TERMS OF SERVICE
Effective date: 11 August 2026
These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern the use of Luado Digital’s website and the purchase and provision of services by Luado Digital.
Luado Digital is operated by NEXCHAT AI SYSTEMS (PTY) LTD, trading as Luado Digital (“Luado Digital”, “we”, “us” or “our”).
By accepting a quotation, approving a project, making an initial or setup payment, or otherwise instructing Luado Digital to begin work, the client (“Client”, “you” or “your”) agrees to these Terms.
If a quotation, proposal or other written agreement contains terms specific to a project, those specific terms will apply together with these Terms. If there is a direct conflict, the specific written quotation or agreement will take priority for that particular project.
Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits any right that cannot lawfully be excluded under South African law.
1. SERVICES
Luado Digital provides website design and development, e-commerce setup, hosting, email hosting, website maintenance, digital ecosystem setup, integrations, social media business setup, Google services, advertising-related setup, design services and other digital services as described in the Client’s quotation.
The exact services included in a project are limited to those stated in the accepted quotation, proposal or other written scope.
Anything not specifically included may be quoted and charged separately.
2. QUOTATIONS AND ACCEPTANCE
Quotations are valid until the expiry date displayed on the quotation unless otherwise stated.
A Client accepts a quotation and enters into an agreement with Luado Digital when the Client does any of the following:
accepts the quotation in writing;
instructs Luado Digital to proceed;
makes the required setup, deposit or initial payment; or
otherwise confirms acceptance in a recorded form.
Payment of an initial or setup fee constitutes acceptance of these Terms and the applicable quotation.
3. CLIENT RESPONSIBILITIES
The Client must provide the information and access reasonably required to complete the project, including where applicable:
business information;
logos and branding;
product information;
images and content;
domain access;
hosting access;
payment gateway information;
shipping or courier information;
Meta, Google or other platform access; and
approvals and feedback.
The Client is responsible for ensuring that information, products, claims, photographs, logos, trademarks and other material supplied to Luado Digital may lawfully be used.
Luado Digital is not responsible for delays caused by the Client failing to supply information, access, content, payment or approval on time.
Any estimated completion date may be extended where delays are caused by the Client, third-party services or circumstances reasonably outside Luado Digital’s control.
4. PROJECT SCOPE AND ADDITIONAL WORK
The agreed project scope is determined by the quotation and any additional written agreement between Luado Digital and the Client.
Requests outside the agreed scope may be charged separately.
Examples of additional work may include:
new pages;
major redesigns;
new functionality;
custom development;
new integrations;
large product uploads;
major layout changes;
additional platforms; or
work not contemplated when the original quotation was accepted.
Luado Digital will notify the Client where a request falls outside the existing scope before charging for additional work.
5. REVISIONS AND APPROVALS
Revisions are limited to what is reasonably included in the quotation or package purchased.
Revisions do not include a complete change of direction, redesign or expansion of the original scope unless agreed separately.
Once the Client approves work, that work will be treated as approved for purposes of progressing to the next stage.
Changes requested after approval may constitute additional work.
6. ONCE-OFF PAYMENT OPTION
Where a Client purchases a website or E-commerce Ecosystem on a once-off basis, the amount stated in the quotation must be paid according to the payment terms stated in that quotation.
Once the agreed project price has been paid in full, ownership of the completed website transfers to the Client, subject to the third-party intellectual property provisions in these Terms.
Ongoing website hosting is separate from the once-off website purchase unless expressly included in the quotation.
After ownership transfers, the Client may:
continue hosting the website with Luado Digital under an available hosting plan; or
move the website to another suitable hosting provider.
Luado Digital does not require a Client who owns the website in full to continue hosting with Luado Digital.
7. 12-MONTH E-COMMERCE ECOSYSTEM PLAN
Where selected and stated in the Client’s quotation, Luado Digital may provide the E-commerce Ecosystem under a 12-month payment and managed-services arrangement.
Under the current standard arrangement, unless the quotation states otherwise:
the Client pays a R4,995 setup fee;
the Client thereafter pays R995 per month for 12 monthly payments; and
the total amount payable over the arrangement is R16,935.
The R995 monthly fee is not solely a payment towards the website.
During the 12-month term, the monthly plan also includes ongoing managed services consisting of:
website hosting;
business email hosting;
website maintenance;
repair of website issues caused by routine website, WordPress, theme or plugin updates where reasonably within Luado Digital’s control; and
up to two small website changes per month.
A “small website change” includes work such as:
editing text;
replacing an image;
changing a displayed price;
updating basic information; or
adding or removing small amounts of basic content within an existing page or layout.
Small changes do not include new pages, redesigns, custom functionality, major layout changes, integrations, extensive product uploads or development work.
The two small changes are provided as monthly service capacity and are not cumulative unless Luado Digital agrees otherwise in writing.
8. MONTHLY BILLING
The first R995 monthly payment will ordinarily become due approximately one month after commencement of the project, aligned with Luado Digital’s monthly billing cycle.
The exact first payment date will be shown on the applicable invoice or otherwise communicated to the Client.
For example, where a setup fee is paid on 20 January, the first monthly payment may be due on 1 March.
Thereafter, monthly payments are due on or before the first day of each applicable billing month until all 12 monthly payments have been completed.
Luado Digital will ordinarily issue the upcoming monthly invoice on or around the 25th of the preceding month.
A payment reminder may be issued on or around the first day of the month.
Failure to receive an invoice or reminder does not remove a payment obligation that the Client has already agreed to.
9. LATE OR MISSED PAYMENTS
Monthly payments must be made by the due date stated on the invoice.
If payment remains outstanding, Luado Digital may contact the Client and request payment.
If an amount remains unpaid by the fifth day of the applicable month, Luado Digital may, after appropriate notice and subject to applicable law, temporarily suspend services until the overdue account has been brought up to date.
Suspension may include:
website hosting;
website availability;
email hosting;
website maintenance;
monthly website changes; and
other ongoing services supplied by Luado Digital.
Suspension is not the same as permanent cancellation of the agreement.
Luado Digital will not permanently delete the Client’s website merely because a monthly payment becomes overdue.
Where applicable law requires a longer notice or remedy period before Luado Digital may terminate an agreement, that legal requirement will apply.
Any amounts already due remain payable during a suspension.
10. CANCELLATION OF THE 12-MONTH PLAN
A Client wishing to cancel must notify Luado Digital in writing or another recorded form.
Any statutory cancellation rights available to the Client under South African law remain unaffected.
Where applicable law permits it, the Client remains responsible for:
amounts already due;
services already provided;
reasonable costs already incurred; and
any reasonable cancellation amount permitted by law.
Cancellation before the website ownership requirements have been completed does not automatically transfer ownership of the website to the Client.
The Client may choose either:
to cancel the arrangement without taking ownership of the website; or
to request an early settlement amount and acquire ownership of the website by paying the applicable settlement amount.
If the Client cancels without completing the ownership settlement, Luado Digital retains ownership of the website build.
The Client continues to own its own domain, business accounts, content and other Client-owned assets as described below.
Nothing in this section requires a consumer to surrender any cancellation right granted by applicable law.
11. EARLY SETTLEMENT AND OWNERSHIP
A Client on the 12-month plan may request to settle the website ownership balance before the end of the 12-month term.
Luado Digital will provide the applicable settlement amount in writing.
The settlement calculation will take account of amounts already paid toward the website and will not require the Client to pay for future managed services that will no longer be supplied following termination of those services.
Once the applicable ownership settlement amount and all other amounts already due have been paid, ownership of the website transfers to the Client.
The Client may then continue hosting with Luado Digital or move the website to another suitable provider.
12. OWNERSHIP DURING THE PAYMENT TERM
Unless otherwise agreed in writing, Luado Digital retains ownership of the website build until the ownership requirements in the applicable quotation and these Terms have been satisfied.
This does not mean Luado Digital owns the Client’s business.
The following remain the Client’s property from the outset where they belong to or were created specifically for the Client:
the Client’s domain name;
business name;
logos and branding supplied by the Client;
product information;
customer information;
Meta Business assets;
advertising accounts;
Google Business Profile;
payment gateway account;
social media accounts;
business email addresses; and
other Client-owned business information and accounts.
Luado Digital may administer or access these assets where required to perform its services, but administration access does not transfer ownership to Luado Digital.
13. THIRD-PARTY SOFTWARE AND LICENCES
Websites may use third-party software, plugins, themes, fonts, APIs, stock material or other licensed technology.
Ownership transfer of a website does not transfer ownership of third-party intellectual property.
Third-party products remain subject to the terms and licences of their respective owners.
Some paid licences or subscriptions may need to be renewed or replaced by the Client after the website is transferred or after Luado Digital stops providing the relevant service.
14. AFTER THE 12-MONTH TERM
Once all required payments under the 12-month plan have been completed, ownership of the website transfers to the Client.
The Client may then:
select one of Luado Digital’s hosting plans available at that time; or
move the website to another suitable hosting provider.
Future hosting prices are not guaranteed at the price available when the original website agreement began.
Luado Digital will provide the Client with the hosting options and pricing available at the end of the term.
Where required by applicable consumer law, Luado Digital will provide any legally required notice concerning expiry, renewal or continuation of a fixed-term agreement.
15. HOSTING
Hosting provided by Luado Digital is subject to reasonable technical and security limitations.
Luado Digital will take reasonable steps to keep hosted websites operational but cannot guarantee uninterrupted availability.
Hosting may be affected by maintenance, server outages, internet infrastructure, cyber incidents, third-party suppliers or circumstances outside Luado Digital’s reasonable control.
A Client who owns its website may request migration to another hosting provider.
Any migration work beyond a normal handover may be quoted separately.
16. WEBSITE MAINTENANCE
Where maintenance is included in a package, Luado Digital will perform reasonable maintenance necessary to keep the website functioning within the scope of the original build.
During the 12-month Ecosystem Plan, if a routine WordPress, theme or plugin update causes the website to break, Luado Digital will repair the resulting website issue without an additional labour charge where the issue can reasonably be repaired within the existing website environment.
Maintenance does not include rebuilding the website, replacing discontinued third-party systems, major development work or adapting the website to substantial third-party platform changes unless agreed separately.
17. THIRD-PARTY SERVICES
Luado Digital may connect websites and business systems to services operated by third parties, including hosting providers, payment gateways, courier companies, Meta, Google, email providers, WordPress plugins and other software platforms.
Luado Digital does not control these third parties.
Luado Digital cannot guarantee that a third-party service will remain available, maintain the same functionality, approve an account, maintain its pricing or continue supporting a particular integration.
Where a third-party change requires additional development or replacement work, that work may be quoted separately.
18. ADVERTISING, SEO AND BUSINESS RESULTS
Luado Digital does not guarantee any particular level of:
sales;
revenue;
profit;
website traffic;
advertising performance;
Google rankings;
leads;
conversion rates; or
business growth.
Digital performance depends on many factors outside Luado Digital’s control, including the Client’s products, pricing, market, advertising budget, competition, customer demand and third-party platforms.
Luado Digital is responsible for performing the services agreed to, not guaranteeing a particular commercial result.
19. CLIENT CONTENT AND LEGAL COMPLIANCE
The Client is responsible for the accuracy and legality of information and material supplied to Luado Digital.
The Client must not knowingly require Luado Digital to publish material that infringes copyright, trademarks, privacy rights or applicable law.
Luado Digital may refuse to publish or may remove content where Luado Digital reasonably believes doing so is necessary to comply with law, platform requirements or third-party rights.
20. REFUNDS
Payments for work already completed or services already supplied are generally not refundable.
Where a project is cancelled, any refund or amount retained will be determined according to:
work already completed;
services already supplied;
costs already incurred;
third-party expenses;
the applicable quotation; and
the Client’s rights under applicable South African law.
Nothing in these Terms removes any refund right that the Client is legally entitled to.
21. CHARGEBACKS AND PAYMENT DISPUTES
If the Client believes an invoice or payment is incorrect, the Client should contact Luado Digital as soon as reasonably possible so that the matter can be investigated.
A chargeback or payment dispute does not itself cancel an otherwise valid agreement or remove amounts legitimately owed.
Luado Digital may suspend affected services while a legitimate payment dispute remains unresolved where permitted by law.
22. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
IMPORTANT: THIS SECTION LIMITS LUADO DIGITAL’S LIABILITY AND SHOULD BE READ CAREFULLY.
To the maximum extent permitted by South African law, Luado Digital will not be liable for indirect, consequential or purely economic losses arising from matters outside Luado Digital’s reasonable control, including loss caused by third-party platforms, hosting failures, payment gateways, advertising platforms, external software, cyber incidents or changes made by persons other than Luado Digital.
Luado Digital does not exclude liability that cannot lawfully be excluded, including liability that applicable law prevents a supplier from excluding.
Where Luado Digital is legally liable for direct loss arising from its services, any limitation of liability will apply only to the extent permitted by applicable law.
23. SUSPENSION OR TERMINATION BY LUADO DIGITAL
Luado Digital may suspend performance where the Client:
fails to make payments when due;
fails to provide information or access required to continue the project;
uses Luado Digital’s services unlawfully;
materially breaches these Terms; or
creates a material security or operational risk.
Permanent termination will be subject to any notice and remedy periods required by applicable law.
Termination does not remove obligations or amounts that arose before termination.
24. HANDOVER
Once ownership has transferred and all amounts due have been paid, Luado Digital will provide reasonable access necessary for the Client to control or transfer the completed website.
The handover does not include ownership of Luado Digital’s own internal systems, software licences, reusable development tools or third-party products that cannot legally be transferred.
25. PORTFOLIO USE
Unless the Client requests otherwise in writing, Luado Digital may identify a publicly launched website as work completed by Luado Digital and may display screenshots or links to the publicly available project in its portfolio or marketing material.
Confidential Client information will not intentionally be published for this purpose.
26. WEBSITE USE
Visitors may use the Luado Digital website for lawful purposes only.
Content on the Luado Digital website may not be copied, reproduced, redistributed or commercially exploited without permission except where permitted by law.
Information on the website is provided for general information and may be updated from time to time.
27. PRIVACY
Personal information is handled in accordance with Luado Digital’s Privacy Policy and applicable South African data-protection law.
The Privacy Policy forms part of Luado Digital’s website and service framework.
28. COMMUNICATIONS AND NOTICES
The Client agrees that Luado Digital may communicate regarding the project, invoices, payments, approvals, support and contractual notices using the contact information supplied by the Client.
Communication may take place through email, WhatsApp or another recorded communication method ordinarily used between Luado Digital and the Client.
The Client is responsible for keeping its contact information reasonably up to date.
29. CHANGES TO THESE TERMS
Luado Digital may update these Terms from time to time.
Changes will not retrospectively alter an already accepted project in a way that unlawfully removes rights or materially changes agreed obligations.
The version applicable when a quotation is accepted will generally govern that project unless the parties agree otherwise or a change is required by law.
30. SEVERABILITY
If any part of these Terms is found to be unlawful, invalid or unenforceable, that part will be interpreted or limited to the extent necessary while the remainder of the Terms continues to apply where legally possible.
31. SOUTH AFRICAN LAW
These Terms and services supplied by Luado Digital are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa.
The parties should first attempt in good faith to resolve a dispute directly before commencing formal proceedings, without limiting either party’s legal rights.
32. CONTACT DETAILS
NEXCHAT AI SYSTEMS (PTY) LTD
Trading as Luado Digital
Website:
www.luado.co.za
Email:
hello@luado.co.za
Telephone:
065 515 5932