Last updated: September 2026
1. Overview
This Refund Policy explains how deposits, cancellations, and refunds are handled across ByTheodore's engagement types (see Services), and forms part of our Terms & Conditions. Specific figures in a signed Statement of Work (SOW) take precedence over this page.
2. Deposits on Fixed-Price Projects
Fixed-price projects (SMB sites, digital presence, business systems and automation builds) require an upfront deposit before work begins, as specified in your SOW. The deposit covers scoping, design, and early build work and is non-refundable once that work has started, except where ByTheodore fails to begin work within the agreed timeframe.
3. Milestone-Based Refunds
For projects delivered in milestones, fees already invoiced for completed or in-progress milestones are non-refundable. If a project is cancelled before a milestone begins, any portion of the fee paid in advance for that specific milestone is refunded, less any non-recoverable third-party costs already incurred on your behalf (e.g. domain registration, licences).
4. Paid Discovery / Audit Engagements
Fixed-fee discovery and audit engagements (Tier 3 cloud/FinOps/AI work) are non-refundable once the engagement begins, as they represent time and analysis delivered regardless of outcome. Where you proceed to a resulting Engagement, 50% of the discovery/audit fee is credited against your first invoice for that Engagement, as set out in the relevant SOW.
5. Monthly Retainers & Care Plans
Retainer and care plan fees are invoiced monthly in advance and are non-refundable for the current billing period once invoiced. You may cancel a retainer or care plan at any time with 30 days' written notice; you remain responsible for fees up to the end of that notice period.
6. No Refunds After Handover
Once a Deliverable has been handed over, accepted, or gone live, fees paid for that Deliverable are non-refundable. Post-handover issues are addressed under the warranty terms in our Terms & Conditions (Section 13), not through a refund.
7. Equity-for-Build Engagements
Equity-for-build engagements (cash-plus-equity hybrid, considered case-by-case) do not offer a cash refund in place of the equity component. The cash-scope portion of such an engagement is refunded, where applicable, under the same terms as a standard fixed-price project (Sections 2–3 above). Treatment of vested and unvested equity on early termination is addressed in that engagement's specific written agreement.
8. Payment Disputes & Chargebacks
If you believe an invoice is incorrect, contact us directly first at info@bytheodore.co.za so we can resolve it, rather than initiating a chargeback or payment dispute with your bank or card provider.
9. How to Request a Refund
Email info@bytheodore.co.za with your invoice reference and the reason for your request. We aim to respond within 5 business days.