Burrows Digital Consultants Ltd Standard SLA

This Service Level Agreement (SLA) aims to establish clear expectations and ensure that both customer and supplier have their needs recognised. It is a safeguard in the unlikely event that the project goes wrong.

Payment for invoices is expected within 30 days from the date of receipt. These payment deadlines are crucial, and our billing system (Xero) automatically sends reminders to help with timely payments. Your prompt payment is greatly appreciated.

1. Definitions
   • The “supplier” refers to Burrows Digital Consultants Ltd (Company number 04773361), whose Registered office address is The Old School, St. Johns Road, Dudley, England, DY2 7JT.
   • The “customer” refers to the individual or company entering into this contract with the company. 
   • A “project” can be any commissioned work such as a website design, development, consultancy session or other work that we are actively engaged in on behalf of the customer.
   • The word “contract”, as it appears in this document, means the contract between the supplier and the customer, and is based on the terms and conditions of this Service Level Agreement (SLA).
   • “Impact” is the term used to describe a situation where either the supplier or the customer acts in such a way as to make it unrealistic for the other to perform its part of the contract. This may include, but is not exclusive to, failure to respond to calls or emails in a timely manner (see clauses in section 20), except by prior agreement with the company.
2. Communication and Requests
   • Emails are subject to a 48-hour response time (unless considered urgent, as described in section 10). However, emails are processed regularly throughout the day and are likely to be responded to quickly. Calls will be returned within one working day (unless considered urgent, as described in section 10).
   • The supplier plans the current workload and new project schedules every week. We book build slots to accommodate all client requests and to meet the deadlines which we are committed to. To help keep an organised workflow, we ask that the customer plans new project briefings in advance of deadlines so that we can agree on a delivery date that suits both parties. 
   • After reviewing any customer requests, the supplier will inform the customer of the next available delivery date. Any urgent request that cannot wait for this time slot will be subject to an increased hourly rate (x1.5 standard hourly rate).
   • When making a request, the customer must include these essential elements, ideally within a single email or file when briefing the supplier:
     1. Desired date and/or absolute deadline
     2. Written description of the request.
     3. Visual mock-ups if possible or appropriate.
     4. Context of the request, need and objectives.
     5. Any applicable technical specifications.
   • The customer is responsible for organising all necessary materials BEFORE the work begins. Please include documents or information to avoid delays and sometimes duplicate work, which is not desirable for both parties. Please provide clear instructions in a single email with relevant attachment(s).
   • We ask that you communicate via email in the first instance. The supplier will not respond under the terms of this SLA to informal requests from Facebook (personal) or received via text message.
3. Contract
   • The terms and conditions contained in this SLA apply to all customers unless otherwise agreed in writing. No other contractual conditions apply unless a specific written agreement has been signed.
   • This SLA will be emailed with all quotes via a web link. By accepting a quote, the customer also agrees to the terms and conditions contained in this SLA.
   • The supplier reserves the right to change these terms and conditions from time to time by notifying customers.
4. Quotation, Estimates and Costs
   • The supplier will provide the customer with initial project estimates upon request. Based on initial concepts and an indicated number of revisions, these estimates will be as accurate as possible. However, the final project amount may differ from the initial estimate. An informal estimate, instead of a quotation, is useful when the actual project amount cannot be reasonably or accurately determined at the outset. The customer will be made aware of the nature of the quote provided.
   • Work performed beyond this estimate, including any changes to documented specifications, will be subject to additional charges, which will be confirmed with the customer via email before the start of the additional work. Costs will be billed hourly or on a fixed sum basis depending on the agreement, either at the time they are incurred or upon full completion of the project.
   • All quotes, estimates, notes, and other documents shared between the supplier and the customer are commercially confidential and may not be disclosed to third parties without written consent.
   • Requests added to the project after the customer has approved the quotation may incur additional charges. Depending on the time frame requested by the customer, the customer will be informed of these additional charges by email before the commencement of the work.
   • Quotes are valid for 30 days unless a different date is specified on the quote.
   • Any deposit is due immediately, with the balance due as per the agreed payment plan.
5. Start of work
   • The customer agrees to provide written approval of the proposal via email before the start of any work as a statement of agreement between the customer and the supplier. The email agreement is the official signature.
6. Use of third parties
   • The supplier, if necessary, may act as the customer’s agent and, directly or through an intermediary, request another contractor and/or supplier (“Third Party(ies)”) to perform certain aspects of the project (e.g., code development).
   • The supplier will take all reasonable precautions to select and instruct a third party. However, the supplier will have no control over the activities of third parties and, therefore, accepts no responsibility for the services provided to the customer by such third-party contractors or for any errors or omissions in their work or products. (e.g., delivery times).
7. Variations
   • Any work included in a fixed price quotation specification which is omitted (undelivered) will be assessed independently and deducted from the final project amount.
   • Any work in addition to that detailed in a fixed price estimate will be evaluated and added to the final sum of the project.
8. Websites
   • For all web design, programming and third-party service integrations, an estimate is calculated and submitted to the customer.
   • If significant changes exceed the original specifications and estimates, these will be considered additional costs and indicated accordingly. Items added to the website specifications AFTER the customer has signed off may incur additional charges. However, the customer will be notified of these additional charges via email before starting the work.
   • Web development projects often evolve as the project progresses. Initial specifications and estimates may be subject to change. Therefore, the supplier encourages all customers to include a 10% contingency in their web project budget to cover unforeseen work and its associated costs. The supplier will inform and discuss any changes in specification or cost with the customer by email prior to the commencement of additional work.
   • The supplier reserves the right to charge a daily rate for writing or entering text into a website unless included in the quote.
   • The supplier will offer customers third-party services such as those provided by Google to improve the performance of their websites. The supplier may include the configuration and maintenance of these third-party services in the quotation. The supplier shall not be liable to the customer for any interruption, non-performance, or cancellation of the provision by third parties of such services.
   • The supplier will agree with the customer on the duration of the assistance, and it will be detailed in the original quotation, based on a fixed number of hours per month.
   • We will test the site via Browserstack for all major OS & Browsers as well as mobile. This will include Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Android, IOS and Edge.
9. Website CMS Support
   • Support is available 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday to Friday.
   • The availability of support is bound by the conditions set out in clauses (section 10).
   • Customers with an SLA can request routine support relating to any existing page, module or component used on their website. All requests should be sent by email to support@burrowsconsultancy.com. Requests sent elsewhere will not be subject to the response times listed below.
   • If the supplier believes that a request is outside the scope of the support contract, we will inform the customer that the request is additional development and confirm the cost. Work will commence on such a support request once an agreement is made with the customer on the extra cost.
10. Response times
    • The supplier will classify all requests as one of the following and, as such, each one will aim to resolve them within the given timeframe:
    • Urgent: An error that has caused the website to be inactive or in such a state that it is causing the customer severe damage to the brand. For example, if a payment gateway allows users to check out without taking payment or contact forms do not trigger emails to the customer and thus lose requests. Deadline: 1 business day.
    • High: An error that results in a direct loss of revenue to the customer but is not considered “urgent”. Deadline: 2 working days.
    • Normal: An error that impedes typical user experience but does not directly result in lost revenue for the customer. Deadline: 5 working days.
    • Low: An error that does not prevent the typical user experience. Deadline: 10 working days.
11. Copyright
    • During the development of the project, the working files, and the source code of the project (Digital Assets) will remain the intellectual property of the supplier and cannot be copied and used by any other party without the consent of the supplier.
    • The supplier retains full ownership until the final invoice has been paid. Upon payment completion, ownership of Digital Assets is automatically transferred to the customer.
    • The supplier agrees not to reuse the customer’s written content or images provided by the customer without the customer’s express permission.
    • The supplier reserves the right to use the projects for self-promotion: Portfolio, Instagram, Facebook, etc.
12. Hourly rate charges
    • The supplier will bill all hours for services not included in any previous quote. The amount billed will be based on the standard hourly rate (£100 + vat) unless a different rate has been agreed in writing. 
    • The supplier will review and may increase its standard hourly rate annually, and all customers will be notified as such.
    • All support requests will be billed for a minimum of 60 minutes and then increase in 15-minute increments.
13. Approval
    • The customer will formally approve a website project before publishing it live.
    • If, after approval, the customer requires further modifications, this may result in delays and additional charges.
14. Training
    • This service includes the training of the customer to update certain sections of his website via the content management platform (HubSpot).
    • This tutorial is offered privately by the supplier and may or may not be included depending on the initial agreement.
    • The training includes 1 hour of online or email support upon completion. Any additional online assistance will be charged at the standard hourly rate.
15. Search Engines
    • The supplier includes basic SEO services when developing websites to ensure the site functions well with search engines from day one.
    • The supplier may liaise with clients and editors to try and achieve high rankings for appropriate keyword phrases. This is subject to an additional project cost.
    • The supplier accepts no responsibility to the customer for the actual rankings obtained or how these rankings may vary over time.
16. Billing
    • Under the terms of the Agreement, payment will be made in two parts (a and b) unless otherwise specified at the quotation/quote stage in accordance with clause 16.3:
17. 50% of the total balance of the estimate to start the work.
18. The final balance will be paid in full within 30 days of the website being approved and published live.
    • Invoices are payable within 30 days from the invoice date.
    • The supplier will specify in the quote how a project will be billed. Large projects can be divided into several monthly interim invoices plus a final invoice upon completion.
    • Payment will be made to the supplier by bank transfer. 
    • In special circumstances where the supplier and the customer have agreed to credit terms other than those set out in clause 16.1, all invoices must be paid immediately on the dates specified in the terms.
    • Failure to do so will result in a daily interest charge of the Bank of England base rate plus 8% calculated on the total outstanding amount payable.
    • In the case of non-payment (after 30 days and several reminders without agreement) the supplier reserves the right to send the debt to a collection service.
19. Discounts and Incentives
    • If the customer has agreed to provide a testimonial or review in exchange for a project discount, the supplier expects to receive these within 30 days of the final invoice submission.
    • Failure to provide the testimonial or review within 30 days will result in an additional project fee which will be equivalent to the project discount. This will be invoiced and payable within 30 days of receipt.
20. Performance
    • The supplier will take all reasonable steps to ensure the quoted specification for the customer works as intended.
    • If the customer reports that any part of the specification is not working correctly, the supplier will investigate and take corrective action at no cost to the customer.
    • If the customer reports a problem with something that does not meet the project specifications, the supplier will investigate and send a report to the customer and, if applicable, a price for performing the additional work necessary to resolve the issue. Work can only begin once the customer has approved the report and any additional costs incurred.
    • If a customer has or accesses their website code files and makes changes themselves or settings in their content management system that are only accessible to super admin rights, the SLA will become invalid. Any subsequent work to rectify the problems caused and to bring the website back to the state it was in before will be charged.
21. Damages
    • The supplier has no responsibility to the customer for any delay in completing a project.
    • The supplier accepts no responsibility to the customer for the performance of any website, database or other entity/service developed/configured for the customer.
22. Termination
    • If the customer becomes insolvent or is liquidated, the supplier will terminate the contract with the customer, charge the total value of the project work completed to that date, and suspend any outstanding services.
    • If a customer impacts the progress of a project contract, the supplier shall have the right to give 14 days written notice to the customer of the termination of the contract. If the customer does not remedy the inconveniences incurred within the 14-day notice period, the supplier will have the right to terminate the contract. The supplier will invoice the customer for the total value of the work performed to date.
    • If the supplier has attempted to contact the customer (by any means) more than twice within 30 days without success, this may be considered the customer impacting the progress of the project. The supplier reserves the right to terminate the contract and invoice the customer or suspend the contract until a specified date. If the customer does not contact the company by the specified date, the supplier will terminate the contract and charge the customer 80% of the total project cost. Failure to pay within 30 days will result in the payment penalties listed above.