Terms of Service

1. Who we are

RateWise is a tool designed to help freelancers understand their real hourly rate, compare client profitability, and review insights based on time and revenue data they enter into the Service. The MVP product concept and feature specs describe account creation, client records, time entries, target hourly rates, dashboards, rankings, and recommendations.

2. Eligibility

You may use the Service only if:

• you are at least 18 years old; and
• you are legally able to enter into a binding agreement.

If you use the Service on behalf of a business, you represent that you have authority to bind that business to these Terms.

3. Your account

To use certain features, you may need to create an account with your email and password. RateWise also includes user settings such as a target hourly rate.

• providing accurate account information;
• keeping your login credentials secure;
• all activity that occurs under your account.

You must notify us promptly at security@ratewise.app if you believe your account has been accessed without authorization.

4. What the Service does

RateWise allows users to:

• create and manage client records;
• log time entries;
• calculate effective hourly rates and related profitability metrics;
• compare results against a target hourly rate;
• view rankings, dashboards, and basic recommendations or insights.

The Service is intended to support your own business analysis and decision-making. It does not replace your own judgment.

5. No professional advice

RateWise is provided for informational and workflow purposes only. The Service does not provide:

• legal advice,
• tax advice,
• accounting advice,
• financial advisory services,
• employment advice,
• guaranteed pricing outcomes or guaranteed profitability improvements.

Any insights, recommendations, rankings, or alerts provided by RateWise are based on the data you input and the rules or calculations used by the Service. Those outputs may help inform decisions, but they are not professional advice and should not be relied on as the sole basis for business, tax, legal, or financial decisions. This is especially important because the product is positioned as an insight tool, not an accounting platform.

6. Your data

You may upload or enter data into the Service, including account details, client information, notes, hourly rates, dates, time entries, descriptions, and similar content used to generate dashboard results.

• You retain ownership of the content and data you submit ("User Data").
• You grant us a limited, non-exclusive license to host, store, process, copy, transmit, and use your User Data only as necessary to provide and maintain the Service; generate calculations, rankings, and insights; troubleshoot, secure, and improve the Service; and comply with law and enforce these Terms.
• You have the rights necessary to submit the User Data.
• Your use of the Service and submission of User Data does not violate any law or third-party rights.
• If you upload personal information about your clients or other individuals, you have a lawful basis to do so.

7. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

• use the Service for unlawful, fraudulent, or misleading purposes;
• upload viruses, malware, or harmful code;
• interfere with the Service, servers, or security features;
• attempt to gain unauthorized access to any account or system;
• copy, reverse engineer, or exploit the Service except as permitted by law;
• use the Service to store or transmit data you do not have the right to use;
• use the Service in a way that could damage, disable, or overburden it.

8. Beta and MVP nature of the Service

RateWise may be released as an MVP, beta, early access, or limited-feature product. The project documents specifically describe an MVP intended to validate demand quickly, with a simple core feature set first and more advanced functionality later. Because of that:

• some features may change, be incomplete, or be removed;
• the Service may contain bugs or interruptions;
• calculations, insights, and workflows may evolve over time.

You understand and accept that early-stage software may not be error-free.

9. Subscriptions, trials, and payments

RateWise may offer free access, a trial, paid subscriptions, or limited-feature plans, depending on the current offer shown on the website. The MVP planning docs contemplate subscription plans and payment handling through Lemon Squeezy. If you purchase a paid subscription:

• you agree to pay the fees displayed at checkout;
• billing and payment processing may be handled by Lemon Squeezy or another payment provider;
• your subscription may renew automatically unless you cancel before renewal, if that is how the plan is configured;
• taxes may be handled by the payment provider where applicable.

You are responsible for reviewing the pricing, billing cadence, and cancellation terms shown at checkout.

10. Cancellation and refunds

11. Availability and changes

We may modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Service at any time, with or without notice. We may also update:

• features,
• pricing,
• usage limits,
• supported regions,
• plan structure,
• technical requirements.

The MVP docs expressly describe staged development, evolving features, and rollout over time.

12. Intellectual property

13. Feedback

If you send us suggestions, ideas, feature requests, or other feedback, we may use that feedback without restriction or compensation to you.

14. Privacy

Your use of the Service is also subject to our Privacy Policy, which explains how we collect, use, and handle personal information.

15. Termination

You may stop using the Service at any time. We may suspend or terminate your access if:

• you violate these Terms;
• your use creates risk for us or other users;
• we are required to do so by law;
• your account remains inactive or unpaid for an extended period, where applicable.

Upon termination, your right to use the Service ends immediately. We may retain certain information where necessary for legal compliance, dispute resolution, fraud prevention, security, or backup purposes.

16. Disclaimers

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE." TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT:

• THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE;
• THE SERVICE WILL ALWAYS BE SECURE OR AVAILABLE;
• ANY CALCULATIONS, RANKINGS, OR INSIGHTS WILL BE COMPLETE, ACCURATE, OR SUITABLE FOR YOUR PARTICULAR SITUATION;
• USE OF THE SERVICE WILL INCREASE YOUR INCOME, IMPROVE CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS, OR GUARANTEE PROFITABILITY.

This is especially important for RateWise because the product output depends heavily on user-entered data and insight logic rather than verified accounting records.

17. Limitation of liability

18. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless RateWise and its affiliates, founders, officers, employees, and service providers from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses arising out of or related to:

• your use of the Service;
• your User Data;
• your violation of these Terms;
• your violation of any law or third-party right.

19. Governing law

20. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date and may provide additional notice where appropriate. By continuing to use the Service after the updated Terms take effect, you agree to the revised Terms.

21. Contact