you any rights to our trademarks or rate data beyond use of the Service.

8. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Service is provided "as is" and our total liability arising out of or relating to the Service is limited to the amounts you paid to us in the three months preceding the claim. We are not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages, including lost profits or lost tenders.

9. Changes to these terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be communicated via the Service or email. Continued use after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

10. Governing law and contact

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa. Questions about these Terms can be sent to sales@smartqs.co.za.