Terms of service

These terms govern engagements between JARVA Labs ("we", "us") and our clients. Each engagement is also covered by a project-specific statement of work (SoW) — where the SoW conflicts with these terms, the SoW wins.

What we offer

Four engagement types, all custom-scoped per client: AI Audit, MVP Sprint, Full Build, and Retainer. Pricing is custom per engagement and confirmed in the SoW. We don't bill hourly except in the Retainer model, where build hours are agreed monthly.

The work

We deliver what's in the SoW. If scope changes mid-engagement, we discuss in writing before doing the extra work. Small additions (under 10% of the original scope) are usually absorbed; larger ones move to a v2 list or a change order.

We work in the open: weekly Friday demos, daily Slack, source code in your GitHub from day one.

IP and ownership

• You own the deliverables. All custom code, designs, content, and documentation we produce for you become yours upon final payment.
• We retain ownership of generic tools and prior IP. Internal libraries, templates, and reusable patterns we developed before the engagement remain ours; you get a perpetual royalty-free licence to use them as part of your project.
• Open source remains open source. If we incorporate open-source components, their licences apply. We document them in the project's LICENSE file.

Payment

• Audit: Half upfront, half on delivery (Day 14).
• MVP Sprint: Half upfront, half on launch.
• Full Build: Phased per milestone, agreed in the SoW.
• Retainer: Monthly, in advance, scope agreed at month-start.

Invoices are due within 14 days. Late payments accrue 1.5% per month after a 7-day grace period. We pause active work on accounts more than 30 days overdue.

Tools and pass-through costs

Third-party API costs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Vercel, Supabase, etc.) are passed through at cost — we don't mark them up. We provide monthly itemised reports.

Warranty

• AI Audit: 30 days of fixes for issues in the prototype, included.
• MVP Sprint: 4 weeks of post-launch fixes for bugs in delivered functionality, included.
• Full Build: 90 days of post-launch support, included.
• Retainer: Continuous, by definition.

After the warranty window, you can move to a Retainer or maintain the system yourself with the documentation we leave behind.

Liability

Our total liability for any engagement is capped at the fees paid for that engagement. We're not liable for indirect, consequential, or speculative damages — including lost profits, lost business opportunities, or downstream effects on your customers.

This isn't an attempt to wriggle out of accountability. If we ship broken code, we fix it within the warranty window. The cap protects against catastrophic claims that bear no relation to the engagement size.

Confidentiality

We sign NDAs as a default for any engagement. Information you share remains confidential unless: (a) it's already public, (b) you give us permission to share, or (c) we're legally required to disclose.

We use anonymised lessons (no client names, no recognisable details) in our blog and case studies — only with your prior consent for any client-specific reference.

Cancellation

• Audit: Once started, cancellation forfeits the upfront payment. We'll deliver everything completed up to the cancellation date.
• MVP Sprint and Full Build: Cancel between milestones. You walk with what's already shipped.
• Retainer: Three-month minimum, then cancel anytime with 14 days' notice. We finish work in flight before stopping.

Governing law

For clients contracting with our Amsterdam entity, Dutch law applies; venue Amsterdam. For clients contracting with our DIFC entity, DIFC law applies; venue DIFC Courts. The SoW specifies which entity is contracting.

Changes

We can update these terms; changes apply to engagements starting after the update date. Existing engagements continue under the terms in effect when their SoW was signed.

Contact

Questions about these terms: hello@jarvalabs.io.