📜 Terms of Service

1. Agreement to Terms

These Terms of Service ("Terms") constitute a legally binding agreement between you (whether personally or on behalf of an entity, "you" or "Customer") and RootCascade Ltd. ("RootCascade", "we", "us", or "our"), a company registered in England and Wales (Company No. 14523891), concerning your access to and use of the RootCascade platform and related services (the "Service").

By accessing or using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you are using the Service on behalf of an organisation, you represent that you have the authority to bind that organisation to these Terms.

If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not access or use the Service.

2. Description of Service

RootCascade provides a cloud-based incident management platform that helps engineering teams:

• 🚨 Track and manage production incidents through their lifecycle
• 🔍 Trace cascading failures across distributed systems using AI
• 📝 Generate and manage postmortem documents automatically
• 🔗 Integrate with third-party monitoring, alerting, and communication tools
• 📊 Analyse incident patterns, trends, and team performance metrics
• ⏱️ Capture real-time incident timelines and communications

The specific features available to you depend on your subscription plan, as described on our Pricing page.

3. Account Registration

3.1 Eligibility

To use the Service, you must:

• Be at least 18 years old
• Have the legal authority to enter into these Terms
• Not be prohibited from using the Service under applicable laws

3.2 Account Creation

You must create an account to access the Service. When creating an account, you agree to:

• Provide accurate, current, and complete information
• Update your information to keep it accurate and complete
• Maintain the security and confidentiality of your login credentials
• Not share your account credentials with others

3.3 Account Security

You are responsible for all activities that occur under your account. You must immediately notify us at security@rootcascade.com if you become aware of any unauthorised access or security breach.

We recommend enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA) for enhanced security.

4. Subscription & Billing

4.1 Subscription Plans

We offer the following plans:

• Starter (Free): Limited features, up to 5 users, 50 incidents/month
• Team: Full features, unlimited users, billed per user per month
• Enterprise: Custom pricing with additional security and support features

Current pricing and feature details are available at rootcascade.com/pricing.

4.2 Billing Terms

• Fees are charged in advance on a monthly or annual basis
• Annual subscriptions receive a discount as shown on our pricing page
• All prices are in GBP (£) and exclude VAT unless otherwise stated
• VAT will be added for UK customers and EU customers without a valid VAT number

4.3 Payment Processing

Payments are processed securely by Stripe. By providing payment information, you authorise us to charge your payment method for all fees incurred. You agree to maintain valid payment information in your account.

4.4 Price Changes

We may change our prices with at least 30 days' notice. Price changes will apply to your next billing cycle after the notice period. If you disagree with a price change, you may cancel before it takes effect.

4.5 Refunds

• Monthly plans: No refunds for partial months
• Annual plans: Pro-rata refund if cancelled within the first 30 days
• Free trials: No charge if cancelled before trial ends

4.6 Overdue Payments

If payment fails, we will attempt to retry and notify you. If payment remains unsuccessful for 14 days, we may suspend access to paid features. Your data will be retained for 30 days, after which we may delete it.

5. Customer Data

5.1 Ownership

You retain all rights, title, and interest in your data. "Customer Data" means all data, content, and information that you or your users upload, submit, or create using the Service, including incident data, postmortems, and configurations.

We do not claim any ownership rights to Customer Data.

5.2 License to Us

You grant us a limited, non-exclusive, worldwide license to use, copy, process, and display Customer Data solely as necessary to:

• Provide and maintain the Service
• Improve the Service (using anonymised, aggregated data only)
• Comply with applicable laws

5.3 Data Protection

Our processing of personal data is governed by our Privacy Policy. For business customers, we offer a Data Processing Agreement (DPA) that incorporates Standard Contractual Clauses. Contact legal@rootcascade.com to request a DPA.

5.4 Data Export

You may export your Customer Data at any time through:

• The Service's built-in export functionality (JSON, CSV)
• Our REST API
• Requesting an export from our support team

5.5 Data Deletion

Upon account termination, we will delete your Customer Data within 30 days, except where we are required to retain it for legal compliance. You can request immediate deletion by contacting us.

6. Acceptable Use

You agree to use the Service responsibly and lawfully. You must NOT:

• 🚫 Use the Service for any unlawful purpose or in violation of any applicable laws
• 🚫 Attempt to gain unauthorised access to the Service, other accounts, or computer systems
• 🚫 Interfere with or disrupt the integrity, security, or performance of the Service
• 🚫 Transmit malware, viruses, or other malicious code through the Service
• 🚫 Use the Service to send spam or unsolicited communications
• 🚫 Reverse engineer, decompile, or attempt to extract the source code of the Service
• 🚫 Use automated systems (bots, scrapers) to access the Service except through our API
• 🚫 Resell, sublicense, or provide access to the Service to third parties without consent
• 🚫 Use the Service to store or transmit illegal content
• 🚫 Exceed reasonable usage limits or abuse free tier allowances

7. Intellectual Property

7.1 Our Rights

The Service, including its original content, features, functionality, design, code, and documentation, is owned by RootCascade and is protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws.

"RootCascade" and our logo are trademarks of RootCascade Ltd. You may not use our trademarks without prior written consent.

7.2 Your License to Use

Subject to these Terms, we grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to access and use the Service for your internal business purposes during your subscription period.

7.3 Feedback

If you provide us with feedback, suggestions, or ideas about the Service, you grant us the right to use such feedback without restriction or compensation. We are not obligated to implement any feedback.

8. Third-Party Integrations

The Service integrates with third-party services ("Integrations") such as Slack, PagerDuty, GitHub, and others.

• Your use of Integrations is subject to the respective third party's terms and policies
• We are not responsible for the availability, reliability, or content of third-party services
• You are responsible for ensuring you have the right to connect third-party accounts
• We may add, modify, or remove Integrations at any time

9. Service Availability

9.1 Uptime

We strive to maintain high availability but do not guarantee uninterrupted service. Our target uptime is 99.9%. Current status is available at status.rootcascade.com.

9.2 Maintenance

We may perform maintenance that temporarily affects availability:

• Scheduled maintenance: Announced at least 48 hours in advance
• Emergency maintenance: May occur without notice for critical security or stability issues

9.3 Modifications

We reserve the right to modify, enhance, or discontinue features of the Service. For material changes that reduce functionality, we will provide at least 30 days' notice.

9.4 Enterprise SLA

Enterprise customers may have specific uptime commitments and service level agreements under separate agreement.

10. Warranties & Disclaimers

10.1 Our Warranty

We warrant that:

• The Service will perform materially in accordance with its documentation
• We will use reasonable efforts to maintain service availability
• We will handle your data in accordance with our Privacy Policy and applicable law

10.2 Disclaimer

We do not warrant that the Service will be error-free, uninterrupted, or free of harmful components, or that it will meet your specific requirements.

11. Limitation of Liability

11.1 Exclusion of Certain Damages

11.2 Cap on Liability

OUR TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THESE TERMS SHALL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF:

• (A) The amounts paid by you to us in the 12 months preceding the claim, or
• (B) One hundred pounds sterling (£100)

11.3 Exceptions

These limitations do not apply to liability arising from:

• Our gross negligence or wilful misconduct
• Death or personal injury caused by our negligence
• Our breach of confidentiality obligations
• Our indemnification obligations under Section 12

12. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless RootCascade and its officers, directors, employees, agents, and successors from any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or relating to:

• Your breach of these Terms
• Your use of the Service
• Your Customer Data
• Your violation of any third-party rights
• Your violation of applicable laws

13. Term & Termination

13.1 Term

These Terms commence when you first access or use the Service and continue until terminated by either party.

13.2 Termination by You

You may terminate your account at any time by:

• Using the account deletion option in Settings
• Contacting us at support@rootcascade.com

Termination is effective at the end of your current billing period. No refunds will be provided for the current period.

13.3 Termination by Us

We may terminate or suspend your account:

• Immediately if you breach these Terms, engage in fraud, or pose a security risk
• With 30 days' notice for any other reason

13.4 Effect of Termination

Upon termination:

• Your right to access the Service ceases immediately
• You remain responsible for any outstanding fees
• We will delete your Customer Data within 30 days (unless legally required to retain it)
• Provisions that should survive termination will remain in effect (e.g., limitations of liability, indemnification)

14. General Provisions

14.1 Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

14.2 Dispute Resolution

Before initiating legal proceedings, you agree to attempt to resolve disputes informally by contacting us. Most concerns can be resolved quickly through our support channels.

14.3 Assignment

You may not assign these Terms without our prior written consent. We may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, corporate reorganisation, or sale of assets.

14.4 Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, and any applicable DPA or Enterprise Agreement, constitute the entire agreement between you and RootCascade concerning the Service.

14.5 Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, that provision will be modified to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.

14.6 Waiver

Our failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.

14.7 Notices

We may send notices to the email address associated with your account. Notices to us should be sent to legal@rootcascade.com or by post to our registered address.

14.8 Force Majeure

Neither party shall be liable for any failure or delay caused by circumstances beyond their reasonable control, including natural disasters, war, terrorism, riots, embargoes, acts of government, or failures of the internet or third-party services.

15. Contact Information

For questions about these Terms: