This Policy governs all engagements between Axena Ltd (trading as La Gaudière, "the Company") and its clients ("the Client"). By accepting a quote, paying a deposit, or instructing the Company to commence work, the Client agrees to the terms set out below. This Policy is incorporated by reference into all contracts, proposals, and invoices issued by the Company.
Payment Terms
Deposit. A non-refundable deposit of 50% of the agreed project fee is required before any work begins. Work will not commence until the deposit has been received and confirmed by the Company.
Final Payment. The remaining 50% balance is due on the day the project goes live or is delivered to the Client, whichever comes first. The Company reserves the right to withhold delivery or launch until full payment is received.
Monthly Retainers. Where a monthly management retainer is agreed, payment is due on the 1st of each calendar month. Services for the billing period will not be rendered until payment is confirmed.
Method of Payment. All payments must be made via bank transfer to the Company's designated MCB account. Payment details are provided on each invoice. The Client must include the invoice number as the payment reference.
Currency. All fees are quoted and invoiced in Mauritian Rupees (MUR) unless otherwise stated in writing.
Late Payment. Invoices not settled within 7 days of the due date will attract a late payment fee of 2% of the outstanding amount per week. The Company reserves the right to suspend all active services until outstanding balances are cleared.
Scope of Work & Revisions
Defined Scope. The deliverables for each engagement are defined in the quote or proposal accepted by the Client. Work not listed in the agreed deliverables is considered out of scope.
Revision Rounds. Each project includes up to two (2) rounds of revisions. A revision round is defined as a consolidated set of change requests submitted in a single communication. Revisions must be submitted within 48 hours of receiving the live preview link.
Out-of-Scope Requests. Any request that falls outside the agreed deliverables — including additional pages, new features, redesigns, or content rewrites — will be quoted separately and will require written approval and payment before work begins.
Scope Creep. The Company reserves the right to pause work and issue a revised quote if the scope of a project expands materially beyond what was originally agreed.
Final Sign-Off. Once the Client provides written sign-off (via WhatsApp, email, or any written medium), the project is considered complete. Requests for further changes after sign-off will be treated as new out-of-scope work.
Client Responsibilities
The Client agrees to:
- Provide all required assets (logos, images, copy, brand materials) within 48 hours of the onboarding session. Delays in asset delivery will extend the project timeline accordingly.
- Purchase and register their own domain name prior to project kickoff. The Company does not purchase domains on behalf of clients.
- Provide necessary credentials, logins, and access required for the project in a timely manner.
- Assign a single point of contact authorised to give approvals and feedback on behalf of their organisation.
- Review deliverables and provide consolidated feedback within the agreed revision window. Failure to respond within 5 business days of a review request will be deemed as approval.
- Ensure that any materials supplied to the Company (images, text, logos) do not infringe third-party intellectual property rights. The Client assumes full liability for any such infringement.
Intellectual Property
Ownership on Full Payment. Upon receipt of full payment, ownership of the final website and all custom-created assets transfers to the Client. Until full payment is received, all work product remains the property of the Company.
Third-Party Assets. The Company may use licensed fonts, stock imagery, plugins, or frameworks in the course of a project. These remain subject to their respective licences and are not transferred to the Client beyond the scope of those licences.
Portfolio Rights. The Company retains the right to display completed work in its portfolio, case studies, and marketing materials unless the Client requests otherwise in writing prior to project completion.
Client-Supplied Materials. The Client retains ownership of all materials they supply to the Company. By supplying such materials, the Client grants the Company a non-exclusive licence to use them for the purpose of completing the project.
Cancellation
Client Cancellation. If the Client cancels a project after work has commenced, the deposit is non-refundable. If cancellation occurs after the 50% balance has been invoiced but before launch, the Client remains liable for any work completed up to the point of cancellation, prorated at the Company's standard rate.
Retainer Cancellation. Monthly retainer agreements may be cancelled with 30 days' written notice. No refunds are issued for the current billing month.
Company-Initiated Cancellation. The Company reserves the right to terminate an engagement if the Client is in breach of this Policy, fails to make payment, or acts in a manner that is abusive or unreasonable. In such cases, fees for work completed will remain due and payable.
Limitation of Liability
The Company's total liability to the Client under any engagement shall not exceed the total fees paid by the Client for that specific project or service.
The Company is not liable for any indirect, consequential, or incidental losses arising from the use of deliverables, including but not limited to loss of revenue, loss of data, or business interruption.
The Company does not guarantee specific search engine rankings, positions, or visibility on any search engine. SEO work carried out by the Company is limited to on-page technical optimisation (meta tags, structured data, and sitemap). Rankings are determined solely by search engine algorithms, which are outside the Company's control. No outcome, traffic increase, or revenue result is guaranteed. All performance-related statements are indicative only.
The Company is not responsible for third-party service outages, including hosting providers, domain registrars, CDN providers, or advertising platforms.
Confidentiality
Both parties agree to keep confidential any proprietary or sensitive information shared during the course of an engagement and not to disclose it to any third party without prior written consent, except as required by law. This obligation survives the termination of the engagement.
Governing Law & Disputes
This Policy and all engagements entered into with the Company are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Mauritius. Any dispute arising out of or in connection with this Policy shall first be subject to good-faith negotiation. If unresolved within 30 days, the matter shall be referred to mediation or, failing that, to the competent courts of Mauritius.