Last updated 4 September 2026
Substrate Studios (Substrate Studios (Pty) Ltd, registration number 2026/598554/07) is a South African business based at 995 Saxby Ave, Eldoraigne, Centurion, 0157. We design and build websites, provide managed hosting, and operate the console software (booking, billing, and client-management tools) used by our clients’ own businesses. Substrate Studios is not registered for VAT — no VAT is charged on any fee.
These terms apply whenever you engage Substrate Studios for a website build, managed hosting, or a console (software) subscription. By paying a deposit, signing up for a trial, or using the console, you agree to them.
Depending on what you’ve engaged us for, this may include:
Website builds & custom work: a deposit is required before we start any website build or custom/bespoke development on the console. Where a build is paid off over time, the standard structure is a 20% deposit up front, with the remaining cost spread over up to 12 months (each instalment rounded up to the nearest R10). Work begins once the deposit is paid. We don’t send a tax invoice until an amount has actually been paid — you’ll receive a quote first, and an invoice once payment clears (a pro-forma invoice can be issued on request if you need one before paying).
Managed hosting & console subscriptions: billed monthly in advance via PayFast. A subscription renews automatically each billing cycle until cancelled.
Free trial: new console subscriptions start with a free trial period. No payment is taken during the trial, and you won’t be charged unless you choose a paid plan.
Fees are quoted in South African Rand. We may change our pricing for new billing cycles going forward — we won’t change what you’ve already agreed to pay for work already underway.
To cancel managed hosting or a console subscription, email us at least 1 calendar month before you want billing to stop, and we’ll confirm the date access ends. Cancelling stops future billing; it doesn’t retroactively refund the current paid period (see our Refund Policy).
We may suspend access to the console or take a hosted website offline if payment is significantly overdue, after reasonable notice to the email on file.
Anything you put into your website (text, images, branding) or the console (your clients’ and members’ records) belongs to you. We store it securely and don’t use it for anything beyond providing the service to you. Each business’s console data is kept private to that business — other clients of ours never see it.
Where you hold personal information about your own clients or members in the console, you remain the responsible party for that data under South African law (POPIA) — we act as the operator processing it on your behalf, under appropriate technical and organisational safeguards.
We work to keep hosted websites and the console available and reliable, but we don’t guarantee uninterrupted access — third-party infrastructure (hosting, payment processing, email delivery) can occasionally fail outside our control. We’re not liable for losses arising from downtime beyond our reasonable control.
To the extent permitted by law, our liability for any claim relating to our services is limited to the fees you’ve paid us in the 3 months before the claim arose. We’re not liable for indirect or consequential losses (like lost profits or lost business).
We may update these terms from time to time — the “Last updated” date above will change when we do. Continuing to use our services after an update means you accept the revised terms.
These terms are governed by the law of South Africa.
Questions about these terms? Email shaun@substratestudios.co.za.