Overview#
Bynefit is a platform. Spaces, organizations, practices and other businesses use it to run their own work, and some of them offer services to other Spaces or to people through Bynefit. This document explains who is responsible for what when a third party provides a service through Bynefit, and it applies to both the third party (a "Provider") and the people who use that Provider's service ("Customers"). "Bynefit," "we," "us" and "our" mean Bynefit Inc.
A Provider is any business or professional that is not Bynefit and that provides a service, information, goods or access through Bynefit. Examples that exist today include:
- Business Setup fulfilment partners, which carry out company formation filings, act as registered agent, or do other work behind a Business Setup order, and which set their own fee for that work.
- Practices, meaning a Space that serves its own clients through a hosted site and client portal, for example with engagements, bookings, messages, documents and invoices.
- Hosted sites and managed WordPress sites, where a Space publishes its own website that Bynefit hosts, connects or manages for it.
- Other third parties that appear in Bynefit, such as a business that publishes a local resource, an event organizer, a campaign organizer, or a partner promotion.
Partners in the partner program are covered by the Partner Terms. A Partner that also provides services is a Provider too.
Bynefit Is a Platform, Not the Provider#
- Unless an order, invoice or page says in plain words that Bynefit is the seller, Bynefit does not provide the Provider's service, does not employ the Provider, and is not a party to the contract between a Provider and a Customer.
- Bynefit does not give legal, tax, accounting, financial, medical, engineering or other professional advice, and nothing on Bynefit is that advice. Bynefit does not check that what a Provider says, sells or files is correct, suitable or complete. Content and tools that help a Customer prepare something, such as forms, calendars, checklists or deadline reminders, are organizational aids only.
- A Provider that is a licensed or regulated professional is solely responsible for its own professional duties, and for whether it may serve a Customer in the Customer's location.
- Where Bynefit does sell a service itself, for example a Bynefit service fee or the Business Setup order, the order page says so and the Customer's contract for that service is with Bynefit and any Provider named on the order.
What a Provider Promises#
- Authority and licenses. It is legally able to provide the service, holds every license, registration, bond, insurance and credential the law requires for it, keeps them current, and will give Bynefit proof on request. For a registered agent, it meets the registered agent rules of each state it serves.
- Accurate description. It describes what it provides, its price, its turnaround and its limits accurately. A price or turnaround that Bynefit shows for a Provider's service must be one the Provider has set or confirmed, and the Provider is responsible for keeping it accurate.
- Its own responsibility. It is responsible for doing the work properly, for its employees and contractors, for its own taxes and filings, and for any claim by a Customer about its work.
- No misleading use of Bynefit. It does not suggest that Bynefit endorses, certifies, supervises or guarantees it, and it uses Bynefit marks only as Bynefit allows.
- Rules. It follows the Terms of Service, the Community Guidelines, and the laws that apply to its service, including consumer protection, auto-renewal, advertising, privacy and anti-discrimination law.
Money#
- Who collects. A practice chooses, for its default or for each engagement, whether the Customer pays through Bynefit Payments, which uses PayPal, or pays the practice directly through a link or instructions the practice supplies. If the practice has not chosen Bynefit Payments, Bynefit does not route the Customer's payment. A payment the practice collects outside Bynefit is between the practice and the Customer, and the practice may mark it paid.
- Bynefit Payments. Payments are processed by PayPal and are subject to PayPal's terms and holds. A payment PayPal holds for review is not treated as received until it is released and staff have applied it. Bynefit is not responsible for a delay or decision by PayPal.
- Fees. A Provider's fee, any state or government filing fee, and Bynefit's own fees may be shown as separate or combined lines. The total the Customer sees before paying is the total charged. Bynefit does not hold customer funds as an escrow or on trust for a Provider.
- Refunds and disputes. A Provider's refund and cancellation terms must be disclosed before payment. A refund of a Business Setup or Bynefit-collected payment is handled under the terms of that order. Credit that Bynefit has accrued for anyone on the order is cancelled or reduced in proportion.
- Renewals. Any recurring charge or renewal must be shown before the Customer pays and is never charged without the Customer paying. Where auto-renewal is offered, the Provider and Bynefit must follow the auto-renewal laws that apply.
Data and Privacy#
- Who is responsible. A Provider that receives a Customer's personal information, for example from a form, booking, engagement or message, is responsible for how it uses and protects it, and for giving its own privacy notice. Bynefit acts as its service provider for the data the Provider stores in its Space and handles it under the Privacy Policy.
- What is shared. A Customer's information is shared with a Provider only for the order, booking, engagement or request the Customer made. Bynefit intends to share with a fulfilment partner only what the partner needs to do the work, and where Bynefit collects a sensitive identifier such as a tax identification number it is stored encrypted and read only by authorized staff for that order. Bynefit does not share a person's stored location area or location history with Providers.
- Use limits. A Provider may use a Customer's information only to provide the service and as the law allows. It may not sell it, use it to advertise unrelated products, or message a Customer who has not agreed to be messaged. SMS and voice features follow the SMS and MMS Messaging Terms.
- Hosted sites. A Space that publishes a hosted site, or connects its own WordPress site, is responsible for the site's content, its privacy notice and cookie notice, and for any consent the law requires for visitors. Bynefit records basic site view counts, and a site that uses Sign in with Bynefit receives only the information a visitor agrees to share, scoped to that site.
- Practice email. Email a hosted site sends on a practice's behalf names the practice as the sender and says it is powered by Bynefit. The practice is responsible for the content and for having a reason to send it.
- Security incidents. A Provider must tell Bynefit without undue delay after confirming a security incident affecting Customer data from Bynefit.
Hosted and Managed Sites#
- The Space that owns a site owns its content and is responsible for it, including that it has the rights to every image, text and trademark it publishes, and that it is lawful.
- Bynefit may suspend or remove a site, a custom domain or a connection that breaches the Terms of Service or the law, or that endangers the service or other customers.
- A domain registered through Bynefit is registered in the name of the registrant the Space chose. Registrant details, verification emails and renewals follow the registry and registrar rules, and a missed verification or renewal can suspend or lose a domain. Bynefit does not promise that a name will be available or renewable.
- For managed WordPress sites, Bynefit installs and updates its connection plugin, reports usage, and may update the plugin automatically. Bynefit does not promise that a site's other plugins, themes or hosting will be free of defects or downtime.
Disclosures#
Bynefit may receive a fee or credit when a Customer buys from, or is referred to, a Provider. Where that is the case, the page or order identifies it. A Provider that is also a Bynefit Partner may be paid referral credit for sending businesses to Bynefit, as set out in the Partner Terms. A featured or promoted item is labelled as promoted.
Complaints and Disputes#
- A Customer with a problem about a Provider's service should first contact the Provider. For a Business Setup order or any payment made through Bynefit, the Customer can also contact Bynefit through the support center at bynefit.com/support.
- A report that a Provider breaches the Community Guidelines or the law follows the Moderation process. Bynefit may investigate, ask a Provider for information, remove a listing, pause a Provider or end the relationship.
- Bynefit is not a court or arbitrator and does not decide disputes between a Provider and a Customer. Bynefit may, but is not required to, help the parties talk to one another.
Liability and Indemnity#
To the extent the law allows, Bynefit is not responsible for a Provider's acts, omissions, advice, goods or services, for a Provider's licences or credentials, or for the result of any work a Provider does. A Provider indemnifies Bynefit against third-party claims arising from its service or its breach of this document.
Changes and Contact#
We may update this document. Material changes will be shown in Bynefit and sent by email at least 14 days before they take effect. Questions can be sent through the Bynefit support center at bynefit.com/support. Legal notices: support@bynefit.org.