Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of terms

By creating a Homebird account or using Homebird in any way, including via WhatsApp, you agree to these terms. If you don't agree, please don't use the service.

2. Who provides this service

Homebird is owned and operated by Paynter & Co, a registered business in South Africa ("Homebird", "Paynter & Co", "we", "us").

3. Description of service

Homebird helps South African households and small teams manage pay, leave, and schedules. Homebird is currently in open beta: it helps you produce payslips and keep track of pay, leave, UIF, and hours. While we're in beta, confirm your obligations with a qualified South African labour-law professional.

4. Homebird is not your employer

Homebird is a software tool for administering pay, leave, attendance and scheduling for people who work for you. Homebird is not the employer, agent, umbrella company, or payroll bureau for your staff, and is not a party to the employment relationship between you and them. As the employer, you remain solely responsible for complying with the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, the Labour Relations Act, the Unemployment Insurance Act, the Income Tax Act, and any other labour, tax, or employment legislation that applies to you. Nothing in Homebird, or in any output it produces, constitutes legal, tax, or labour-law advice.

5. Accounts and eligibility

You're responsible for the accuracy of the information you provide, including staff details, pay rates, and banking information, and for keeping your account credentials secure. Homebird supports two account roles — employer and employee — each with access scoped to what that role needs.

6. Acceptable use

Use Homebird only for its intended purpose of managing pay, leave, attendance, and scheduling for genuine working relationships. Don't use Homebird to store or transmit information you don't have the right to share, or to interfere with the service or other users' access to it.

7. Payments

Homebird is currently free to use while in open beta. If we introduce paid plans in the future, we'll update these terms and give you notice before any charges apply to your account.

8. Intellectual property

Homebird, including its software, design, and branding, belongs to us. The data you enter about your household or team remains yours — we use it only to provide the service to you, as described in our Privacy Policy.

9. Disclaimers and limitation of liability

Homebird is provided "as is", without warranties of any kind, express or implied. To the fullest extent permitted by law, our total liability arising from your use of Homebird is limited to the amount you paid us in the 12 months before the claim arose — currently zero, as Homebird is free during open beta. We are not liable for indirect or consequential losses, or for errors in payroll, leave, or UIF calculations — you remain responsible for reviewing and verifying pay, leave, and UIF figures before relying on or paying out on them. Nothing in these terms limits liability that can't lawfully be excluded, including for gross negligence or wilful misconduct.

10. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify Homebird against any claim, loss, fine, or liability arising from your use of the service, including claims brought by your current or former staff relating to your employment relationship with them, your compliance with labour or tax law, or the accuracy of information you provided to Homebird.

11. Termination

You may stop using Homebird and close your account at any time. We may suspend or terminate accounts that breach these terms or misuse the service.

12. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa.

13. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms as Homebird evolves. We'll update the effective date above when we do.

14. Contact

Questions about these terms can be sent to richard@homebirdhr.com.