Service terms
How a Cornerstone engagement works, in plain language: written scope, payments, approvals, review rounds, change requests, ownership and handoff.
Who these terms are between
These terms are between [Legal entity name and form, to be confirmed] (“Cornerstone”, “we”) and the business named in an accepted Scope of Work (“you”). Each Scope of Work (SOW) sits under these terms. When your approver accepts an SOW in the client portal, the version of these terms that applied is recorded with the acceptance.
If an SOW and these terms disagree about a specific project, the SOW controls for that project.
Written scope comes first
- No work begins without a written scope and agreed payment terms. The SOW lists the deliverables, what is not included, the timeline, the review rounds, the payment schedule and the launch and handoff conditions.
- An approval in the client portal, given by your authorized approver typing their full name, counts as a signature and is time-stamped.
- Silence is not approval. We wait for an explicit approval before each gate: the scope, the build plan, each change and the launch.
Packages and prices
Prices are one-time, project-based starting scopes. The final price for your project is the one in your accepted SOW.
| Package | Price | Review rounds |
|---|---|---|
| Foundation Site | $500 | 1 |
| Local Reach | $750 | 1 |
| Local Authority | $1,000 | 2 |
| Product / MVP Sprint: Validation Build | $1,500 to $2,250 | 2 |
| Product / MVP Sprint: Functional MVP | $2,500 to $3,500 | 2 |
| Product / MVP Sprint: Launch-Ready MVP | $3,750 to $4,500 | 2 |
Payments
- Website packages: 50% to schedule and start, 50% before production launch.
- Product / MVP builds: 50% to start, 25% when you approve the build plan (the product and design requirements), 25% before production launch or final handoff.
- Approved change requests add their fee to the project.
- We schedule production work once the deposit is received. Your Cornerstone contact sends each invoice with payment options, and the portal shows when a payment is received.
[Invoice due dates, late payment terms and refunds, to be confirmed by counsel]
Your part, and the timeline
- You provide the content, business facts, approvals and account access the project needs, and you confirm that the claims, credentials and reviews we publish for you are accurate. Legal or compliance review of your own claims is yours where it applies.
- The timeline starts when the deposit and the required inputs are received. If an input, approval or access arrives late, the delivery date moves with it.
- We aim for feedback within 2 business days per review round.
- Share passwords and other credentials through a password manager or another secure method, never by email or text.
The build plan and review rounds
- Before building, we turn your intake into a build plan: a project brief for website packages (plus a local growth plan for Local Reach and Local Authority), or a product plan and a design plan for product builds. You approve it in the portal. Building starts only after that approval.
- Each review round collects one combined set of feedback from your approver. Each item is marked as either something not working as agreed (we fix it within scope) or a new idea (handled as a change).
- The number of review rounds is set by your package and your SOW. More rounds, and new pages, sections, workflows or concepts after approval, are change requests.
Change requests
Work outside the accepted scope is written up with its fee and timeline impact before anything is done. Your approver can approve it, decline it or save it for later. Nothing extra is built or charged until a change is approved.
Launch and handoff
- We launch only after your approver explicitly approves the launch in the portal, and after the final payment that your SOW ties to launch or handoff.
- At handoff you receive the live links, access to the accounts you are entitled to own, simple operating notes, the known limitations, and the support window that applies.
- After launch we fix defects in what was agreed during the support window set in your handoff pack. New features, maintenance and ongoing work are separate unless your SOW includes them.
Ownership
- Your business content, logos, photos and data stay yours.
- Ownership of, or access to, the domain, hosting, repository, admin accounts, analytics, search and platform accounts is transferred or confirmed after payment, as listed in your SOW and handoff pack.
- We only feature your project, name, logo, results or a quote with permission from your project approver.
[Intellectual property assignment, licence to pre-existing tools and components, and portfolio rights, to be confirmed by counsel]
Third-party costs and services
Domain, hosting, email, payment processing, premium plugins, third-party APIs, app store fees, stock assets and paid advertising are separate unless your SOW includes them. Third-party services are governed by their own terms.
Search and AI visibility
Search, answer-engine and AI-assistant work improves the quality and clarity of your discovery signals. Rankings, traffic, lead volume and AI mentions depend on factors no vendor fully controls, so we never guarantee them.
Confidentiality, warranties, liability and ending an engagement
We keep your non-public business information confidential and use it only for your project.
[Confidentiality terms, warranties, limitation of liability, termination and what is owed when an engagement ends early, to be confirmed by counsel]
Governing law and contact
[Governing law and venue, to be confirmed by counsel]
Questions about these terms go to [Privacy and legal contact email, to be confirmed] or your Cornerstone contact. How we handle personal information is described in the Privacy notice. This version is: Service Terms draft 2026-10-08.