Terms and Conditions
Clients need to know what to expect when working with Quayle Consulting
Inc. Rather than write in legal mumbo-jumbo, here are our expectations.
We can agree to different terms; this is just our standard set.
Free Look
We will be glad to talk with you for an hour to prepare an estimate or
proposal. This is totally free. If we solve your problem in that hour,
that's fine. Repeat and referral business is what we need.
Standard Terms
All of our prices are in US dollars. You will pay all
applicable taxes and customs duties unless otherwise arranged in
advance.
Our standard payment terms are "Net 30", that is, payment is due 30
calendar days after the invoice date.
Any phone calls, letters, email, trips, or travel used to collect
payment will be added to the total amount due.
Should litigation be required to collect payment, you agree to the
laws in effect in Violet Township, Ohio.
Quayle Consulting can accept orders
using Visa, American Express, MasterCard, and Discover to a limit of
$10,000.
CHARON Products
Successful use of CHARON migration products requires hardware that
meets or exceeds the corresponding Software Product Description.
Server-class systems are recommended for utmost reliablity.
Quayle Consulting reserves the right to back out of any project if the
customer insists on using substandard hardware.
The CHARON manufacturer issues 30-day licenses upon receipt of
order. They issue permanent ("forever") licenses only upon
receipt of funds in their bank account. Please plan accordingly.
Services
Time as Worked
We will bill you for time worked, whether on your site, our offices, or
elsewhere. Billing is in 15-minute increments (except for "After Hours"
and "Emergency" conditions). For a long-term contract, we'll make the
odd minutes plus-or-minus balance out. Otherwise, we'll round up to a
whole 15 minutes.
For engagements that are billed on a daily basis, being at the
customer's site for 1 hour or more counts as a day.
Phone Calls, Email, Fax
With an existing contract, phone calls (except "After Hours" or
"Emergency") are billed in 15-minute increments. That is, a one minute
phone call costs you the same as a fourteen minute phone call. Please
plan ahead.
If no contract is in effect, phone calls are billed in 1-hour
increments.
Simple email and faxes are free. If extensive work (greater than 5
minutes) is needed to prepare a response, or you need an immediate
reply, it will be billed as normal time.
After Hours
Work done between 11 PM and 8 AM Eastern time, or done on Saturday,
Sunday, US national holiday, or previously-scheduled vacation is billed
in 1-hour increments. This includes phone calls, doing things during
night-time maintenance periods, etc.
If we work during these hours for our convenience, it will be
treated as normal time.
Any time that begins in, ends in, or crosses through the "After
Hours" times will be treated as "After Hours" time.
Emergency Surcharge
An unexpected, urgent, customer requirement which causes us to modify
our schedule will incur a surcharge of 100%. A customer requirement
which requires more than 18 hours in any
24-hour period will also be subject to the emergency surcharge.
Travel Time
Travel time is not charged for trips when the one-way travel time is
less than two hours, except for travel that is required during the
"After
Hours" period. After hours travel is billed in 1-hour increments.
Trips where the one-way travel time is longer than two hours are
charged in 15-minute increments. Airline travel time includes enroute
to and from the airport, check-in, check-out, customs, and any waiting
time at the airport. We will not charge more than 12 hours of travel
time each way for trips in the continental U.S. and Canada, regardless
of the actual elapsed time.
Hotel, meals, tips, etc. are billed as expended. We do not provide
receipts for expenses less than $25.
Bad Checks
We'll add $50 for each check you give us that bounces. Sure, it's more
than our financial institution charges, but that's not really the
point, is it?
How Much?
Everyone wants to know what a project will cost. Most clients do not
have a clear enough picture of what they need for us to bid a
fixed-price contract. Time we spend with you to help you develop
detailed requirements is charged as
normal time worked.
Our rate depends on the nature of the work to be performed, the
duration of the contract, etc. Large or long-term projects will get you
a lower rate. An "as needed" arrangement will be more per hour, but
you'll only be charged for actual work performed. We're open to
retainer arrangements.
Testimony as an expert witness, either in a courtroom or in
deposition, will be charged at a higher rate.
Scope Creep
Things added to a project will always make a project cost more. We will
assume that anyone from your company has the authority to add to your
project. If not, we need to know who does have that authority, and it's
your responsibility to let us know that in advance.
Consulting agencies: Look here
for additional information.
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