New! Why our terms & conditions feature is important when doing business

Whether you run a shop, restaurant, ecommerce website, plumbing or taxi service… in fact, no matter what your business does, you should consider having terms & conditions to protect it. It’s an important element that every business can benefit from and it’s why we’ve implemented the option for all Pomelo Pay merchants to be able to add their own terms & conditions to the payment experience.
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So, what are terms & conditions?
Terms & conditions act as a contract between a business and a customer, which serve the right of responsibilities for both parties.

Although not legally required, it’s a smart thing to include and will certainly become of significant use, should any problems arise and make managing your business easier. You can control liability, manage use, protect your intellectual property, and enforce rules.

As a Pomelo merchant, you can add your business terms & conditions with ease. It gives merchants the opportunity to determine if their payment experience requires explicit consent, and a place to highlight particular information around the policies they have for services such as returns, refunds and cancellations.
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Having terms & conditions serve multiple purposes. Here’s why having terms & conditions is important:

• Protect you and your business

They help to protect any unnecessary risks and protect your business’s reputation or any other key elements. For example cash flows, in the event that anything should go wrong.

• Cover all bases

They are key in helping you to cover all of the important matters and not overlook any obvious issues.

• Limit your liability

A robust set of terms & conditions minimises the chance of a legal dispute. Should it be demonstrated that your user was aware and had agreed to your terms, it will help to limit your liability in regards to certain situations, which can later be used in court to enforce your rights and settle any legal disputes.

• Increase customer confidence

They help create reassurance and certainty for who you are doing business with. Also, by adding a privacy policy to show you are GDPR compliant will build customer confidence and lead to an increase in sales.

• Chargeback protection

By implementing a privacy policy, it will act as a deterrent to fraudulent customers and as a defence in the case of customer complaints or claims.

• Establish transparent relationship with customers

T&Cs provide clarity about what should happen in any given situation. With guidelines in writing, business owners can avoid misunderstandings.

• Added layer of security and certainty

Your customer has agreed to your terms of business before buying from you which forms a legal binding contract between you, meaning you can serve them with confidence.

• Provide a good level of customer service

Having an agreed, clear set of guidelines means you can deliver a consistently good level of customer service as there will be no surprises. You will be able to manage your customers expectations when it comes to delivery and payments.
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It’s important that your terms & conditions are written specifically for your business because no two businesses are the same, and there is no ‘one size fits all’. There are some key elements that a well-drawn T&Cs document should cover:

• Conditions of Use: Define what products or services will be provided.
• Intellectual Property rights/Copyrights/Trademarks: Safeguard items, designs, content, services or other proprietary rights that you want to protect so it cannot be copied, stolen or misused. You can state what the rules are for using those items or information, and what happens if an individual violates your intellectual property rights.
• Delivery Timelines: Timelines will depend on the nature of your product. This section will include your shipping options you offer, time frames and pricing for delivery. Services have deadlines and goods have expected dates of delivery.
• Payment Terms including Refunds, Exchanges, and Cancellation Policies: Your payment terms should include prices, terms of payment, interest or fees on late payments, the cost of shipping, handling and outline your refund, exchange and cancellation policies. You want to make sure your customers accept this before payment.
• Liability limitations: This protects business owners from liability beyond the transaction. It is where you include that your business is not responsible for any liability, loss, personal injury, damage or expense that the customer may suffer after the transaction.
• Data protection/Privacy & Security: This should clearly state what personal information of your shopper you use and store, and how it is protected.
• Contact Information - End your terms & conditions with an invitation for users to contact you if they need clarification of the terms you have in your agreement. You can do this by adding a contact number, email address or support link.

Please note: This article is not a substitute for professional legal advice nor is it a solicitation to offer legal advice. It is always best to get a professional to look over any written documentation.

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‍💡Our top tip: A clear set of T&Cs is one of the best investments you can make for your small business. Before preparing your terms & conditions agreement, make sure you decide the following: what intellectual property do you want to protect, what liabilities do you want to avoid and what products or services are out of your control e.g. shipping. Once complete, you’ll be much better prepared to create solid terms & conditions capable of protecting your business and rights.

How to add terms & conditions as a Pomelo merchant
We’ve made it easy for merchants to add terms & conditions to their payment experience. You can access the terms & conditions within the merchant dashboard under the Settings tab on the left hand side and then by clicking Terms & Conditions. Here, you will be able to upload and save them.

You can also add links to your legal policies so they appear on the footer of your shop and payment experience.

For more information on how to set this up, read our latest terms & conditions FAQ.
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It’s evident that there are advantages to terms & conditions for your business. It governs the way you do business with your customers, and therefore important to make sure they are clear and concise. If you have a Pomelo account, our Customer Success Team is on hand to share advice or assist you in adding your terms & conditions to your payment experience.