Terms of Business
1. Who these terms are with
These terms apply to work carried out by Nathanael Digital Limited, trading as hostme.ie ("we", "us"), for the client named on the accepted quote, proposal or order ("you"). They apply when you accept a quote or order that includes them, or ask us to begin work on that basis.
The accepted quote, order and any service-specific agreement describe what you are buying. Any expressly agreed service-specific terms take precedence where they differ from these general terms. Existing agreements are not silently replaced by publishing a new version.
2. What we agree to do
We will carry out the work described in the accepted quote, proposal or service agreement, with reasonable skill and care, to the standard expected of a competent IT provider.
Where you buy managed IT support, routine day-to-day work within the agreed managed scope is included without an hour cap, subject to fair use. Work that changes the estate, including new systems, migrations and integrations, is scoped and charged separately. This managed-service inclusion does not apply automatically to every recurring product.
Fair use and exclusions are stated in the service agreement. Where routine volume requires a scope review, we discuss it with you before agreeing additional work or charges.
3. Hours and response
Standard service hours are Monday to Friday, 09:00–18:00, excluding Irish public holidays. Saturday 09:00–17:00 is a contact window only: it does not extend service hours or response commitments.
Where a service agreement states response targets, those targets are measured within standard service hours and refer to a first meaningful response, not resolution. Outside those hours we may still respond, but this is goodwill rather than guaranteed cover and no response clock runs.
Work outside standard service hours is charged at 1.5 × the applicable agreed rate. The work and any additional charge are agreed before it proceeds.
4. Prices, and what they exclude
Prices quoted for business services are exclusive of VAT, which is charged at the applicable rate. Your accepted quote or order sets out the price and any applicable VAT. Time is billed at the rate agreed with you, with a minimum of 30 minutes and in 15-minute increments thereafter, unless your accepted agreement states otherwise.
Third-party licences and subscriptions are supplied at cost. Hardware is supplied at cost plus the handling charge agreed with you before purchase. Third-party costs, handling and any additional work are identified separately rather than included implicitly in a managed fee.
Where a third party changes its price, we explain the effect before the next renewal. We do not silently change an existing agreed rate.
5. Payment
Unless expressly agreed otherwise, invoices for labour are payable within 14 days. Managed IT support is invoiced monthly in advance and is payable within 14 days. Hosting, domains and other recurring products follow the billing cycle and payment terms stated in the accepted order; where no different terms are agreed, payment is due within 30 days.
Late payment on business transactions may carry interest and recovery costs where the applicable law permits. We would rather talk to you than apply them: if payment is going to be difficult, tell us and we will try to arrange something.
6. Suspension
Where an account is significantly overdue, we may suspend the affected services after first attempting to contact you and explaining the proposed suspension. We will not use suspension to hold your credentials or domains hostage.
Data retention and any expiry or deletion deadlines follow the agreed service and any applicable third-party provider terms. Suspension is not a promise of indefinite retention. We will explain any known deadline that affects the suspension or recovery of your service. Restoration follows settlement and any necessary technical recovery steps.
7. Your responsibilities
You agree to give us the access, information and cooperation we reasonably need, and to tell us promptly when staff join or leave, since that affects both security and billing.
You are responsible for holding valid licences for software you ask us to install, and for the lawfulness of material you host with us.
8. Security
No provider can make an IT estate immune to attack. Where a security baseline, monitoring or ongoing improvement is included in your agreed service, we carry out that work within the agreed scope and surface issues as they are found. A hosting, domain or other product does not automatically include a managed security service.
We hold credentials only where necessary to deliver the service, in a password manager, and will hand them over on request or on termination through an appropriate secure process.
9. Backups
Backup storage, monitoring, restore testing and recovery assistance are provided only to the extent included in your accepted backup or managed-service scope. The agreement identifies what is protected, the retention period and the responsibilities for monitoring and restore testing.
Where backup protection is not included, we explain that limitation. We do not promise that unprotected data can be recovered. This does not exclude responsibilities or rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.
10. Data protection
Where we process personal data on your behalf as a processor, we do so on your documented instructions under a separately agreed data processing agreement. The data processing agreement sets out the processing scope and responsibilities.
Each of us will comply with the applicable data protection requirements, including the GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.
11. Confidentiality
Each of us will keep the other’s confidential information confidential, and use it only to perform this agreement. This survives termination.
12. Ownership
Your data, your domains and your accounts remain yours throughout, and on termination we will transfer or release them to you or to a provider you nominate.
Configuration, scripts and documentation we produce specifically for you become yours once paid for. Our own tools, templates and general know-how remain ours.
13. Liability
Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be limited. Nothing in these terms takes away mandatory statutory rights, including any applicable consumer rights.
Subject to that, our total liability in any twelve-month period is limited to €2,000,000, and we are not liable for loss of profit, loss of business or indirect loss.
14. Ending the agreement
Managed IT support has an initial 12-month term, followed by a rolling arrangement that either party may end on 30 days’ written notice, unless the accepted agreement expressly states otherwise. Other ongoing products follow the term and cancellation conditions in their accepted order or service agreement. Annual services run to their renewal date.
Either of us may end the agreement if the other commits a material breach and does not put it right within 14 days of being asked to do so in writing. Applicable statutory cancellation and termination rights are not removed by this clause.
15. Leaving well
On termination we will provide a written handover of systems, credentials and domains within our control, and cooperate reasonably with a provider you nominate. Your data, domains and credentials are not held hostage.
Any additional migration work and its charge are agreed with you before it proceeds. Any handover assistance included in your service agreement remains included.
16. Changes to these terms
We may propose changes to these terms and will give at least 30 days’ notice of a material change. A website update does not silently replace an existing accepted agreement. The notice explains the proposed change, its intended effective date and any agreement or cancellation arrangements that apply.
The version supplied with your accepted quote or order remains available for your records.
17. Law
These terms are governed by the law of Ireland. The Irish courts have jurisdiction, subject to any mandatory rights that apply to you, including applicable consumer rights to bring proceedings elsewhere. We will try to resolve any dispute by talking first.