Terms of Service

1. Who we are

BookMate is a product of Kiwi Code NZ ("we," "us," "our"), based in Tauranga, New Zealand. You can reach us any time at hello@kiwicode.net.nz.

2. What you're agreeing to

These Terms apply when you create a BookMate account as a business owner ("you," "your business"). By signing up, you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy. If you don't agree, please don't use BookMate.

Separately, when your customers use your BookMate booking page to make a booking, they're agreeing to the same core terms around how their information is handled — see our Privacy Policy for details on that.

3. Your account, trial, and subscription

New accounts get a 14-day free trial with no credit card required. After the trial, continued use requires an active paid subscription. Subscriptions are billed monthly in advance via Stripe, our payment processor — your card details are handled entirely by Stripe and never touch our servers.

You can cancel any time from within your account (Settings → Manage Subscription). There's no lock-in contract. Cancelling stops future billing; we don't provide refunds for partial billing periods already paid.

4. Acceptable use

You agree to use BookMate lawfully and not to:

• Use the service to send unsolicited, misleading, or fraudulent communications to your customers
• Attempt to disrupt, reverse-engineer, or gain unauthorised access to the platform
• Use BookMate to collect or process customer data in a way that breaches applicable privacy law
• Resell or white-label BookMate without our written agreement

5. Text message and email reminders

BookMate can send booking confirmations, reminders, and related messages by email and SMS on your behalf. SMS reminders are only sent to a customer who has explicitly opted in via the consent checkbox on your booking form — it's your responsibility, as the business using BookMate, to ensure you don't otherwise contact customers by text outside of what they've consented to.

6. Your customers' data

When a customer books through your BookMate page, you (the business) are the one collecting and controlling that customer's information — BookMate is the tool you're using to do it. You're responsible for using that information appropriately, consistent with what your customers would reasonably expect from booking an appointment with you.

7. Deposits and payments from your customers

BookMate offers an optional feature that lets you connect your own Stripe account and require a deposit or full payment from a customer at the time they book, for services you choose to configure that way. If you use this feature:

• You are entering into your own, separate agreement with Stripe by connecting your account, and you're responsible for complying with Stripe's own terms, including its restrictions on the types of goods and services that can be sold through it.
• Payments go directly into your own Stripe account — Kiwi Code NZ is not a party to the transaction between you and your customer, does not hold or touch the funds, and does not set or control your pricing, refund, or cancellation policies.
• You are responsible for your own refunds, cancellations, disputes, and chargebacks with your customers. BookMate provides a Refund button as a convenience that triggers a refund through your connected Stripe account, but the underlying decision and responsibility is yours.
• Standard Stripe processing fees apply to payments taken this way; Kiwi Code NZ does not add any additional fee or commission on top of what Stripe charges.
• You must not use this feature to collect payment for goods or services in a restricted or prohibited category under Stripe's own policies.

8. Service availability

We work to keep BookMate reliable, but we don't guarantee uninterrupted or error-free service. BookMate depends on third-party infrastructure (including Google Firebase, Stripe, Resend, and TNZ Group) that is outside our direct control.

9. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Kiwi Code NZ is not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential losses arising from your use of BookMate, including lost bookings, lost revenue, or missed communications. This includes losses arising from disputes, refunds, or chargebacks between you and your customers relating to payments taken through the deposits/payments feature described in Section 7 — those are matters between you, your customer, and Stripe. Nothing in these Terms limits any rights you have under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 or Fair Trading Act 1986 that cannot legally be excluded.

10. Termination

We may suspend or terminate an account that breaches these Terms, misuses the platform, or is used for unlawful purposes. We'll generally try to give notice first, except in cases of serious misuse.

11. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time as BookMate evolves. We'll update the date at the top of this page — significant changes will be communicated by email where practical.

12. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of New Zealand, and any disputes are subject to the jurisdiction of the New Zealand courts.

13. Contact

Questions about these Terms? Reach us at hello@kiwicode.net.nz.