Terms of Service

These Terms of Service ("Terms") form a binding agreement between you ("User," "you") and Chikmah ("Chikmah," "we," "us," "our"), the operator of the voice-first business management platform available via web, mobile, and related applications (the "Service"). By creating an account, accessing, or using the Service, you agree to these Terms. If you are using the Service on behalf of a business, organization, or other entity, you represent that you have authority to bind that entity, and "you" refers to both you individually and that entity.

If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not access or use the Service.

You must be at least 18 years old, or the age of legal majority in your jurisdiction if higher, to create an account and use the Service. The Service is not directed at, and must not be used by, children under 18. If we become aware that an account has been created by someone under this age, we will suspend or terminate that account.

Chikmah provides:

• Document generation — creation of business documents including invoices, non-disclosure agreements, contracts, and other document types, from voice or typed input.
• Cofounder — AI-assisted professional expertise development, tracking learning progress and professional competency.
• Studio — AI-assisted marketing content creation, brand management, and publishing tools.
• Academy — AI-assisted, project-driven learning and skill development.
• Supporting tools — business record storage, contact management, scheduling, and community features.

Chikmah offers three subscription tiers — Free, Growth, and Ultimate — each providing different levels of access to the above features, as described at chikmah.com/pricing (or the in-app pricing page), which is incorporated into these Terms by reference and may be updated from time to time with notice as described in Section 17.

You must provide accurate, current information when creating an account and keep it up to date. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account, whether or not authorized by you, except to the extent caused by Chikmah's failure to maintain reasonable security measures. You must notify us promptly at hello@chikmah.com of any unauthorized access to or use of your account.

The Service is built around voice input. When you provide a voice recording, Chikmah transcribes it, extracts structured information from it, and uses it to generate documents, plans, content, or recommendations you request. Voice recordings and their transcripts are processed by third-party AI service providers under contract with Chikmah, as described in our Privacy Policy. By using voice input, you consent to this processing.

You should not record or submit voice input containing sensitive information about third parties without their knowledge, and you are responsible for ensuring you have appropriate rights or consent to submit any recording that includes another person's voice or personal information.

AI-generated content is a starting point, not a guarantee. Chikmah's AI systems generate documents, business plans, marketing content, learning recommendations, and assessments based on the information you provide and available data. This content:

• May contain errors, omissions, or inaccuracies.
• Does not constitute legal, financial, tax, medical, or other professional advice.
• May not reflect the specific legal, regulatory, licensing, or contractual requirements applicable to your business, jurisdiction, or industry.
• Must be reviewed by you before you rely on it, sign it, share it with a third party, or use it for any legally binding or regulated purpose.

You are solely responsible for verifying the accuracy and suitability of any AI-generated content before use. Chikmah's Academy and Cofounder modules provide educational and developmental support only and do not substitute for, and should not be represented as equivalent to, formal education, professional licensing, supervised practice, or any required certification in a regulated profession.

Chikmah integrates with Stripe Connect to display payment details and facilitate payment collection between you and your customers. Chikmah does not itself hold, process, or take custody of funds exchanged between you and your customers — that processing is performed by Stripe under Stripe's own terms of service, which you accept separately when you connect a Stripe account. Chikmah is not a party to, and bears no liability for, transactions between you and your customers.

8.1 Billing. Paid subscription fees (Growth and Ultimate tiers) are billed in advance on a recurring basis (monthly or annually, as selected at signup) via the payment method on file.

8.2 Cancellation. You may cancel your subscription at any time through account settings. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period; you will retain access to paid features until that date. We do not provide partial-period refunds except where required by applicable law.

8.3 Cooling-off period. If you are a consumer located in the United Kingdom, you have a statutory right to cancel a new subscription within 14 days of purchase for a full refund, in accordance with the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, unless you have used the Service in a way that constitutes full performance of the contract during that period with your express consent and acknowledgment that you thereby lose the right to cancel.

8.4 Price changes. We will provide at least 30 days' notice of any price increase before it takes effect on your next billing cycle. Continued use of the Service after a price change takes effect constitutes acceptance of the new price.

8.5 Tier changes. Upgrading takes effect immediately, with a pro-rated charge for the remainder of the current billing period. Downgrading takes effect at the start of the next billing period.

You retain all ownership rights in the content you submit to the Service, including voice recordings, business information, and documents you create ("User Content"). By submitting User Content, you grant Chikmah a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, store, process, transmit, and display that content solely as necessary to provide the Service to you.

We do not use your User Content to train AI models for the benefit of other users or for general model improvement without your separate, explicit opt-in consent, which you may withdraw at any time through account settings.

You agree not to use the Service to:

• Generate fraudulent, forged, or intentionally misleading documents.
• Misrepresent your identity, business, or professional qualifications.
• Infringe the intellectual property, privacy, or other legal rights of any person.
• Upload or generate content that is unlawful, defamatory, or that facilitates illegal activity.
• Attempt to reverse-engineer, scrape, or interfere with the Service's operation or security.
• Use the Service to build a competing product using data or outputs obtained through the Service.

We may investigate and take appropriate action, including suspension or termination of your account, against anyone who violates this section.

Studio may connect to third-party platforms (social media accounts, business listing services) at your direction. You separately grant read and/or publish permissions per platform, and you remain responsible for compliance with each connected platform's own terms of service. Chikmah is not responsible for the availability, content, or policies of third-party platforms.

The Service, including its software, design, trademarks, and underlying technology, is owned by Chikmah or its licensors and is protected by applicable intellectual property laws. These Terms do not grant you any right to use Chikmah's trademarks, logos, or branding without our prior written consent.

Our collection, use, storage, and protection of personal data is governed by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference. In the event of any conflict between these Terms and the Privacy Policy specifically regarding the processing of personal data, the Privacy Policy controls.

14.1 By you. You may close your account at any time through account settings. See our Privacy Policy for how your data is handled following account closure.

14.2 By us. We may suspend or terminate your account, with notice where reasonably practicable, if you materially breach these Terms, if required by law, or if we discontinue the Service (in which case we will provide at least 60 days' advance notice where reasonably possible).

14.3 Effect of termination. Upon termination, your right to access the Service ends immediately. Provisions of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination (including Sections 6, 9, 12, 15, and 16) will survive.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law:

Chikmah provides the Service on an "as is" and "as available" basis. We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or that AI-generated content will be accurate or fit for any particular purpose.

Chikmah's total aggregate liability to you arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service, whether in contract, tort, or otherwise, shall not exceed the greater of (a) the total subscription fees you paid to Chikmah in the 12 months preceding the claim, or (b) 100 GBP (or the equivalent in your local currency).

Chikmah is not liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, special, or punitive damages, including loss of profits, revenue, data, or business opportunity, arising from your use of the Service or reliance on AI-generated content.

Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes liability that cannot lawfully be limited or excluded under applicable law, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that may not be excluded under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (UK) or equivalent consumer protection legislation in your jurisdiction.

You agree to indemnify and hold Chikmah harmless from any claims, damages, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your breach of these Terms, your misuse of the Service, or content you generate or submit that infringes the rights of a third party or violates applicable law — except to the extent such claims arise from Chikmah's own breach of these Terms or negligence.

We may update these Terms from time to time to reflect changes in the Service, legal requirements, or our practices. For material changes, we will provide at least 30 days' notice by email and/or in-app notification before the changes take effect. Your continued use of the Service after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms. If you do not agree to the updated Terms, you must stop using the Service and may close your account before the changes take effect.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles, reflecting Chikmah's primary place of business and operations across Southern Africa.

If you are a consumer resident in the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area, this choice of law does not deprive you of the protection of any mandatory consumer protection provisions of the law of your country of residence, and you may bring proceedings in relation to these Terms in the courts of your country of residence.

Any dispute not subject to mandatory consumer protection jurisdiction shall be subject to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of South Africa. Before initiating formal proceedings, both parties agree to attempt in good faith to resolve any dispute through informal negotiation for a period of 30 days following written notice of the dispute.

19.1 Entire agreement. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any tier-specific terms referenced at signup, constitute the entire agreement between you and Chikmah regarding the Service.

19.2 Severability. If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full force and effect.

19.3 No waiver. Our failure to enforce any provision of these Terms is not a waiver of our right to do so later.

19.4 Assignment. You may not assign these Terms without our prior written consent. We may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, with notice to you.

19.5 Force majeure. Neither party is liable for delay or failure to perform caused by circumstances beyond its reasonable control.

For questions about these Terms, contact us at: hello@chikmah.com.

For data protection inquiries specifically, see the contact details in our Privacy Policy.

Prepared as Chikmah's working Terms of Service. Recommended for a final compliance pass by counsel qualified in South African and UK law before public launch, particularly to confirm business registration details, the exact liability cap figure, and jurisdiction-specific consumer protection references remain current.