Terms & Conditions

Welcome to FAQ.co.za ("Website"). This website is owned and operated by Frequently Asked Questions (Pty) Ltd ("FAQ"), a registered company in South Africa. By using our website and services you agree to be bound by the terms outlined below. These Terms & Conditions are governed by South African law and comply with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act (ECTA), and the Consumer Protection Act (CPA).

1. Definitions

In these Terms & Conditions:

• "Partner" or "Client" means the business or individual that has entered into a Growth Partnership or service agreement with FAQ.
• "Technical Environment" means FAQ's CloudLinux/LiteSpeed hosting infrastructure, managed servers, MU-plugins, FAQ-licensed software, and all server-side configurations.
• "Monthly Net Sales" means the total value of orders with a WooCommerce status of Completed in the FAQ-managed shop environment within the calendar month, excluding VAT, actual shipping costs charged to the end consumer, and documented returns or full refunds processed and confirmed within the same billing month.
• "Base Fee" means the fixed monthly retainer payable by the Partner for hosting, support, and core system management.
• "Commission" means the performance-based fee calculated as a percentage of Monthly Net Sales as set out in Section 10.
• "Growth SLA" means the specific program agreement entered into between FAQ and a Partner, which may set additional or modified terms.
• "FAQ Infrastructure" means all custom code, MU-plugins, Growth Frameworks, theme configurations, and developer-level commercial licenses owned or held by FAQ.
• "Client Content" means all product listings, photographs, descriptions, pricing, customer data, and brand assets supplied by the Partner.

2. Nature of the Relationship

2.1 Technical and Marketing Partner

FAQ provides technical infrastructure and managed marketing services. FAQ is not a co-owner, shareholder, or joint-venture partner in the Partner's business. The relationship is a managed services and performance-commission arrangement.

2.2 Merchant of Record

The Partner is the sole Merchant of Record under the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) and ECTA. All transactions are between the Partner and the end consumer. The Partner is solely responsible for:

• VAT registration and compliance;
• Consumer refunds, returns, and product warranties;
• ECTA information disclosure obligations;
• POPIA compliance regarding customer personal information collected through the platform.

FAQ provides the platform and management services but assumes no responsibility for the Partner's commercial obligations to consumers.

3. Technical Environment & Administrative Control

3.1 Closed-Loop Environment

FAQ maintains exclusive administrative control over the Technical Environment, including server-side configurations, security protocols, MU-plugins, and core system settings. This closed-loop architecture is a security requirement to ensure the performance, uptime, and integrity standards required by FAQ's SLAs and the shared multi-tenant server environment.

Direct cPanel, FTP, or SSH access is not provided to Partners as standard. Where exceptions are agreed in writing, FAQ reserves the right to revoke such access at any time to protect the FAQ network.

3.2 Duty of Care

In exercising exclusive administrative control, FAQ accepts a corresponding duty of care. FAQ will:

• Maintain regular automated backups of all Partner sites;
• Apply security and plugin updates within a reasonable period;
• Notify Partners of planned maintenance windows where circumstances permit.

3.3 Data Portability Guarantee

Upon termination and full settlement of all outstanding fees, FAQ will provide the Partner with a full WordPress export (themes, content, and media) within seven (7) business days. FAQ Infrastructure components are removed prior to handover. The Partner is responsible for acquiring their own licenses to restore full functionality on a third-party host.

4. Disclaimer for Liability

4.1 The Partner shall have no claim against FAQ and the Partner hereby indemnifies and holds FAQ free from liability in respect of any loss or damage:

• caused by or arising from any fact or circumstances beyond the reasonable control of FAQ;
• if such loss or damage is consequential or incidental loss or damage;
• arising from any downtime, outage, or interruption attributable to: software maintenance or upgrades; data centre or infrastructure failure; breakdown in Telkom or international network services; third-party security breaches; hardware faults; or work performed by third parties on the server.

4.2 FAQ reserves the right to take whatever action it deems necessary to preserve the security and reliable operation of the FAQ network. The Partner undertakes not to do anything that compromises that security.

4.3 FAQ shall use reasonable endeavours to provide disaster recovery but does not specify any recovery time objective and shall not be liable for any loss arising from failure to provide disaster recovery. Partners should maintain their own independent data backups.

4.4 Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by South African law, FAQ's total aggregate liability for any claim arising from this agreement — whether in contract, delict, or otherwise — is limited to the total amount of Base Fees paid by the Partner to FAQ in the three (3) calendar months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

This limitation does not exclude liability for gross negligence or wilful misconduct on FAQ's part.

5. Payment

5.1 FAQ shall invoice the Partner on or before the 20th of each month in respect of the Base Fee and any Commission accrued during that month. The total invoice amount is payable within 14 days of date of invoice. Partners will be reminded two (2) days before the due date.

5.2 No setup fees paid by the Partner are refundable.

5.3 No semi-annual or annual hosting fees paid and terminated before the period expires are refundable.

5.4 FAQ may increase the Partner's Base Fee annually, with at least thirty (30) days' written notice, effective from March of each year.

5.5 Should the Partner fail to pay any amount by the due date, FAQ is entitled, without prejudice to any other rights, to:

• suspend website services by replacing content with a Suspended Page notification;
• suspend all other services (including email, newsletters, and marketing) within 48 hours of suspending the website;
• terminate the agreement without further notice if the account remains 30 days in arrears, at which point all domains and websites may be listed on an online auction to recover outstanding costs.

5.6 A processing/restoration fee of R150.00 applies for each failed payment, dishonoured debit order, or service reinstatement.

6. Commission Disputes & Reconciliation

6.1 FAQ will issue a Commission Statement within the first five (5) business days of the new month based on system reports from the FAQ-managed shop environment.

6.2 The Partner has 48 hours from receipt of the Commission Statement to raise a written dispute regarding a specific transaction (e.g., a return processed after month-end).

6.3 Late-month returns confirmed after the Commission Statement has been issued will be credited against the following month's Commission Statement.

6.4 FAQ reserves the right to request read-only access to the Partner's payment gateway dashboards (e.g., Payfast, Yoco, Peach Payments) solely for the purpose of reconciling sales data against system reports. The Partner grants this access as a condition of the Partnership.

6.5 Should FAQ have reasonable grounds to suspect sales are being processed outside the FAQ-managed environment to circumvent Commission ("off-platform leakage"), FAQ reserves the right to:

• request documentary evidence from the Partner within 5 business days;
• bill a deemed commission based on the average conversion rate of the preceding three months if evidence is not provided;
• terminate the Partnership for material breach if off-platform diversion is confirmed.

7. Partner Operational Covenants

The Partnership model is dependent on both parties fulfilling their responsibilities. FAQ manages the full technical and marketing stack. The Partner agrees to fulfil the following operational obligations, which are prerequisites for the partnership to function effectively:

7.1 EFT & Payment Confirmation

Mark EFT payments as received or update order statuses within 48 business hours of the payment being made. Failure to do so may result in delayed order fulfilment, inaccurate Commission Statements, and suspension of automated marketing triggers. Repeated failure (three or more instances within any 30-day period) constitutes an operational breach.

7.2 Stock Accuracy

Ensure that all products marked "In Stock" on the platform are physically available for dispatch. FAQ reserves the right to hide products from the storefront if the Partner fails to provide stock updates in response to a formal request, to prevent consumer disputes and protect brand integrity.

7.3 Product Information & Photography

Provide accurate product information, pricing, and photographs in a timely manner as required for listing, updating, or launching products on the platform. FAQ cannot publish or optimise listings without complete content. Delays in providing product content directly delay revenue generation for both parties.

7.4 Fulfilment Readiness

Ensure that all confirmed orders are packaged and ready for collection or dispatch within the timeframe stated in the shipping policy published on the Partner's storefront. The Partner is solely responsible for order fulfilment, courier engagement, and delivery disputes once an order has been handed to a courier. FAQ's role ends at the point of confirmed order and payment.

7.5 Customer Database

Provide FAQ with the Partner's current customer contact database at the start of the partnership, in a standard format (CSV or Excel), for migration into FluentCRM. The Partner warrants that all contacts in the database have opted in to receive marketing communications and that the database is POPIA-compliant. FAQ assumes no liability for non-compliant databases provided by the Partner.

7.6 Customer Query Response

Respond to customer queries escalated by FAQ that require product-specific knowledge (e.g., specifications, availability of unlisted sizes or colours, custom orders) within 24 hours on business days. FAQ will handle general queries, order status, and platform-related questions. Delays in Partner responses to product queries may result in lost sales and are not eligible for commission disputes.

7.7 Cure Period

FAQ will provide the Partner with written notice of an operational breach under any of the sub-clauses above. The Partner has five (5) business days from notice to remedy the breach before it is treated as a material breach of the Growth SLA. Three or more operational breaches within any 3-month period may constitute grounds for termination under Section 9, notwithstanding the Cure Period.

7.8 Product Catalogue Approval Gate

This sub-clause supplements Section 7.3 and applies to all partnerships where FAQ manages a product catalogue on behalf of the Partner.

7.8.1 Approved Product List Requirement. FAQ will not commence product loading, content creation, SEO, or catalogue imports for any batch of products unless the Partner has first provided a written Approved Product List confirming: the specific SKUs or product identifiers approved for web listing; the confirmed retail price and margin for each item; the supplier or brand attribution for each item; and a clear indication of which items are new additions, price updates, or removals versus the previous version of the list. Submission via the shared OneDrive folder, email, or support ticket constitutes written approval to proceed. FAQ will not act on verbal instructions, screenshots, or WhatsApp messages as the sole basis for catalogue changes.

7.8.2 Change Indicators Required. Each new version of the Approved Product List must clearly flag: NEW — products being added for the first time; PRICE UPDATE — existing products with a revised retail price or margin; REMOVE — products to be unpublished or deleted; NO CHANGE — products carried over without modification. Where the Partner uses a supplier-linked price list, the Partner is responsible for ensuring change flags are present before submission. FAQ is not obligated to reconcile unlabelled lists.

7.8.3 Legacy Products Without SKUs. Products loaded prior to the introduction of the SKU-based import system and which do not carry a supplier SKU are classified as Legacy Products. The Partner acknowledges that: Legacy Products require manual price updates and cannot be updated via automated imports; the Partner is responsible for supplying a reconciled Legacy Product list mapping legacy product names to current supplier SKU equivalents within a timeframe agreed in writing; until such reconciliation is complete, FAQ will flag potential duplicates but will not delete or merge Legacy Products without explicit written instruction; and price updates for Legacy Products are processed as a separate task, billable against the Partner's prepaid hours or retainer scope.

7.8.4 No Retrospective Rework Without Charge. Where the Partner instructs FAQ to remove, amend, or replace products that FAQ has already loaded based on a previously approved list, the rework is treated as a new task and billable against the Partner's prepaid hours or project rate, regardless of the reason for the change.

7.9 Social Media Coordination & Site-First Publishing

This sub-clause applies to all partnerships where FAQ holds posting rights to the Partner's social media accounts and/or manages the Partner's website and newsletter distribution.

7.9.1 Site-First Publishing Model. FAQ operates a site-first publishing model. The standard content workflow is: (1) product listing or blog article published and live on the Partner's website; (2) social media post published linking back to the website content; (3) newsletter or WhatsApp distribution referencing the website content. FAQ will not publish standalone social promotions for products, services, or specials that do not have a corresponding live page or listing on the website.

7.9.2 Advance Notification — 48-Hour Minimum. Where the Partner intends to publish, share, or broadcast any of the following, the Partner must notify FAQ in writing at least 48 hours before publication: social media posts promoting a product, special, discount, or event; stories, reels, or short-form video content featuring products or promotions; WhatsApp or Telegram channel broadcasts promoting products or specials; any content that references a price, discount code, limited-time offer, or call to action. The 48-hour window allows FAQ to ensure the relevant product or landing page is live and correctly priced, prepare discount codes and coupon logic in WooCommerce, configure tracking parameters and UTM codes for attribution, set up autoresponder sequences or abandoned cart triggers in FluentCRM, and feature or pin the relevant product(s) on the homepage or category pages.

7.9.3 Content Calendar Submission. For planned campaigns, product launches, seasonal promotions, and recurring specials, the Partner is required to submit a monthly content calendar to FAQ by the last business day of the preceding month. The content calendar must include: planned post dates and platforms; product(s) or topic(s) featured in each post; any pricing, discount, or promotional mechanic to be communicated; and any content assets the Partner intends to use. FAQ will review the calendar and confirm readiness of corresponding website content within 3 business days of receipt. Where FAQ identifies gaps, FAQ will notify the Partner and pause the relevant post until site content is ready.

7.9.4 Independent Partner Posting — Consequences. The Partner retains ownership of their social media accounts and may post independently. However, where the Partner publishes promotional content without the required 48-hour advance notice: FAQ is formally not liable for any brand inconsistency, broken links, missing products, or failed conversion paths arising from the unsupported post; if FAQ is required to reactively create or update website content, configure discount codes, or set up tracking in response to an unprompted post, this constitutes reactive support work and is billable against the Partner's prepaid hours at FAQ's standard rate; and repeated failures (three or more instances in any 30-day period) constitute an operational breach under Section 7.7.

7A. Content Supply & Approval Schedule

This section establishes the structured workflow governing all content supplied by the Partner to FAQ for use on the website, newsletter, and social media channels. It supplements Section 7 (Partner Operational Covenants) and applies to all partnerships.

7A.1 Content Types Covered

This section applies to: product listings (new products, price updates, removals, and specification changes); blog articles, news posts, and editorial content; promotional content (specials, discount campaigns, seasonal offers); custom feature content (profiles, guides, comparison tools, and interactive content developed from Partner briefs); and photography, video, and media assets.

7A.2 Content Supply Workflow

7A.3 Content Not Supplied — Impact on Deliverables

Where the Partner fails to supply required content by the agreed deadline, FAQ is not obligated to publish, distribute, or report on the affected deliverable within that billing period. Missed deliverables arising from late or absent Partner content do not constitute a failure of FAQ's SLA obligations and do not entitle the Partner to a refund, credit, or reduction of the base fee. FAQ will notify the Partner in writing when a deliverable has been paused due to missing content and will reschedule the work to the earliest available slot once content is received.

7A.4 Specialist & Custom Content Briefs

Where FAQ proposes or the Partner requests a custom feature (e.g. a product customisation profiler, a buyer's guide, a compatibility tool), the following applies: the Partner must supply the required source data, product knowledge, and reference content within the timeline agreed in writing before FAQ commences development; if the Partner fails to supply this content within the agreed timeline, FAQ may suspend development and reallocate the scheduled time to other work; where FAQ has commenced development based on a Partner-approved brief and the Partner subsequently requests significant changes to the scope or concept, the revised work is treated as a new task and billable accordingly; and FAQ does not carry open-ended speculative development work — all custom features require a written brief, a Partner sign-off, and an agreed content supply commitment before development starts.

7B. Change Control

This section governs all requests for changes to the website design, technical configuration, custom plugins, automation sequences, and marketing strategy. It applies to all partnership types — Online Marketing Partnership, Growth SLA, and Prepaid Time Blocks — with the additional provisions in 7B.6 applying specifically to the Online Marketing Partnership.

7B.1 Written Instruction Required

FAQ will not commence any change to the website, technical environment, or marketing infrastructure without a written instruction from the Partner. Written instructions may be submitted via the FAQ Support Portal at faq.co.za/support, email to supportdesk@faq.co.za, or WhatsApp to 082 853 3779 where the instruction is clearly stated in text. Verbal instructions or instructions communicated via phone call alone do not constitute written instructions under this section. Where a change is discussed verbally, FAQ will summarise the agreed scope in writing and the Partner must confirm by reply before work commences.

7B.2 Scope Confirmation Before Work Starts

For any change that FAQ estimates will require more than one (1) hour of work, FAQ will issue a written Scope Confirmation to the Partner before commencing. The Scope Confirmation will describe: the specific change or feature requested; FAQ's interpretation of the requirement and intended approach; the estimated time to complete; and any dependencies, content, or approvals required from the Partner. Work on the described change will not commence until the Partner has replied in writing confirming acceptance of the scope. A reply of "yes", "confirmed", "proceed", or equivalent constitutes acceptance.

7B.3 Change of Mind After Scope Acceptance

Where the Partner accepts a Scope Confirmation and FAQ commences work, and the Partner subsequently requests a material change to or cancellation of the agreed scope: time already spent on the original scope is billable and will be deducted from prepaid hours or invoiced at FAQ's standard rate; the revised or replacement scope is treated as a new task requiring a new Scope Confirmation before FAQ proceeds; and FAQ is not obligated to reverse, undo, or restore the technical environment to its pre-change state at no charge where work was completed in good faith against an accepted scope.

7B.4 Custom Plugin & Framework Development

Where FAQ develops a custom plugin, MU-plugin, or technical framework at the Partner's request or based on an agreed brief: the development is treated as FAQ Intellectual Property under Section 11.2 regardless of whether it was initiated by FAQ or the Partner; the Partner benefits from the functionality while the partnership is active; scope changes during active development require the active task to be closed, the work to date to be billed, and a new task to be opened for the revised scope; and FAQ will not carry open-ended development loops — each version of a custom feature is a discrete task with a defined scope.

7B.5 Emergency & Urgent Changes

Changes classified as urgent (e.g. a broken checkout, a security issue, a live pricing error) are treated as support tasks under Section 14 and are not subject to the advance scope confirmation requirement in 7B.2. FAQ will act promptly and document the change retrospectively. Time spent on emergency tasks is billable as standard.

7B.6 Online Marketing Partnership — Investment Model & Resource Recovery

Under the Online Marketing Partnership, FAQ does not charge a development retainer. FAQ invests its own time and technical resources in building, configuring, and optimising the Partner's online sales infrastructure, recovering this investment through commission on sales generated. The following provisions apply specifically to this model:

7B.6.1 FAQ's Investment Decision. Before commencing any development task under the Online Marketing Partnership, FAQ will assess whether the time and resource investment is justified by the projected impact on the Partner's online sales. FAQ reserves the right to decline a requested feature or development task if FAQ determines, in its reasonable judgement, that the work is unlikely to generate a proportionate return in sales. This decision will be communicated to the Partner in writing with a brief rationale.

7B.6.2 Shadow Invoice — Monthly Cost Transparency. FAQ will issue a monthly Shadow Invoice itemising all development time, configuration work, and technical tasks completed under the Online Marketing Partnership during that month. The Shadow Invoice reflects FAQ's full standard rates for the work performed and carries a 100% discount, resulting in a zero net amount payable. The Shadow Invoice is issued for transparency and record-keeping purposes only — it is not a demand for payment. It documents FAQ's cumulative investment in the partnership and forms the basis for any resource recovery calculation under 7B.6.3.

7B.6.3 Feature Removal Fee. Where the Partner instructs FAQ to remove, disable, or replace a feature or technical component that FAQ has completed and invoiced (at 100% discount) under 7B.6.2, a Feature Removal Fee of 50% of the original estimated development cost as reflected on the Shadow Invoice for that item becomes due and payable. This fee applies regardless of the reason for removal — including a change of preference, a change in strategy, or a decision to replace the feature with an alternative. The Feature Removal Fee is invoiced at FAQ's standard rate with no discount and is payable within 14 days. This provision does not apply to: bug fixes or corrections to work that did not perform as agreed in the original Scope Confirmation; features removed by mutual written agreement where FAQ waives the fee; or emergency removals required to protect site security or uptime.

7B.6.4 Replacement Scope. Where the Partner removes an existing feature and requests a replacement feature serving the same or similar purpose, both the Feature Removal Fee under 7B.6.3 and a new Scope Confirmation for the replacement work are required before FAQ commences. FAQ retains the right to decline the replacement scope under 7B.6.1.

7C. External Services & Third-Party Costs

This section applies to all partnership types and governs the procurement, payment, and ownership of external services, software licences, and platform credits required to deliver or enhance the Partner's online presence.

7C.1 Partner Responsibility for External Services

The Partner is solely responsible for procuring, paying for, and maintaining all external services and third-party products required for the partnership. This includes, without limitation:

• Premium WordPress plugins and themes not available under a GPL licence and not held by FAQ as part of FAQ's standard infrastructure stack;
• Plugins or tools requiring a dedicated per-site commercial licence (e.g. site-specific payment gateway extensions, industry-specific compliance tools, or catalogue management plugins with per-instance pricing);
• External API services and platform credits, including but not limited to: WhatsApp Business API credits; SMS gateway credits; transactional email service credits (e.g. SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark); and push notification services;
• Content Delivery Network (CDN) services beyond FAQ's standard hosting infrastructure where enhanced CDN performance is required for the Partner's specific use case;
• Third-party monitoring, uptime, or performance services specified by the Partner beyond FAQ's standard server monitoring;
• Paid AI content generation, image generation, or product description services where the Partner elects to use a specific third-party platform;
• Any other external subscription, SaaS product, or platform credit specified in the Partner's Growth SLA as a Partner-procured service.

7C.2 FAQ's Role — Specification & Integration Only

Where an external service is required, FAQ will: identify and specify the service, tool, or credit package required; provide the Partner with procurement instructions, recommended suppliers, and minimum specifications; and integrate the service into the Partner's platform once the Partner has set up the account and granted FAQ the required access credentials or API keys. FAQ will not procure, subscribe to, or pay for any external service on the Partner's behalf. FAQ will not hold billing relationships with third-party providers on the Partner's behalf.

7C.3 Account Ownership

All external service accounts must be registered in the Partner's own name and business details, with the Partner's own payment method. FAQ may be granted access as an administrator, developer, or API user — but the account, credentials, and billing relationship remain the Partner's sole responsibility. On termination of the partnership, the Partner retains full control of all externally procured accounts without any action required from FAQ.

7C.4 Delays Caused by Pending External Service Setup

Where FAQ is unable to proceed with a task because the Partner has not yet set up or granted access to a required external service, FAQ will notify the Partner in writing. The task will be paused and rescheduled to the earliest available slot once access is confirmed. Delays caused by pending external service setup do not constitute a failure of FAQ's SLA obligations and do not entitle the Partner to a refund, credit, or reduction of the base fee.

7C.5 FAQ's Standard Infrastructure

For the avoidance of doubt, the following are included in FAQ's standard infrastructure and are covered by the Partner's Base Fee: CloudLinux/LiteSpeed hosting and server management; FAQ's standard suite of GPL and FAQ-licensed MU-plugins; FluentCRM (base installation); standard WooCommerce and payment gateway integrations supported by FAQ; and FAQ's standard security, backup, and uptime monitoring stack. Any service, plugin, or tool outside this standard stack is subject to the provisions of this Section 7C.

8. Prepaid Time Blocks

8.1 Pricing and Purchase

Clients may purchase Prepaid Time Blocks of six (6) hours for R3,000 per block. Multiple blocks may be purchased and hours will be pooled against the client's account.

8.2 Payment and Allocation

The full amount must be paid and cleared before any prepaid hours are allocated. Upon cleared payment, FAQ will credit the client's account and send written confirmation. Time usage may only commence after allocation confirmation has been issued by FAQ.

8.3 Commencement of Work and Quoting Procedure

For tasks instructed against available Prepaid Block hours, the following procedure applies:

• FAQ will commence work immediately upon client instruction — no separate quote is required initially.
• If a task is estimated or actually requires more than one (1) hour, FAQ will stop work after one hour, notify the client, and provide a written quote for the remaining time required.
• Upon the client's approval of the quote:
  • If sufficient prepaid hours remain, FAQ will continue work and deduct time from the prepaid balance.
  • If additional hours are needed beyond the available prepaid balance, the client may top up by purchasing additional Prepaid Block(s) before quoted work continues. Alternatively, the outstanding balance may be billed at FAQ's standard hourly or daily project rate.

This procedure protects both parties from open-ended work while allowing fast starts on prepaid time.

8.4 Time Tracking

Time is tracked and billed in twenty (20)-minute increments. Deductions from prepaid balances are made as time is used. Automated status updates are sent after each session.

8.5 Expiry

Unused prepaid hours expire twelve (12) months from the purchase date of each block and are forfeited. There is no automatic carry-over beyond this period.

8.6 Non-Refundable

Prepaid Blocks are non-refundable except where mandated by the Consumer Protection Act. Hours represent a prepaid service credit and are not treated as FAQ's property.

8.7 Interaction with Other Terms

This Section 8 applies specifically to prepaid hours and overrides the general quoting requirement in Section 14 only to the extent described in 8.3 above. The standard one-hour billing cap for unquoted non-prepaid work remains in full force. In any conflict between this section and other sections of these Terms, this section prevails for prepaid balances only.

9. Commencement, Duration & Termination

10.1 This Agreement commences upon written confirmation of the Partner's account by FAQ.

10.2 Unless otherwise stated in a Growth SLA or program-specific agreement, this contract continues on a month-to-month basis and may be terminated by either party with one (1) calendar month's written notice.

10.3 Where a Growth SLA stipulates a minimum term (typically 12 months), those terms take precedence. Early termination by the Partner within the minimum term requires:

• at least one calendar month's written notice; and
• payment of all outstanding Base Fees for the remaining months of the minimum term, due and payable immediately upon service of the termination notice.

For the avoidance of doubt, this obligation covers the Base Fee component only. Any Commission amounts accrued up to the termination date remain separately payable.

10.4 FAQ may terminate this agreement immediately on written notice if the Partner:

• fails to pay any amount within 30 days of the due date;
• commits a material breach not remedied within the Cure Period;
• commits repeated operational breaches as described in Section 7.7;
• undergoes a change of controlling interest without notifying FAQ in terms of Section 16.

10. Performance-Based Commission Structure

10.1 Sliding Scale Tiers

Commission is calculated on a cumulative tiered basis. The applicable rate for each tier applies only to the portion of Monthly Net Sales falling within that specific bracket — similar to the way income tax brackets work. The tiers are:

10.2 Definition of Monthly Net Sales

"Monthly Net Sales" means the total value of orders with a WooCommerce status of Completed in the FAQ-managed shop environment within the calendar month, excluding:

• Value Added Tax (VAT);
• actual shipping or courier costs charged to the end consumer; and
• documented customer returns or full refunds processed and confirmed within the same billing month.

10.3 Marginal Rate Principle

Each commission rate applies only to the portion of Monthly Net Sales falling within its bracket — not to the full monthly amount. This is a cumulative (marginal) structure: as sales grow, higher sales are taxed at progressively lower rates, with no cliff-edge where crossing a threshold suddenly reduces the rate on all prior sales. This ensures the commission is always proportionate and predictable.

10.4 Enterprise Tiers

For Partners with projected or actual monthly turnover exceeding R25,000,000, FAQ reserves the right to negotiate a custom Enterprise Tier commission rate, documented in a signed addendum to the Growth SLA.

10.5 International Partners

For Partners operating in currencies other than South African Rand (ZAR), tier thresholds are converted at the exchange rate prevailing on the first business day of the billing month, as published by the South African Reserve Bank, unless a fixed rate is specified in the Growth SLA.

11. Intellectual Property

11.1 Partner Ownership

The following assets remain the sole property of the Partner at all times:

• all Client Content (product listings, images, descriptions, pricing, brand assets);
• the Partner's customer contact database and transaction history;
• the Partner's domain name(s) registered in the Partner's name.

11.2 FAQ Ownership

The following assets remain the sole property of FAQ (Pty) Ltd and are non-transferable:

• all custom MU-plugins and Growth Framework code developed by FAQ;
• all commercial theme and plugin licenses held by FAQ;
• FAQ's proprietary configurations, automation sequences, and marketing templates.

11.3 Powered by FAQ

The graphic and alternative text "Powered by FAQ.co.za" will be added to the bottom right of every page of every site hosted, designed, or maintained by FAQ, as agreed in the application form.

11.4 Websites Incorporating Third-Party Tools

Sites delivered by FAQ incorporate third-party themes, page builders, and plugins for which FAQ holds commercial licenses. These licenses are non-transferable. Where the Partner migrates to a third-party host or transfers management to another developer, the Partner must acquire their own licenses. FAQ will provide a list of required licenses upon written request.

12. Partner Data & POPIA Compliance

12.1 Partners using FluentCRM or any other CRM managed within the FAQ environment retain sole ownership of their contact database.

12.2 FAQ does not sell, rent, share, or otherwise monetise Partner contact data. A copy of the contact list may be provided to the Partner upon a written request on official letterhead, signed by an authorised representative.

12.3 FAQ assumes no responsibility for Partner actions following the provision of a contact list export.

12.4 FAQ processes Partner personal information solely for the purposes of delivering the services set out in this agreement, in compliance with POPIA.

13. Monitoring & Content Termination Rights

13.1 The Partner acknowledges that FAQ has no knowledge of, nor interest in, nor approves the creation of, the Partner's content as hosted by FAQ. The Partner acknowledges that hosting or publication of certain content may be offensive, unlawful, or harmful to FAQ's reputation.

13.2 If FAQ determines, in its sole discretion, that the Partner's content is offensive, unlawful, or harmful, FAQ may:

• request the Partner to forthwith remove or amend the offending content;
• without notice, delete the Partner's website from the server, terminate access, or remove the Partner from FAQ web servers.

13.3 FAQ will use best endeavours to notify the Partner of any action taken but does not warrant prior notice.

14. Maintenance & Support

14.1 FAQ may temporarily suspend services to perform maintenance, upgrades, or improvements. FAQ will use best endeavours to provide prior notice. No setoff, discount, refund, or credit is available for planned suspensions.

14.2 All maintenance requests must be logged at support@faq.co.za or faq.co.za/support/.

14.3 Tasks estimated at less than one hour will be completed without prior quotation. Tasks requiring more than one hour will be quoted, and work commences only after acceptance.

14.4 The minimum billable time per task is 20 minutes.

14.5 Scope changes on active tasks require the active task to be closed and a new task to be created.

15. Cession, Delegation or Assignment

15.1 The Partner may not cede, assign, delegate, or transfer any rights or obligations under this agreement (including subletting of server or hosting resources) without the prior written consent of FAQ.

15.2 In the event of any change in controlling interest in the Partner's business, the Partner must notify FAQ within fourteen (14) days of such change. FAQ is entitled to terminate this agreement on notice in such circumstances.

15.3 FAQ may cede, assign, transfer, or delegate its rights or obligations under this agreement to an FAQ affiliate, or, subject to the Partner's consent (not to be unreasonably withheld), to any third party.

16. Domicilium

16.1 The parties choose domicilium citandi et executandi ("domicilium") for the purposes of giving any notice, payment, or service of process at the addresses specified in the application form.

16.2 Each party may vary their domicilium by written notice, to any physical address within South Africa (not a post office box or poste restante).

16.3 Any notice required in terms of this agreement shall be valid and effective only if in writing. Notices shall be deemed received:

• upon hand delivery during normal business hours at the addressee's domicilium;
• on the 7th business day after posting by prepaid registered mail; or
• within 1 hour of email or fax transmission during business hours, or within 2 hours of the commencement of the following business day if transmitted outside business hours.

17. General

17.1 This document (together with any signed Growth SLA or program-specific agreement) constitutes the entire agreement between the parties. No addition, variation, or cancellation is effective unless in writing and signed by both parties.

17.2 No party is bound by any representation, warranty, or undertaking not recorded in this agreement.

17.3 No extension of time or indulgence granted by FAQ to the Partner constitutes a waiver of FAQ's rights. FAQ may enforce any right against the Partner notwithstanding any prior indulgence.

17.4 Where specific program or service agreements (including Growth SLAs) stipulate alternative terms — including minimum contract duration, commission rates, or termination conditions — those terms take precedence over these general Terms & Conditions.

17.5 Should any provision of this agreement be found to be invalid or unenforceable, it shall be severed from the agreement, which shall otherwise continue in full force and effect.

17.6 This agreement is governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa. Any dispute that cannot be resolved by negotiation shall be referred to arbitration in accordance with the rules of the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa (AFSA), unless FAQ elects to approach a court of competent jurisdiction.

Common Questions

These answers are derived from the sections above and are provided for ease of reference. The full clauses govern in all cases.

Frequently Asked Questions (Pty) Ltd  ·  faq.co.za  ·  support@faq.co.za
Terms & Conditions Version 2026.3 — Subject to review and update.