Terms of Service

PawDash ("PawDash," "we," "us," or "our") is a software-as-a-service platform. We provide independent pet-care freelancers ("you," "User," or "Freelancer") with a hosted booking page (your "Storefront"), scheduling tools, customer intake forms, payment routing via Stripe Connect, email notifications, and other administrative software for running your own pet-care business (collectively, the "Service").

PawDash is not a marketplace, agency, employer, broker, or payment processor. PawDash is software you license to operate your own business. PawDash is never a party to any agreement between you and your clients, does not perform pet-care services, does not hold or own client funds, and does not act as a merchant of record for any booking. You are an independent business owner. Your clients are your clients, not ours.

By creating a PawDash account, clicking "I agree," or using the Service, you accept these Terms of Service ("Terms") and our Privacy Policy, which together form a binding agreement between you and PawDash. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

• Account - the PawDash user record created when you sign up.
• Storefront - the public booking page hosted by PawDash at pawdash.app/book/<your-slug>.
• Client or End Customer - an individual who books a service through your Storefront. Clients are your customers and are not PawDash users.
• Booking - a record created when a Client schedules a service through your Storefront and pays via Stripe.
• Subscription - the paid plan (Starter or Pro) you may select to unlock additional features. The Free plan is no-charge but subject to a higher per-booking platform fee.
• Platform Fee - the per-booking fee (currently 9% on Free, 6% on Starter, 4% on Pro) deducted by Stripe Connect as an application_fee_amount on each successful Booking.
• Connected Account - your Stripe Connect Express account, owned and controlled by you, into which Client payments are deposited.

The Service provides software tools, including but not limited to:

• A hosted Storefront with your profile, services, pricing, photos, and availability;
• A booking flow that collects Client and pet information at checkout;
• Routing of Client payments to your Connected Account via Stripe Connect;
• Automated transactional email (booking confirmations, cancellation notices, reminders, etc.) via Resend;
• A messaging thread tied to each Booking;
• An admin dashboard for managing your services, calendar, and bookings;
• Optional Pro-tier automations (review request emails, rebook prompts, appointment reminders) on a daily cron;
• Optional storefront customization (banner image, accent color, Verified Pro badge) on Pro.

We may add, change, deprecate, or remove features at any time, with reasonable notice for material changes affecting paid plans.

To avoid any ambiguity, PawDash is not:

• A marketplace. We do not direct, route, or allocate Clients to Freelancers. We do not rank, recommend, or promote Freelancers. Clients arrive at your Storefront from channels you control (your social profiles, word of mouth, ads you run, links you share).
• A party to your service contract. The agreement to provide pet-care services is between you and your Client only. PawDash has no role in that agreement, including no role in setting prices, scheduling, scope, performance, quality, refunds, or cancellation policy.
• A merchant of record. Stripe processes payments under Stripe's Connect Account Agreement with you. You are the merchant for purposes of card-brand rules. PawDash never holds, custodies, or owns Client funds.
• A payment processor or money transmitter. Stripe is the payment processor. PawDash does not move money. The Platform Fee is deducted by Stripe at the time of charge as an application fee and remitted to PawDash on a separate schedule under our Stripe Platform Agreement.
• Your employer or principal. You are an independent contractor operating your own business. Nothing in these Terms creates an employment, agency, partnership, joint-venture, or franchise relationship between us.
• A pet-care provider. We do not feed, walk, bathe, groom, train, board, or transport pets. We do not inspect homes, vehicles, equipment, or pets.
• A verifier of credentials. Except where expressly stated in your Storefront (e.g., the Verified Pro badge available on the Pro tier), we do not independently confirm Freelancer licenses, insurance, certifications, criminal background, or any other claims. Clients should evaluate Freelancers themselves.
• A dispute mediator. Disputes between you and a Client are between you and the Client. We do not arbitrate, mediate, or take sides. We may, at our discretion, provide tools (e.g., a one-click refund action wrapping the Stripe Refunds API) but choosing to use them is your decision.

You must be at least 18 years old and able to enter into a binding contract under the laws of your jurisdiction. You must be legally permitted to offer pet-care services in the locations where you operate. You must provide accurate, current information when registering and keep it up to date.

You are responsible for safeguarding your account credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account. Notify us immediately at support@pawdash.app of any unauthorized use.

When a Client visits your Storefront and completes a Booking, they are interacting with your business through PawDash-hosted software. The Client is not a PawDash user, does not have a PawDash account, and is not a party to these Terms. The Client's contract is with you.

You are responsible for providing to your Clients any consumer disclosures required by law in your jurisdiction (including, as applicable, your own terms of service, refund/cancellation policy, and privacy notice covering your collection and use of Client data). The cancellation and no-show policies you publish per service on your Storefront are yours, not ours; PawDash merely displays them at checkout.

PawDash provides a short notice on each Storefront identifying that the page is "powered by PawDash" (visible on the Free plan; hidden by you on Starter+). That notice does not create any agreement between PawDash and your Client.

You alone are responsible for operating your pet-care business and complying with all laws and regulations that apply to it, including but not limited to:

• Licensing and registration - obtaining any business licenses, occupational permits, and tax registrations required where you operate;
• Insurance - carrying reasonable and appropriate insurance for a pet-care business (e.g., general liability, pet-care liability, bonding where required, auto insurance for transport services);
• Taxes - reporting and remitting all taxes owed on income you earn through the Service. PawDash does not withhold tax. Stripe issues 1099-K forms to U.S. Freelancers where their volume meets the IRS threshold; consult your tax advisor;
• Truthful information - making sure your Storefront, services, pricing, hours, photos, and any badges (e.g., Verified Pro) accurately represent you and your business;
• Quality of service - performing services with reasonable care, professional skill, and in accordance with any commitments you make to a Client;
• Compliance with consumer-protection laws - handling refunds, disclosures, cancellations, and complaints in accordance with the law where you operate;
• Your own privacy notice - providing your Clients with any privacy notice required by GDPR, CCPA, or other applicable privacy law for your collection and use of their data (PawDash acts as your processor for that data - see Privacy Policy);
• Safety of Clients, their pets, and their property during and around the services you provide;
• Resolution of disputes with Clients directly, including refunds and chargebacks.

Payments are handled through Stripe Connect. By using the Service, you authorize PawDash to instruct Stripe to (a) charge your Client's payment method at the time of Booking, (b) route the net amount to your Connected Account on Stripe's rolling payout schedule, and (c) deduct the Platform Fee as an application fee, payable to PawDash.

The agreement governing your Connected Account is the Stripe Connected Account Agreement and Stripe Services Agreement, both directly between you and Stripe. PawDash is not a party to those agreements.

PawDash does not hold Client funds and does not store full card numbers. Stripe is responsible for payment processing, payout timing, KYC and risk review of your Connected Account, and handling chargebacks and disputes against your Connected Account. Chargebacks and Stripe disputes initiated by a Client are between Stripe and you; PawDash will provide reasonable assistance with documentation if requested but is not liable for the outcome.

You authorize PawDash to debit the Platform Fee from each Booking as part of the charge instruction. If for any reason the Platform Fee cannot be deducted at the time of charge (for example, a manual refund issued outside the Service), you owe PawDash the equivalent amount, and we may charge it via the Subscription billing instrument on file.

PawDash offers a free plan ("Free") and two paid monthly plans ("Starter" and "Pro"). Subscription fees are billed by Stripe Billing in advance on a monthly cycle and renew automatically until you cancel. Plan details and current prices are listed on the PawDash pricing page and may be updated on notice.

Subscription fees are non-refundable except where required by law. If you cancel mid-cycle, you retain access to paid features through the end of the paid period and are not billed again.

Per-booking Platform Fees are netted at the time of charge as described in Section 8 and are non-refundable except in cases of fraud, technical error, or where required by law.

You are responsible for any sales, use, or value-added taxes owed on Subscription fees or Platform Fees where applicable; PawDash will collect such taxes where required and remit them to the relevant taxing authority.

You retain all rights to any content you upload to or create through the Service, including profile information, photos, service descriptions, banner images, accent colors, and the contents of any Booking record ("Your Content").

You grant PawDash a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, display, transmit, format, and create derivative works of Your Content as reasonably necessary to provide the Service to you and your Clients - including, for example, displaying your photos on your Storefront, sending booking confirmation emails to your Clients, and generating thumbnails. This license terminates when Your Content is deleted from the Service, except where retention is required by law or is necessary to enforce these Terms.

You represent and warrant that Your Content does not infringe any third party's rights and that you have all permissions needed to grant the license above.

You agree not to use the Service to:

• Violate any law or regulation, including animal-welfare and consumer-protection laws;
• Misrepresent your identity, qualifications, or services, or impersonate any person;
• Circumvent or attempt to circumvent the Platform Fee (for example, by directing Clients to pay off-platform after initial contact through your Storefront);
• Upload unlawful, harassing, defamatory, fraudulent, or infringing content;
• Probe, scrape, reverse-engineer, or interfere with the Service, other users' accounts, or our infrastructure;
• Use the Service to send spam, phishing, or unsolicited communications;
• Resell or sublicense the Service without our written consent.

We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate this section, with or without notice, and we may report illegal activity to law enforcement.

PawDash processes two kinds of personal information:

• Freelancer data (your account, profile, and business information) - PawDash is the controller of this data and processes it as described in our Privacy Policy.
• Client data (information your Clients enter on your Storefront, including contact info, pet details, uploaded vaccination records, booking notes, and messages) -you are the controller of this data; PawDash processes it on your behalf as a processor solely to provide the Service to you. You are responsible for ensuring that your collection and use of Client data has an appropriate legal basis under applicable law.

On request, PawDash will enter into a Data Processing Addendum with you covering EU/UK GDPR processing terms. Contact privacy@pawdash.app to request a DPA.

We will not access or disclose your Client data except (a) as necessary to provide the Service, (b) at your written direction, (c) to comply with applicable law or valid legal process, or (d) as needed to protect the security, integrity, or legitimate interests of the Service, our users, or the public. We may use de-identified or aggregated information about Service usage to operate, secure, and improve the Service.

We work to keep the Service available, but we provide no uptime guarantee or service-level commitment. The Service may be unavailable from time to time due to maintenance, third-party provider outages (e.g., Stripe, Supabase, Resend, Vercel), internet issues, or events outside our control.

We may add, modify, or discontinue features at any time. For material changes to features on a paid plan, we will provide reasonable advance notice.

These Terms remain in effect while you have an Account. You may terminate at any time by cancelling your Subscription (if any) via the Stripe Billing portal and deleting your Account, or by emailing support@pawdash.app.

We may suspend or terminate your Account or the Service at any time for any reason, including suspected violation of these Terms, fraud or abuse, non-payment, or to comply with law. We will provide reasonable notice where possible, except where immediate action is necessary to prevent harm.

On termination: (a) your access to the Service ends; (b) you may export Your Content via the Service or by emailing us within 30 days; (c) you remain responsible for any Bookings accepted before termination; (d) any pre-paid Subscription period is forfeited except where required by law; (e) Stripe payouts continue per Stripe's schedule for completed Bookings.

The following sections survive termination: 7 (responsibilities for completed Bookings), 8 (Stripe payouts already in flight), 10 (license for any content we're still legally required to hold), 11 (acceptable use enforcement), 12-13 (privacy and confidentiality), 17 (assumption of risk), 18 (disclaimers), 19 (limitation of liability), 20 (indemnification), 22 (governing law and dispute resolution), and 24 (miscellaneous).

We may label some features as "beta," "preview," or "experimental." Those features are provided as is, may change or be removed at any time, and are excluded from any service warranties or commitments. Your use of them is at your own risk.

Pet-care services involve inherent risks, including bites, scratches, escape, injury, illness, allergic reaction, property damage, and death. Those risks are between you and your Client. PawDash provides software only and bears no responsibility for the performance, non-performance, quality, safety, or legality of any service you provide to a Client.

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE." TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, PAWDASH DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, OR AVAILABILITY. PAWDASH MAKES NO WARRANTY ABOUT (a) THE CONDUCT, QUALIFICATIONS, OR PERFORMANCE OF ANY FREELANCER OR CLIENT, (b) THE OUTCOME OF ANY BOOKING, (c) THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY FREELANCERS OR CLIENTS, OR (d) THE PERFORMANCE OF ANY THIRD-PARTY PROCESSOR (INCLUDING STRIPE, SUPABASE, RESEND, AND VERCEL).

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties; in those jurisdictions the disclaimers above apply to the maximum extent permitted.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL PAWDASH OR ITS AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, OR CONTRACTORS BE LIABLE FOR (a) ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES; (b) LOST PROFITS OR REVENUE, LOSS OF GOODWILL, LOSS OF DATA, OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION; OR (c) BODILY INJURY, DEATH OF A PET OR PERSON, PROPERTY DAMAGE, EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, OR ANY OTHER HARM ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH ANY SERVICE PERFORMED OR NOT PERFORMED BY YOU OR ANY OTHER USER - EVEN IF PAWDASH HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

IN ANY CASE, PAWDASH'S AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (i) THE TOTAL PLATFORM FEES AND SUBSCRIPTION FEES YOU ACTUALLY PAID TO PAWDASH IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM, OR (ii) ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100).

The limitations in this Section 19 apply whether the alleged liability is based on contract, tort, negligence, strict liability, or any other basis. They form an essential part of the bargain between you and PawDash.

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless PawDash, its affiliates, and their respective officers, directors, employees, contractors, and agents from and against any and all third-party claims, demands, actions, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or related to: (a) your breach of these Terms or any law; (b) services you perform or fail to perform for a Client; (c) any conduct of you, a pet in your care, or anyone acting on your behalf; (d) any dispute between you and a Client (including refund or chargeback disputes); (e) any claim by a Client or third party arising out of Your Content or your use of Client data; or (f) any taxes owed by you. PawDash will give you prompt written notice of any such claim and may participate in the defense at our own expense.

PawDash is not liable for any failure or delay in performance caused by events beyond our reasonable control, including acts of God, natural disasters, pandemic, war, terrorism, riot, government action, labor disputes, internet or third-party service outages, or failures of providers such as Stripe, Supabase, Resend, or Vercel.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, U.S.A., without regard to its conflict-of-law principles.

Binding arbitration. Except for claims for injunctive relief or claims that qualify for small-claims court in the U.S., any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service will be resolved by final and binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") under its Commercial Arbitration Rules. The arbitration will be conducted in English and seated in Wilmington, Delaware (or remotely, by agreement). Judgment on the award may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.

Class-action waiver. YOU AND PAWDASH AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS, COLLECTIVE, OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION. The arbitrator may not consolidate more than one party's claims and may not preside over any form of representative or class proceeding.

Opt-out. You may opt out of this arbitration provision by emailing legal@pawdash.app within 30 days of first accepting these Terms with the subject line "Arbitration Opt-Out" and your account email.

For any matter not subject to arbitration, you and PawDash consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Delaware.

We may give you notices through the Service, by email to the address on your account, or by posting to pawdash.app. You consent to receiving communications from us electronically. Legal notices to PawDash must be sent to legal@pawdash.app.

• Entire agreement. These Terms, the Privacy Policy, and any plan-specific terms in effect together constitute the entire agreement between you and PawDash and supersede any prior agreements on the subject.
• Severability. If any provision is held unenforceable, the rest will remain in effect.
• No waiver. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver of our right to do so later.
• Assignment. You may not assign these Terms without our consent. We may assign these Terms to an affiliate or in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.
• Independent contractors. The parties are independent contractors. Nothing creates an agency, partnership, joint-venture, or employment relationship.
• Headings. Section headings are for convenience only and do not affect interpretation.

We may update these Terms from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top reflects the most recent revision. For material changes, we will provide reasonable notice in the Service or by email. Continued use of the Service after a change becomes effective constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

Questions about these Terms? Email legal@pawdash.app.