1. Fee Structure and payment terms:
1.1. Unless explicitly otherwise specified or agreed in writing, the customer agrees to pay the fees which will be calculated on a time basis for all the time spent by the business, in terms of an agreed hourly and/or value added tariff which is at present the amount from R750.00 per hour, excluding VAT where applicable, for an experience senior pro-advisor, from R350 excluding VAT per hour for Junior pro-advisor, and from R 225 excluding VAT for administration staff.
1.2. Subscription and/or recovery services payable monthly in advance for Dext, QuickBooks online, Xero, Sage, etc. Including online and in person support
1.3. Online training Including online and in person from R450 per hour excluding travel cost
1.4. More complex items and/or services might be charged at a much higher rate
1.5. The business will be charged in 15-minute units of time or part thereof and 15 minutes will be the minimum time charged for any one attendance. The business will record and be entitled to charge me/us for any time reasonably spent working on the matter, including but not limited to drafting, reading documentation, consulting (in person or telephonically), researching and reading or writing letters, e-mails and other correspondence;
1.6. Certain attendances may be charged at a reduced rate at the sole discretion of the business and fees may be adjusted if the matter is particularly complex, urgent, or carries particularly high risk;
1.7. The hourly tariffs set out above shall automatically escalate annually, commencing 1 January 2024, at a rate of no less than 7.5% (seven, five percent) per annum unless specifically otherwise agreed. The increase is based not only on inflationary facts, but also on market forces, including general tariff increases which are the greater experience of the pro-advisors;
1.8. In the event that the business has to attend to the matter after hours or on weekends (except where this is by her own choice), the business shall be entitled to charge at one and a half times the normally hourly rate;
1.9. I understand that senior pro- advisor will supervise the work carried out on my matter, but that firm will at all times be working with a team of professionals, all of whom will have their own rates. I will not be dealing with only one pro-advisor, and will often interact with one of the other professionals in the business, or with the support staff. I am not entitled to demand that only one pro-advisor may handle my matter.
1.10. The customer confirms that the business is entitled to provide the customer with interim invoices in respect of fees and disbursements, as well as a final account for all services rendered in accordance with executing the aforementioned mandate.
1.11. The customer acknowledges that the business is not a registered credit provider and as such this agreement does not constitute a credit agreement and fees and disbursements, as agreed to herein, are payable upon presentation of each interim and/or final account.
1.12. The customer acknowledges that this agreement does not constitute a contingency fee agreement (i.e. no win, no fee) and that fees and disbursements, as agreed to herein, are payable upon presentation of each interim and/or final account, despite whether the customer r is successful with his/her matter or not.
1.13. The customer acknowledges that all disbursements and professional fees accounted for, may be set-off against monies held to the customer's credit or collected on behalf of the customer behalf.
1.14. The customer acknowledges that non-payment of invoices will entitle the business to demand payment in terms thereof. If no payment is received and or payment arrangement made within 7 days of demand, the business will be entitled to take any and all such necessary legal steps to recover the total invoice, whether it be by issuing Summons, obtaining Judgment and proceeding with a Warrant of Execution against my movables and / or an Emoluments Attachment Order against salary (if applicable), if necessary.
1.15. The customer acknowledges that non-payment of invoices will entitle the business to levy interest at the rate of 10.25% per annum on all amounts older than 30 calendar days. I am aware that I am entitled to engage the services of another business who may levy fees at a lower rate, but I elect not to do so;
3 Deposit required:
The standard deposit required by the business, before any work will be undertaken by the business (Automation, Website and digital services Etc. matters) or such other amount as determined by Pro-advisor in consultation payable upfront into the Firm's bank account, the details of which are as follows:
Banking details:
2030 Artificial Intelligence Projects Pty Ltd trading as 2030ai
First National bank:Cheque account
Account Number: 62813657725
Universal Code: 250 655
Ref: full name and surname /invoice number
Please forward proof of payment to john@203ai.co.za
4 Consultations:
4.1 The business may request upfront payment from the customer in respect of a scheduled consultation, the amount of which shall be communicated to the customer.
4.2 In the event that the customer cannot attend a scheduled consultation, the customer confirms that he/she will inform the business timeously of such cancellation and which cancellation should at least be done 15 minutes before the scheduled consultation.
4.3 The customer acknowledges that should the customer not timeously cancel the consultation; the business will be entitled to charge the customer for the consultation at a maximum rate of 15 minutes per the agreed hourly rate.
4.4 The customer acknowledges that should the customer be more than 15 minutes late for a scheduled consultation, the business will be entitled to charge the customer in respect of the said 15 minutes.
4.5 I understand that:
Office disbursements reflected in my account will, as far as possible, be accompanied by supporting documentation, and in respect of fees, the business will set out a short description of all work done by pro-advisor; In all matters, the business shall furnish me with a detailed specified account in respect of services rendered by business
4.6 I understand that the business's accounts are payable upon presentation to me;
5 Termination of mandate:
5.1 The customer has the right to terminate this mandate at any time upon providing written notice to the business with required 30 days' notice period
5.2 The customer acknowledges that the business retains a lien over the customer's file until such time as when the customer has settled all outstanding invoices of the business and that the business will in that event only release the contents of the
taxpayer's file upon settlement of the said outstanding invoices.
5.3 The business agrees to provide copies of the contents of the customer's file, limited to correspondence exchanged between the customer and business, correspondence exchanged between the business and the relevant opposing consultantt and after the settlement of all outstanding invoices by the customer. The customer however acknowledges that the business may charge the customer costs in respect of the copies as the customer is required by law to retain the
customer's file for a period of 5 years.
5.4 The business reserves the right to refuse any instruction and/or terminate this mandate in the following instances:
5.4.1 Non-payment of any invoices outstanding for more than 30 calendar
days from date of invoice;
5.4.2 Should the customer neglect to pay any deposit required by the
business;
5.4.3 Failure by the customer to provide any instructions to the business within 15 business days when requested to do so;
5.4.4 Failure by the customer to comply with FICA requirements;
5.4.5 Should the customer fail and/or refuse to provide and disclose truthful and correct information to the business timeously;
5.4.6 Should the customer's actions and/or instructions, in the sole discretion of the business, damage the business' standing, reputation and goodwill;
5.4.7 Should the customer, in the sole discretion of the business not act in accordance with any his/her duties towards the business as set out below;
6 Customer's rights and duties:
6.1 As the customer of the business, you have the right to:
6.1.1 professional, honest and unbiased professional automation and tech
advice at all times;
6.1.2 be treated with professional courtesy, respect and fairness,
6.1.3 regardless of your race, nationality, age, gender, sexual orientation
or disability;
6.1.4 privacy and attorney-client confidentiality;
6.1.5 agree to the type of service you can expect and receive;
6.1.6 clear explanations in terms you can understand;
6.1.7 know who will be handling your matter;
6.1.8 an explanation of the cost implications and how the costs are likely
to be calculated;
6.1.9 be kept informed of costs, so that you can work out if a particular
course of action is worth following financially;
6.1.10 be kept updated on developments and on progress as work on your
matter proceeds;
6.1.11 receive a response to your letters and telephone calls within a
reasonable time
6.1.12 receive a clear invoice which shows the work done and the amounts
charged;
6.1.13 Complain about your pro-advisor if you believe the staff is acting
unethically or in an unprofessional manner;
6.1.14 have the business' invoice review if you are of the view that it is too
high; and
6.1.15 subject to certain conditions, you have the right to cancel the business's mandate at any time.
6.2 As the customer of our business we/you have the responsibility / duty to:
6.2.1 treat our staff with respect, dignity and courtesy;
6.2.2 give our firm correct and complete information, and to disclose all the relevant facts to assist your business to give you the appropriate advice;
6.2.3 give our business clear instructions within a reasonable time period;
6.2.4 enquire about the cost implications and how the costs will be calculated;
6.2.5 pay the requested deposit;
6.2.6 respond timeously to all requests for information from our business;
6.2.7 not to direct unnecessary enquiries to our staff as our business may charge consultation fees for these enquiries, and this may increase costs
unnecessarily;
6.2.8 settle invoices from our business timeously;
DECLARATION BY CUSTOMER
I, the customer, hereby declare as follows:
1. I have read this mandate and fee agreement and that any technical terms have been explained to me, including the estimated costs for the matter.
2. I confirm that the information provided by myself is correct and that I accept full liability to attend to payments of all invoices rendered by the business to myself.
3. I understand that the business will provide me with regular and reasonable updates in regard to my matters.
4. Any amendments hereto are to be recorded in writing and accepted by myself and the business.
