Terms & Conditions

1. Acceptance of Agreement

By registering, accessing the platform, or allowing employees to use AccoNova, your organization accepts these Terms. This is a legally binding contract under Indian law. If you do not agree, do not use our service.

2. Service Provision & Scope

AccoNova grants you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access the ERP modules based on your subscription tier:

• Founder's Edition (Free for 1 Year): Full access to HR, Payroll, Attendance, Leave Management, Basic Accounting modules
• Professional Tier: All modules + advanced reporting + multi-branch support
• Enterprise Tier: Custom features, API access, dedicated support

Service Availability: AccoNova commits to 99.5% uptime (excluding scheduled maintenance). Platform may be offline for updates, security patches, or technical issues. We notify 7 days in advance for planned maintenance.

3. Subscription Terms & Renewal

Founder's Edition (1 Year Free): New registrations receive unlimited free access for 12 months from signup date. After 1 year, you must upgrade to a paid plan or lose access. We send 3 reminder emails (60 days, 30 days, 7 days before expiry).

Paid Subscriptions: After the free period, choose from monthly or annual billing:

• Monthly: Charge on same date every month. Cancellation takes effect at end of current billing month
• Annual: Full year charge upfront. Significant discount vs. monthly billing

Auto-Renewal: Subscriptions automatically renew unless cancelled. Cancel anytime via subscription dashboard (takes effect end of billing period).

4. Payment Terms & Billing

Payment Method: All payments processed through Razorpay (secure payment gateway). We accept credit cards, debit cards, net banking, and UPI.

Billing Address: Must match your registered business address or tax registration address. Incorrect billing address may result in failed payments.

Taxes: All prices exclude applicable GST. GST (18% for software services) added at checkout based on your state of registration. You are responsible for tax compliance in your jurisdiction.

Failed Payment Handling:

• Day 1 of Renewal: Payment attempt made. If failed, you receive email notification
• Days 2-7: Automatic retry up to 3 times (every 2 days)
• Day 8: If still unpaid, API access disabled (dashboard still accessible). Dashboard displays payment due notice
• Day 15: Dashboard access also disabled. All accounts frozen until payment received
• Day 30: Account automatically terminated. Data retained for 6 months, then deleted

5. Service Level Agreement (SLA)

Uptime Commitment: AccoNova guarantees 99.5% monthly uptime for platform availability. Calculated as: (Total Minutes in Month - Downtime Minutes) ÷ Total Minutes × 100.

Excluded Downtime: The following are NOT counted against SLA:

• Scheduled maintenance (7+ days advance notice)
• Force majeure events (natural disasters, government actions, wars)
• Client-side issues (internet connectivity, firewall blocks)
• Third-party issues (payment gateway down, email service down)

Response Times:

• Critical Issues (data loss, security breach): Response within 2 hours
• High Priority (inability to process payroll): Response within 4 hours
• Medium Priority (feature not working): Response within 24 hours
• Low Priority (UI bug, documentation): Response within 48 hours

6. Intellectual Property Rights

AccoNova IP Ownership: All source code, algorithms, database architectures, UI designs, documentation, and proprietary systems are the exclusive intellectual property of AccoNova Solutions PVT LTD. Protected under Copyright Act 1957 and IT Act 2000.

Client Data Ownership: All data you input (employee information, salary data, documents) remains your property. AccoNova acts as data processor only.

Forbidden Actions: You may NOT:

• Reverse engineer or decompile any part of AccoNova
• Attempt to access source code or proprietary algorithms
• Create derivative works based on our platform
• Resell or white-label without explicit written authorization
• Scrape data programmatically beyond official APIs

7. User Responsibility & Acceptable Use

Your Obligations:

• Ensure all employee data is accurate before entry (AccoNova processes what you input)
• Maintain confidentiality of admin credentials. Do not share passwords
• Comply with labour laws and employment regulations in your jurisdiction
• Do not store personal data beyond what's necessary for HR/payroll
• Verify all payroll and GST filings before submission to government

Prohibited Activities: You must not use AccoNova for:

• Fraud, tax evasion, or illegal activities
• Harassment, discrimination, or defamation of employees
• Unauthorized data collection or privacy violations
• Spreading malware or attacking platform infrastructure
• Creating fake employee records for legal evasion

8. Suspension & Termination

When We May Suspend Your Account:

• Non-payment of subscription for 15+ days
• Violation of Acceptable Use Policy
• Security breach (unauthorized access, hacking)
• Illegal activities or court orders

Suspension Process: We attempt to contact you before suspension. Critical violations may result in immediate suspension without prior notice. Most suspensions are temporary (7-30 days) and can be appealed.

Account Termination: We may permanently terminate your account if:

• You engage in repeated violations
• You ignore multiple suspension notices
• Law enforcement orders account closure

Data After Termination: Upon termination, you have 7 days to export your data. After 7 days, data is deleted and cannot be recovered. No exceptions. Maintain backups independently.

9. Limitation of Liability

Disclaimer: AccoNova is provided "as-is" without warranties of any kind, express or implied.

Liability Cap: In no event shall AccoNova be liable for damages exceeding the subscription fees paid in the 12 months preceding the incident. Example: If you paid ₹1,20,000/year and suffer damages from our service, liability capped at ₹1,20,000.

NO LIABILITY FOR:

• Data entry errors (your responsibility)
• Government penalties for statutory non-compliance
• Employee disputes or labour department penalties
• Lost profits or business interruption
• Consequential or indirect damages

10. Dispute Resolution & Governing Law

Governing Law: All terms and disputes governed by the laws of India, specifically Bihar state law where AccoNova is incorporated.

Dispute Resolution Process:

• Step 1: Good faith negotiation (30 days)
• Step 2: Mediation through neutral mediator (if negotiation fails)
• Step 3: Arbitration under Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 (if mediation fails)

Jurisdiction: Exclusive jurisdiction of courts in Sitamarhi, Bihar. Any legal proceedings must be filed in these courts only.