These terms define the working relationship between you (the Client) and us (Code Caravan). We believe in building great software and maintaining transparent, fair relationships.
By engaging Code Caravan for software development, design, or consulting services, you agree to the following terms. We keep things as straightforward as possible so we can focus on what matters: building your product.
1. The Work and Scope
Before we write a single line of code, we will agree on a Statement of Work (SOW) or a written project proposal. This document will outline exactly what we are building, the timeline, and the cost.
If you want to add new features or change the direction of the project after we have started (which happens often, and that's okay!), we will pause, scope the new changes, and agree on any timeline or budget adjustments before proceeding. We do not do "surprise billing."
2. Payments and Billing
We typically work on fixed-price contracts based on milestones, or on a monthly retainer for ongoing development.
- Upfront Deposit: We require an initial deposit (usually 30% to 50%) to schedule your project and begin work.
- Milestone Payments: The remaining balance is tied to specific, demonstrable milestones (e.g., Design Approval, Beta Release, Final Launch).
- Late Payments: If an invoice is not paid within the agreed timeframe, we reserve the right to pause development until the balance is cleared.
3. Intellectual Property (Who owns the code?)
This is the most important part for our clients:
- Before full payment: Code Caravan retains ownership of all code, designs, and assets created during the project.
- After full payment: Once the final invoice for the project is paid, 100% of the Intellectual Property (IP) transfers to you. The codebase, the designs, the assets — they are yours to keep, modify, and sell. We do not hold your code hostage.
- Open Source & Internal Libraries: We often use open-source tools (like React, Next.js) and our own internal utility libraries to speed up development. You are granted a perpetual, royalty-free license to use these within your product, but you do not own the underlying open-source framework itself.
4. Warranties and Bugs
We build high-quality, production-grade software. However, building software is complex, and bugs are a natural part of the process.
We provide a 30-day post-launch warranty period for all fixed-price projects. During this time, we will fix any critical bugs or crashes that deviate from the agreed scope of work, at no extra cost.
This warranty does not cover issues caused by third-party API changes, server outages, or modifications made to the code by someone other than the Code Caravan team.
5. Confidentiality and NDAs
We respect your trade secrets. Whether we sign a formal Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) or not, we treat all client concepts, proprietary data, and internal business logic as strictly confidential. We will never share your source code with a competitor.
6. Termination
Either party can terminate the project if things are not working out. If you choose to terminate the project before completion, you will be billed for the work completed up to that date. If we terminate the project (which is exceedingly rare), we will hand over all completed work and refund any deposits for work that was not delivered.
7. Marketing and Portfolio
We love to show off the great work we do. Unless specifically requested otherwise in writing, we reserve the right to showcase the completed project in our portfolio, case studies, and social media. We will never share your proprietary data or source code in doing so.
Contact
If you have any questions about these terms before starting a project with us, please reach out.