Engagements and scope
Work normally starts with a written proposal, statement of work or agreed support arrangement. That document should describe the scope, deliverables, responsibilities, assumptions, timeline, fees and acceptance process.
Changes to scope, priority or timeline should be agreed in writing before they are treated as part of the engagement.
Client responsibilities
Clients are responsible for providing timely access, accurate information, feedback, approvals and any third-party permissions needed for the work.
Where Chaplau works with client systems, the client remains responsible for confirming that requested access and data use are authorised.
Fees and payment
Fees, expenses, billing milestones and payment terms should be set out in the relevant proposal or agreement.
If payment is late, Chaplau may pause work after giving reasonable notice, especially where continued work would increase delivery or commercial risk.
Intellectual property
Project-specific deliverables created for a client are usually assigned or licensed as described in the relevant agreement after applicable fees are paid.
Chaplau may retain ownership of pre-existing tools, templates, know-how, generic components and reusable methods unless a written agreement says otherwise.
Confidentiality
Each party should protect confidential information received from the other and use it only for the agreed business purpose.
Confidentiality commitments may be expanded in a proposal, non-disclosure agreement, data processing agreement or master services agreement.
Data protection and security
Where work involves personal information or sensitive operational data, the parties should agree the relevant roles, instructions, safeguards and retention requirements.
Clients should not send production secrets, credentials or sensitive datasets through informal channels unless a secure handling process has been agreed.
Support, warranties and liability
Support levels, warranty periods, service commitments and liability limits should be confirmed in the relevant agreement for the specific engagement.
Unless a written agreement says otherwise, Chaplau provides professional services with reasonable care and skill, but does not guarantee uninterrupted operation of third-party platforms, APIs or infrastructure.
Ending an engagement
Either party may end an engagement according to the termination terms in the relevant agreement. On termination, the parties should cooperate on handover, access removal, final invoicing and return or deletion of confidential materials where appropriate.
Any provisions that are intended to survive termination, such as confidentiality, payment obligations and intellectual property terms, should continue to apply.