SaaS Terms of Service
Template — South Africa

Account creation requirements, age restrictions (18+ for contracting capacity under the Children's Act 38 of 2005, or 13+ with parental consent for platforms targeting younger users), accuracy of registration information, account security responsibilities (strong passwords, MFA where available), prohibition on account sharing, and the platform's right to verify identity and refuse or suspend accounts that provide false information.

Defines the available subscription tiers (free, basic, professional, enterprise), pricing for each tier in South African Rand, billing cycles (monthly and annual options), accepted payment methods, the handling of failed payments (grace period, account suspension, retry logic), and the treatment of VAT at 15%. Addresses price changes with CPA-required reasonable notice (the template specifies 30 days) and the user's right to cancel if they do not accept the new pricing.

Implements CPA Section 14-compliant automatic renewal provisions. For subscriptions longer than 12 months, the CPA requires the supplier to notify the consumer 40-80 business days before expiry and allow cancellation with 20 business days' notice. For month-to-month subscriptions, the user may cancel at any time with the agreed notice period. The template provides clear cancellation mechanisms — including a self-service cancellation option in the account settings, as the CPA requires that cancellation be no more difficult than the original sign-up process.

Permitted and prohibited uses of the platform. Prohibitions include illegal activities, distribution of malware, spam or unsolicited communications, harassment or hate speech, intellectual property infringement, data scraping or automated access beyond authorised API limits, attempts to circumvent security measures, and activities that degrade service performance for other users. Specifies the graduated enforcement process: warning, content removal, temporary suspension, and permanent termination — with immediate termination reserved for severe violations.

The platform provider's ownership of the service, software code, trademarks, documentation, and user interface design — protected as literary and artistic works under the Copyright Act 98 of 1978. The user's ownership of their data and content uploaded to the platform. Limited licence grants in both directions: the provider grants the user a non-exclusive licence to access the platform, and the user grants the provider a limited licence to process their content as necessary to provide the service. Restrictions on reverse engineering, scraping, copying, and creating derivative works from the platform.

How user data is collected, processed, stored, and deleted. Identifies the platform as a responsible party under POPIA for user account data, and as an operator under POPIA for customer data that users process through the platform. Addresses purpose limitation, data minimisation, storage limitation, cross-border transfer safeguards under Section 72, and the user's data subject rights (access under Section 23, correction under Section 24, deletion, objection under Section 11). Links to the Privacy Policy and Data Processing Agreement for detailed provisions.

Uptime commitments (or explicit disclaimer of uptime guarantees for free tiers), scheduled maintenance windows with advance notification, support channels (email, chat, phone) and response times by subscription tier, the provider's right to modify the service with reasonable notice, and the circumstances under which the provider may suspend or discontinue the service. For paid tiers, references the Service Level Agreement (SLA) that defines specific uptime targets and service credit mechanisms.

Caps the provider's aggregate liability at the total subscription fees paid by the user in the 12 months preceding the claim. Excludes indirect, consequential, incidental, and special damages — including lost profits, lost data, lost business opportunities, and reputational damage. Includes critical CPA-aware provisions: where the user is a consumer under the CPA, Section 51 limits the ability to exclude liability for gross negligence, and Section 61 may impose liability for defective services. The limitation clause includes carve-outs for wilful misconduct, data breaches caused by gross negligence, and IP infringement.

Mutual indemnification obligations. The user indemnifies the provider against claims arising from the user's content, the user's use of the platform in violation of the terms, and any data the user processes through the platform. The provider indemnifies the user against claims that the platform infringes third-party intellectual property rights. Each party's indemnification obligations are subject to the liability caps and include the right to control the defence of indemnified claims.

How users can cancel their subscription (self-service through account settings), the provider's right to terminate for breach of the Terms of Service or Acceptable Use Policy, the post-termination data export period (typically 30 days during which the user can download their data in standard formats), data deletion timelines (all user data deleted within 90 days of the export period), and the survival of provisions beyond termination (limitation of liability, indemnification, confidentiality, dispute resolution).

The provider's right to modify the Terms of Service with reasonable notice — the template specifies 30 days for material changes. Notification through email and prominent in-platform notice. The user's right to reject changes by cancelling their subscription before the effective date. Continued use of the platform after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the modified terms. This section is calibrated for CPA Section 14 compliance, which requires that material changes to terms be fair, just, and reasonable.

South African law as the governing law, jurisdiction of South African courts, and a structured dispute resolution process. For consumer disputes, the CPA provides access to the National Consumer Tribunal and consumer courts as alternative forums. For commercial disputes, the template provides for mediation under AFSA rules followed by binding arbitration. Includes a provision for small claims: disputes below a defined value threshold may be submitted to the small claims court for expedited resolution.