Terms of service

These terms cover custom software and web development work provided by Daniel Swick, based in Ohio. How I handle your information is on the privacy policy. Real estate is separate and is covered at the bottom.

What these terms are

They are the standing terms for development work. If we sign a separate proposal, statement of work or contract, that document governs wherever it differs from this page. Where it is silent, this page fills the gap.

Quotes and scope

Before work starts I give you a written quote or proposal describing what I will build, roughly how long it will take, and what it costs. That description is the scope. Anything not in it is not included, which protects both of us. It is the difference between a project that finishes and one that runs out of money.

Estimates of time are estimates. I will tell you when something is going to take longer than I thought, at the time I find out rather than at the deadline.

Changes to the work

Scope changes are normal and I am not precious about them. If a change is small I usually absorb it. If it is large enough to move the date or the price I will say so before doing it, and we agree the change in writing first. I will not do work you did not ask for and then invoice you for it.

Payment

• 50% deposit to book the work and begin, and the balance on delivery, unless the proposal sets out a different schedule such as monthly billing or staged milestones.
• Invoices are payable within 14 days.
• Payments are processed by Stripe. I never see or store your card details.
• Ongoing or retained work is billed monthly in advance unless agreed otherwise.
• If an invoice is significantly overdue I may pause work until it is settled. I will tell you before I do that, not after.

Third-party costs

Most projects need services I do not provide: hosting, domains, email delivery, payment processing, third-party APIs. Those are billed to you at cost, or set up in your own accounts so you own them directly. I prefer the second: accounts in your name mean you are never locked in and you keep everything if we stop working together.

Who owns what we build

You own what we build, once it’s paid for in full, unless we agree otherwise in writing. That includes the code written specifically for your project, the designs, and the content produced for you. On final payment it is yours to use, change, and keep.

Two sensible exceptions. I keep ownership of general-purpose components, libraries, techniques and know-how brought to the project or developed as part of it that would reasonably be reused elsewhere. You get a permanent right to use them as part of your project, but they do not become exclusively yours. And anything built on third-party or open-source software stays under whatever licence that software carries.

Until it is paid for in full, the work remains mine.

Showing the work

I may refer to you as a client and show the work publicly, for example in the portfolio on this site. If any part of it is confidential, tell me and I will leave it out. If you would rather I did not mention the project at all, that is fine too. Say so and it stays private.

What I need from you

Projects stall on access and answers far more often than on code. I need timely feedback, the content and materials the project depends on, and access to the systems I am working with. Where you supply content, you confirm you have the right to use it.

What I promise, and what I do not

I will do the work with reasonable skill and care, and if something I built does not do what the agreed scope said it would, I will fix it. Tell me within 30 days of delivery and it is fixed at no charge.

What I cannot promise: that any software is free of every defect, that a service will never be interrupted, that a third party I depend on will not change or withdraw its service, or any particular commercial result, whether traffic, rankings, conversions or revenue. Anyone who promises you those is guessing.

Work is delivered as described in the scope and, beyond what this section says, without other warranties.

Limits

Neither of us is liable to the other for indirect or consequential losses, including lost profits or lost data. My total liability for any claim is limited to the amount you have paid me for the work the claim relates to. That is the ordinary position for work at this scale, and it is why the price is what it is rather than several times higher.

Nothing here limits liability for anything that cannot lawfully be limited.

Stopping

Either of us can end a project with reasonable written notice. If you stop, you pay for the work done up to that point and I hand over what is complete. If I stop, I refund anything you have paid for work I have not done. Deposits cover work already scheduled and performed, so they are not automatically refundable, but I am not going to keep money for work that never happened.

Confidentiality

Anything you tell me about your business that is not public, I keep to myself. This works both ways, and it survives the end of the project.

Real estate

These terms do not apply to real estate. Real estate services are provided through Howard Hanna Real Estate Services and are governed by the brokerage’s own agreements and disclosures. Inquiries about buying or selling are best started on my Howard Hanna page.

Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Ohio, and any dispute belongs in the courts of Licking County, Ohio.

Changes

I may update these terms. The version in force for your project is the one published when we agreed the work. Changes do not apply retroactively to work already underway.

Contact

Anything unclear here, ask before you sign rather than after: [email protected].

Last updated 4 September 2026.