The short version
Pay for what you use, don't abuse the platform, and your content stays yours. We'll keep the service running well and tell you honestly when something goes wrong. The detail follows.
The agreement
These terms are a contract between Carte Ltd and the business that creates an account ('you'). By creating an account you confirm you're authorised to bind that business. If you're trialling Carte, these terms apply from the moment you sign up.
Your content
Everything you add to Carte — menus, dishes, wines, prices, images — remains yours. You grant us only the licence we need to store it, display it where you tell us to (your website, your PDFs, your QR menus) and back it up. We claim no other rights, and the licence ends when you delete the content or your account.
Our service
We aim for 99.9% availability and have exceeded it every quarter since launch. Planned maintenance happens outside peak hospitality hours (we know when those are). If we have a significant outage we'll tell you what happened and what we changed — actual transparency, not status-page weather reports.
Billing
Plans bill monthly or annually in advance. Annual plans include two months free. You can upgrade (pro-rated immediately), downgrade or cancel at any time from your account; downgrades and cancellations take effect at the next billing date. We don't do exit fees, retention departments or dark patterns.
Trials
Trials are 14 days, full-featured, and require no payment card. When a trial ends your data stays intact and readable but publishing pauses. We delete dormant trial accounts after 12 months, with two email warnings first.
Acceptable use
Don't use Carte to break the law, infringe others' rights, or attempt to disrupt the platform. Don't resell access without a partnership agreement. We'll always contact you before suspending anything unless the situation is actively harming other customers.
Liability
Carte is a publishing tool: you remain responsible for the accuracy of your menus, prices and allergen information. Our liability is capped at the fees you've paid us in the preceding 12 months. Nothing in these terms limits liability that can't legally be limited.
Ending the agreement
You can leave at any time: export your data (CSV or JSON, self-service), cancel, done. We can end the agreement with 30 days' notice, or immediately for serious breach. Either way, you get your data.
Changes
If we change these terms materially we'll email you 30 days before they take effect. Continuing to use Carte after that means you accept the new terms; if you don't, you can cancel and we'll refund any unused annual period pro-rata.