General Terms & Conditions

Starting a project

An assignment starts once we have agreed on what needs to be done.

Usually that means accepting a quotation. It can also mean confirming an assignment in writing or by email.

Before work begins, I try to make the scope, expected deliverables, planning, responsibilities and costs as clear as possible.

By accepting an assignment, the client agrees to the quotation and the General Terms & Conditions supplied with it.

Where additional terms apply, such as Usage & Copyright conditions for visual production, these will be supplied or referenced as part of the assignment as well.

Scope of the work

Every quotation describes the work that is included in the assignment.

That scope is the basis for the planning and price.

Projects naturally evolve, and sometimes new ideas, requirements or requests appear while we are working together. That is completely fine, but work outside the agreed scope is considered additional work.

Examples can include additional screens, new functionality, extra integrations, additional concepts, substantial changes to previously approved directions or additional rounds of revision.

When something falls outside the original scope, I will normally discuss it before carrying out the additional work.

Additional work is charged separately at the applicable hourly or daily rate unless we agree on another arrangement.

Unless stated otherwise in the quotation, one revision round is included.

Collaboration & feedback

Good projects are collaborative.

I rely on the client to provide the information, materials, access and feedback required to complete the work properly and within the agreed planning.

Where feedback or approval is required, it should preferably be consolidated before being shared. This helps prevent conflicting directions and unnecessary additional work.

Significant delays in receiving feedback, content, access or other required input may affect the original planning.

If that happens, we will agree on a revised schedule where necessary.

Handover & approval

Once the agreed work has been delivered, the client has 10 working days to review it.

If something within the agreed scope is incorrect or does not function as agreed, let me know during that period and I will rectify it within the scope of the assignment.

If no written response is received within those 10 working days, the delivered work is considered approved.

Requests that change the original scope or introduce new requirements after delivery are considered additional work.

Ownership & transfer of rights

For UX/UI design, digital product development, automation and AI assignments, work created specifically for the client can be transferred to the client as agreed for the assignment.

This can include final designs, project files, source code and configurations created specifically for that project.

Unless otherwise agreed, the agreed transfer takes effect after the assignment has been paid in full and subject to the legal requirements applicable to that transfer.

Not everything used to create a project is project-specific.

Pre-existing components, reusable systems, proprietary tools, libraries, methods, workflows, templates and general knowledge developed independently of the assignment remain mine or remain subject to the rights of their respective owners.

Where those elements form part of the delivered work, the client receives the rights reasonably necessary to use and maintain the final product as agreed.

For photography, video, branding and other visual production, copyright and licensing are handled separately under my Usage & Copyright terms.

Third-party tools & licences

Modern digital products rarely exist completely on their own.

A project may use third-party services or components such as hosting platforms, open-source libraries, fonts, plug-ins, APIs, SaaS products, integrations or AI models.

Those components remain subject to the terms and licences of their respective providers.

Unless explicitly included in my quotation, ongoing costs for subscriptions, hosting, APIs, licences or other third-party services are the responsibility of the client after delivery.

Where possible, I will make relevant third-party dependencies clear during the project or handover.

However, I cannot control future changes to the pricing, availability, functionality or licensing conditions of an independent third-party service.

AI, automation & digital agents

AI systems and automated workflows behave differently from traditional static software.

They can depend on external models, APIs, data sources and services that may change independently of the work I deliver.

Where I create an AI agent or automation, I build and test it to the best of my ability and within the agreed scope.

However, AI-generated output is not fully predictable and may occasionally contain inaccuracies or unexpected results.

For that reason, AI and automation should be used with appropriate human oversight, particularly where their output influences important business decisions, communication with customers or processing of sensitive information.

I cannot guarantee completely error-free or uninterrupted operation of third-party AI models, APIs or external services.

Changes made by those providers after delivery may also affect the behaviour or availability of the final solution.

The client remains responsible for how the system is ultimately used within their organisation and for complying with laws and regulations applicable to that use.

Data & confidentiality

Both sides should be able to work together without worrying that confidential information will unexpectedly become public.

Non-public information shared during an assignment is therefore treated as confidential and should only be used where necessary to complete the work.

Where an AI system, automation or digital product processes personal data on behalf of the client, additional privacy or data-processing agreements may be required.

If necessary, these will be agreed separately.

I do not intentionally retain production data longer than is reasonably required for the assignment, unless another retention period has been agreed or is required for legitimate administrative or legal purposes.

Portfolio use

I like showing the work I create.

Unless we agree otherwise, I may show completed work in my portfolio, on my website, on social media or as part of my own professional promotion.

That doesn’t mean confidential information needs to become public.

If a project includes commercially sensitive information, unreleased products or confidential material, we can agree on an embargo, anonymisation or another appropriate way of presenting the work.

The aim is to show my contribution without compromising the client’s legitimate interests.

Payment

Unless the quotation states otherwise, invoices are payable within 14 days of the invoice date.

For larger assignments, we may agree on a deposit, milestone payments or another payment schedule before work begins.

Where an invoice remains unpaid after the agreed payment period, applicable statutory interest and reasonable collection costs may be charged.

For business-to-business assignments, Dutch statutory commercial interest may apply where the legal requirements are met.

Any transfer of project-specific rights that has been agreed as conditional on payment only takes place after the relevant invoice has been paid in full.

Cancellation & rescheduling

Plans change. If an assignment needs to be cancelled, please let me know in writing as early as possible.

Work that has already been carried out and costs specifically incurred for the assignment remain payable.

For a scheduled sprint, workshop or day-based activity, cancellation within five working days of the agreed start date may be charged at 50% of the agreed amount.

Cancellation within 48 hours may be charged at 100%.

Where possible, I would rather reschedule than cancel altogether, so if circumstances change we can first see whether another date works for both sides.

Liability

I take responsibility for delivering the work professionally and with reasonable care.

At the same time, no digital product, service, integration or AI system can be completely isolated from external circumstances.

To the extent permitted by law, my liability is limited to the invoice amount of the assignment to which the claim relates.

I am not liable for indirect damage, consequential loss, loss of profits or damage resulting from changes, outages or failures of third-party systems outside my reasonable control.

In circumstances beyond either party’s reasonable control, such as force majeure, we will first try to find a practical solution or new planning together.

Nothing in these terms excludes liability where such an exclusion is not permitted by mandatory law.

Applicable law

These terms and the assignments they apply to are governed by Dutch law.

If a disagreement arises, I would always prefer to resolve it together first.

Where that is not possible, the matter will be handled according to the applicable Dutch legal rules.

The formal terms

This page is intended to make the way I work easy to understand.

For commercial assignments, the applicable General Terms & Conditions are supplied with the quotation. Depending on the type of assignment, separate Usage & Copyright terms may also apply.

The quotation and the terms supplied with that specific assignment form the agreement between the client and Nick Frens Studio.

Questions about any of these terms? Just get in touch.

Nick Frens Studio

Chamber of Commerce: 42089990

VAT ID: NL005487820B56