Software Development Terms

Bespoke Software & Development Terms

These terms govern custom software development work, including project scope, change control, acceptance, support and intellectual property.

Last updated: 22 April 2026.

Scope of Services

  • Our bespoke software services cover requirements gathering, design, development, testing and deployment of custom web applications and integrations agreed in the statement of work.
  • Any features, platforms or integrations not explicitly included in the agreed scope are outside the contract and may require a separate proposal.
  • We do not provide unlimited changes; work is limited to the agreed scope unless a change request is approved.

Change Control and Scope Management

  • Change requests that add or alter functionality, design, data flows, integrations or timelines must be agreed in writing before implementation.
  • Additional work from change requests is billed at our standard hourly or fixed rate as specified in the proposal.
  • We will provide a revised estimate and timeline for approved changes before any extra work begins.

Acceptance and Testing

  • We will provide a test site or staging environment for review. You must test the deliverables and raise any material issues within the agreed review period.
  • Once the agreed acceptance criteria are satisfied, the deliverables are deemed accepted unless substantial defects are reported.
  • Final acceptance may be delayed by third-party dependencies, integration issues or unavailable customer feedback.

Ongoing Support and Maintenance

  • Standard support for bespoke software is limited to issues directly caused by our work and as set out in your support agreement.
  • Requests outside the agreed support scope, such as new features, enhancements or fixes to third-party code, are billable.
  • WordPress, plugin and theme updates are only included if a separate maintenance plan is agreed.

Intellectual Property and Deliverables

  • We retain ownership of our pre-existing tools, frameworks, libraries, and proprietary code.
  • IP rights to any work produced by Acorn Media (including website code, designs, user interfaces, and integrations) only transfer to the Client once the relevant invoice is paid in full.
  • Upon receipt of full payment, we grant you a non-exclusive licence or transfer ownership of the agreed deliverables, as specified in your contract.
  • You are responsible for securing any third-party licences, subscriptions or platform fees required by the finished solution.

Third-Party Dependencies

  • Projects may rely on third-party services, APIs, plugins or hosting environments. We are not responsible for failures or changes to those external services.
  • Any costs, downtime or restrictions from third-party providers are outside our liability.
  • If a third-party provider changes their service or pricing, we will notify you and recommend a path forward, but we are not responsible for their decisions.

Website Transfer Suitability

  • We reserve the right to refuse a website transfer following an initial audit if the site's code, architecture, or security is deemed unfit for our servers.
  • Any time spent attempting a transfer of a faulty or unsupported site remains billable, even if the transfer cannot be completed.

Client Responsibilities

  • You must provide timely feedback, approvals, assets and access needed to complete the project.
  • Delays caused by unavailable information, approvals or credentials may affect delivery timelines and may incur additional costs.
  • We may pause work if the project becomes blocked due to client inaction, and we are not liable for associated timeline changes.

Non-Payment and Suspension

  • If invoices for bespoke development work are unpaid for more than 5 working days after the due date, we may suspend the project until outstanding amounts are paid.
  • Suspension may delay delivery and is not grounds for a refund or credit.
  • We reserve the right to withhold final deliverables until all invoiced sums are paid in full.