SERVICE TERMS
Service Engagement Terms
Last updated: 30 June 2026
These Service Engagement Terms explain the standard conditions that apply when Puneeth Kumar U provides consulting, implementation, mentoring, review, workshop or related professional services.
A specific engagement will also be described in a proposal, statement of work, invoice, confirmation email or other written service document. Together, those documents form the agreement.
By approving a proposal, confirming by email or message, making a required payment, providing access, or otherwise instructing work to begin, the client accepts these Terms to the extent permitted by law.
TERMS
Document
Service Engagement Terms
Applies to
Paid consulting, projects, retainers, mentoring, reviews, workshops and custom engagements
Contact
growth@puneethkumaru.com
ON THIS PAGE
CLAUSE 1
1. Parties and Definitions
“Service Provider”, “I”, “me” and “my” refer to Puneeth Kumar U, based in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.
“Client”, “you” and “your” refer to the individual, business, organisation or authorised representative purchasing or receiving the Services.
“Engagement Document” means a proposal, statement of work, invoice, email confirmation, workshop confirmation, mentoring confirmation or other written document describing a specific engagement.
“Deliverables” means the specific work product identified in the Engagement Document.
CLAUSE 2
2. How an Engagement Is Formed
An enquiry, introductory discussion or quotation request does not create an engagement.
An engagement begins when the scope and commercial terms are confirmed in writing and any required advance, access or confirmation condition is completed.
Electronic approvals, emails, messages, accepted proposals and electronic payments may be used to form and evidence the agreement.
I may decline an engagement before acceptance where there is insufficient capacity, a conflict, unsuitable scope, legal or ethical concern, missing information or another reasonable basis.
CLAUSE 3
3. Order of Precedence
The documents forming the engagement should be read together.
If there is a conflict, the following order normally applies: (1) a specifically signed or accepted statement of work or proposal; (2) the invoice or payment schedule; (3) these Service Engagement Terms; (4) the Website Terms and Conditions.
Mandatory legal rights and requirements always prevail where they cannot lawfully be excluded.
CLAUSE 4
4. Services Covered
Services may include:
- Digital growth consulting, reviews, audits and strategy.
- SEO, local SEO, content, website and landing-page support.
- Google Ads, Meta Ads, campaign and conversion support.
- Analytics, tracking, reporting, workflows and marketing systems.
- Focused implementation projects and ongoing advisory or retainer support.
- One-to-one mentoring, project reviews, workshops and custom learning support.
- Other related services specifically agreed in writing.
CLAUSE 5
5. Scope and Deliverables
Only the work expressly listed in the Engagement Document is included.
Examples, discussions, preliminary ideas, estimates or website descriptions do not add Deliverables unless they are included in the confirmed scope.
The Engagement Document should identify the objective, Deliverables, responsibilities, assumptions, timeline, fees, payment schedule and any exclusions.
A Deliverable may be strategic, advisory, creative, educational, technical or implementation-focused depending on the scope.
CLAUSE 6
6. Client Responsibilities
The Client must:
- Provide accurate information, briefs, brand guidance, access, data and decisions reasonably required for the work.
- Ensure that the person giving instructions and approvals is authorised to do so.
- Review work and provide consolidated feedback within the agreed time.
- Obtain permissions and licences for materials, data, testimonials, logos, images, claims or systems supplied by the Client.
- Maintain suitable backups, account security and internal controls.
- Comply with applicable laws, platform policies, professional rules and industry obligations.
- Implement agreed operational follow-up, lead handling, customer service and sales processes that remain the Client's responsibility.
CLAUSE 7
7. Access, Accounts and Security
The Client should retain ownership of its domains, websites, advertising accounts, analytics properties, social profiles, payment accounts and other core business systems wherever reasonably possible.
Access should be provided through authorised user roles rather than shared passwords where the platform permits.
The Client is responsible for account recovery information, two-factor authentication, billing methods and removal of access after the engagement.
I will use access only for the agreed purpose and may request that insecure or unnecessary access be replaced or removed.
CLAUSE 8
8. Communication, Decisions and Approvals
The Client should nominate one primary decision-maker or authorised contact.
Instructions and approvals may be accepted by email, approved project tools or other agreed written channels.
Verbal discussions should be confirmed in writing where they affect scope, cost, timing, risk or approval.
Conflicting instructions from multiple stakeholders may pause the work until one clear direction is provided.
CLAUSE 9
9. Fees and Standard Payment Structure
Fees are based on the agreed requirement and may vary according to scope, complexity, preparation, duration, participant count, location, urgency, tools, risk and support required.
Unless the Engagement Document states otherwise, the following standard structures may apply:
- Single consulting sessions, mentoring sessions and project-review sessions: full payment in advance.
- Fixed-scope projects: 50% advance to begin, with the balance due by the agreed milestone or before final handover.
- Monthly retainers or advisory support: payment monthly in advance.
- Workshops and custom learning engagements: 50% advance to confirm, with the balance due before delivery.
- Large or phased engagements: milestone payments stated in the proposal.
CLAUSE 10
10. Taxes, Advertising Spend and Third-Party Costs
Quoted professional fees exclude taxes unless expressly stated otherwise.
Advertising spend, software, hosting, domains, plugins, stock assets, travel, venue, printing, production, contractors and other third-party costs are separate unless specifically included.
Where possible, third-party services and media spend should be purchased directly by the Client.
The Client is responsible for third-party terms, renewals, price changes, refunds, platform decisions and service availability.
CLAUSE 11
11. Invoices and Late Payment
Invoices are payable by the due date shown on the invoice or Engagement Document.
If payment is late, I may pause meetings, access, delivery, publishing, campaign work or other activity until cleared funds are received.
A paused timeline may need to be rescheduled according to current availability.
Reasonable recovery costs or late-payment consequences may be applied only where stated in the Engagement Document and permitted by law.
CLAUSE 12
12. Timelines and Scheduling
Timelines are estimates unless expressly agreed as fixed.
The schedule depends on timely information, access, feedback, approvals, payment and third-party availability.
Delays caused by the Client, a platform, vendor or another dependency may move the delivery date.
A date is not reserved until the applicable advance and confirmation conditions are completed.
CLAUSE 13
13. Feedback, Revisions and Acceptance
The number and type of revisions included will be stated in the Engagement Document.
Revisions must remain within the approved scope and should be provided as one consolidated set of clear comments.
Unless another period is agreed, the Client should provide feedback or approval within five working days of receiving a Deliverable.
Late feedback may pause the schedule and move the work to the next available slot.
New directions, repeated reversals, additional concepts, new pages, new platforms or changes after approval may be treated as additional work.
CLAUSE 14
14. Change Requests and Additional Work
Either party may identify a need to change the scope, assumptions, Deliverables, timing or responsibilities.
A material change must be confirmed in writing before the additional work begins.
The change may affect fees, payment milestones, availability and delivery dates.
I am not required to perform out-of-scope work until the revised terms are accepted.
CLAUSE 15
15. Client Delays and Inactive Projects
Where the Client does not provide required information, feedback, access, approval or payment, the engagement may be paused.
If a project remains inactive for 30 calendar days due to the Client, I may close or reschedule it after written notice.
Restarting a closed or inactive project may require a revised timeline, reactivation fee or new proposal where circumstances, costs or availability have changed.
CLAUSE 16
16. Platform and Third-Party Dependencies
Search engines, advertising platforms, social networks, website systems, hosting providers and software vendors are independent third parties.
Their policies, interfaces, pricing, approval processes, algorithms, outages, suspensions and decisions may change without notice.
I cannot guarantee access, approval, delivery, ranking, account continuity or performance controlled by a third party.
Recommendations may need to change where a platform, law, market or technical dependency changes.
CLAUSE 17
17. Advertising and Campaign Responsibilities
The Client is responsible for the legality, accuracy and substantiation of its products, services, offers, prices, claims, targeting restrictions and landing-page information.
Campaign budgets and media spend must be approved by the Client.
Platform approval is not guaranteed, and an advertisement may be rejected, limited or suspended by the platform.
Campaign work does not guarantee leads, lead quality, sales, revenue or return on advertising spend.
The Client remains responsible for responding to enquiries, sales follow-up, fulfilment and customer service.
CLAUSE 18
18. SEO and Content Responsibilities
SEO work may include research, technical observations, content, page improvements, local visibility and other agreed activity.
No ranking position, traffic level, indexation date, AI-search citation or business outcome is guaranteed.
The Client is responsible for the factual accuracy, legality and approval of its business claims, professional claims, medical or financial statements, testimonials and regulated content.
Content may require specialist legal, medical, financial, technical or compliance review where relevant.
CLAUSE 19
19. Mentoring, Reviews and Workshops
Mentoring, workshops and project reviews are educational and capability-building services.
They do not guarantee employment, promotion, certification, examination success, ranking, leads, revenue or mastery.
Participants must have permission to share any client, employer or organisational material.
Session recordings are not permitted by default and require prior written agreement.
Any certificate is available only where an authorised organisation chooses to issue one; independent mentoring does not include certification.
CLAUSE 20
20. AI-Assisted and Automated Tools
AI-assisted or automated tools may be used for research support, ideation, drafting, analysis, quality checks, documentation or workflow efficiency where appropriate.
Human review and professional judgement remain part of the process.
The Client should state in advance if its policy prohibits or restricts the use of specific AI or cloud tools.
Confidential or sensitive Client information will not knowingly be entered into a third-party AI tool contrary to agreed restrictions or applicable law.
AI-generated output may contain errors and should not be treated as automatically accurate, original or legally safe without review.
CLAUSE 21
21. No Guarantee of Results
Professional services are provided with reasonable skill and care, but no specific commercial, technical, marketing, search, learning or employment result is guaranteed.
Results depend on factors including the market, offer, competition, budget, website, implementation, data, sales process, customer experience, platform changes and Client decisions.
Forecasts, estimates, benchmarks, examples and past results are not promises.
CLAUSE 22
22. Client Materials and Warranties
The Client retains ownership of materials it supplies.
The Client confirms that it has the authority and lawful basis to provide and use those materials for the engagement.
The Client is responsible for claims arising from Client-supplied content, instructions, data, intellectual property or unlawful business practices.
I may refuse or remove material that appears unlawful, misleading, infringing, unsafe or outside the agreed risk profile.
CLAUSE 23
23. Pre-Existing Materials and Intellectual Property
I retain ownership of pre-existing methods, know-how, frameworks, templates, prompts, processes, training resources, reusable components and general expertise.
Unless expressly transferred in writing, these materials are licensed only as necessary for the Client to use the agreed Deliverables.
A licence does not permit resale, redistribution, sublicensing, public training, copying into a competing product or removal of third-party licence conditions.
CLAUSE 24
24. Ownership of Final Deliverables
Ownership or licence terms for final Deliverables will be stated in the Engagement Document.
Unless otherwise stated, and subject to full payment, the Client receives a non-exclusive, perpetual licence to use final Client-specific Deliverables for its own business purposes.
Drafts, rejected concepts, working files, source files, internal notes and unused material are not included unless expressly listed.
Third-party assets remain subject to their own licences.
CLAUSE 25
25. Portfolio and Attribution
I will not publish confidential information or sensitive performance data without an appropriate right or permission.
Unless the Client objects in writing before completion, I may identify the Client and display non-confidential final work for portfolio and professional-credibility purposes after public launch.
Any use of logos, testimonials, private dashboards or detailed results should be separately approved where required.
The Engagement Document may override or restrict this permission.
CLAUSE 26
26. Confidentiality
Each party should protect confidential information received from the other and use it only for the engagement.
Confidential information does not include information that is public without breach, already lawfully known, independently developed or lawfully received from another source.
Disclosure is permitted where required by law, court, regulator or professional adviser, subject to reasonable safeguards where possible.
A separate non-disclosure agreement may be used where the engagement requires additional protection.
CLAUSE 27
27. Personal Data and Privacy
Each party is responsible for personal data it controls and for complying with applicable privacy and data-protection obligations.
The Client should not provide personal data that is unnecessary for the engagement.
Where access to lead, customer, employee or learner data is required, the parties should agree on the purpose, access, retention and security expectations.
The Website Privacy Policy applies to Website enquiries. A separate data-processing arrangement may be required for some client systems or datasets.
CLAUSE 28
28. Subcontractors and Collaborators
I may use suitable subcontractors, specialists or service providers where reasonably required for delivery.
I remain responsible for coordinating the agreed Services, but the Client remains responsible for approving material third-party costs where they are not already included.
Confidential information will be shared only as reasonably necessary and subject to appropriate obligations.
CLAUSE 29
29. Suspension
I may suspend work where there is late payment, missing access, unsafe access, unresolved scope conflict, unlawful instruction, harassment, misuse, security risk or another material breach.
Suspension does not remove the Client’s obligation to pay for work completed, committed costs or reserved time.
The timeline may be revised when the issue is resolved.
CLAUSE 30
30. Cancellation and Termination
Either party may terminate an engagement according to the notice, cancellation and termination terms in the Engagement Document.
I may terminate immediately for serious non-payment, unlawful conduct, abuse, misrepresentation, security risk, repeated non-cooperation or material breach that is not reasonably cured.
On termination, the Client must pay for work completed, approved expenses, committed third-party costs and other amounts due up to the termination date.
Refund eligibility, if any, is governed by the Engagement Document, the Cancellation and Refund Policy, applicable consumer rights and the amount of work or preparation already completed.
Related policy: Read the Cancellation and Refund Policy
CLAUSE 31
31. Handover, Access Removal and File Retention
Final handover occurs after the applicable payment and delivery conditions are completed.
The Client should promptly download, back up and secure final files and remove unnecessary account access.
Working files and project records may be retained for a reasonable business, legal, tax, backup or dispute period and may later be deleted.
Long-term storage or future recovery is not guaranteed unless expressly included.
CLAUSE 32
32. Professional Standard and Disclaimer
I will perform the agreed Services with reasonable professional skill and care.
Except for obligations that cannot lawfully be excluded, no other warranty is given regarding uninterrupted delivery, third-party compatibility, permanent technical operation or fitness for an undisclosed purpose.
The Client remains responsible for final business decisions, publication approvals, legal compliance and implementation outside the agreed Services.
CLAUSE 33
33. Limitation of Liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, neither party will be liable to the other for indirect, incidental, special, exemplary or consequential loss, including loss of profit, opportunity, goodwill, data or anticipated savings.
Except for liability that cannot legally be limited, my total aggregate liability arising from a specific engagement will not exceed the professional fees actually paid to me for that engagement during the six months preceding the event giving rise to the claim.
The limitations do not apply to fraud, wilful misconduct or another responsibility that applicable law does not allow to be excluded or limited.
The Client should maintain appropriate insurance, backups, internal controls and independent professional advice for material risks.
CLAUSE 34
34. Indemnity
To the extent permitted by law, the Client is responsible for reasonable claims, losses, costs or liabilities arising from Client-supplied material, unlawful instructions, infringement, unauthorised data sharing, misleading business claims or breach of these Terms.
I remain responsible for claims arising directly from my own unlawful conduct or infringement in original work, subject to the other limitations and exclusions in the agreement.
CLAUSE 35
35. Force Majeure
Neither party is responsible for delay or failure caused by events beyond reasonable control, including serious illness, natural events, public emergencies, government action, platform outages, internet or hosting failure, cyber incidents, labour disruption or failure of a critical third-party provider.
The affected party should notify the other where reasonably possible, and the parties should agree on a revised schedule or practical next step.
CLAUSE 36
36. Independent Contractor
The relationship is that of independent service provider and client.
Nothing creates employment, partnership, joint venture, fiduciary relationship, franchise or authority for either party to bind the other unless expressly agreed in writing.
CLAUSE 37
37. Non-Exclusivity and Conflicts
Unless expressly agreed otherwise, the engagement is non-exclusive.
I may work with other businesses, including businesses in similar sectors, provided confidential information is protected and no specific conflict restriction has been accepted.
The Client should disclose any material conflict, exclusivity expectation or restricted account before acceptance.
CLAUSE 38
38. Governing Law and Disputes
The agreement is governed by the laws of India.
The parties should first attempt to resolve a concern in good faith through written communication and a reasonable opportunity to correct the issue.
Subject to mandatory consumer rights and any jurisdiction that cannot lawfully be excluded, courts with jurisdiction in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India will have jurisdiction.
CLAUSE 39
39. General Provisions
The agreement documents form the entire agreement for the relevant Services and replace earlier discussions about that scope.
A waiver is effective only when clearly given and does not waive future enforcement.
If a provision is invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue, and the affected provision should be limited or interpreted as closely as legally possible to its intended purpose.
Neither party may transfer the engagement without the other’s written consent, except as part of a lawful business restructuring or transfer that does not materially reduce the other party’s rights.
Changes must be confirmed in writing by authorised representatives.
CLAUSE 40
40. Contact
Questions about these Service Engagement Terms can be sent using the details below:
Name
Puneeth Kumar U
Location
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Email
Phone / WhatsApp
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