Billing & Refunds

This Billing & Refund Policy (“Policy”) forms part of the Contract Documents described in the Terms of Service and is a legally binding agreement between you and William Gaule trading as Marlwood Consulting (“Marlwood”, “we”, “us”). It governs fees, GST, invoices, Marlwood Billing, payment rails, Direct Debit, wallets, failed collections, coming-soon holds, cancellation, refunds, chargebacks and tax records.

If there is an inconsistency between this Policy and the Terms of Service on a matter of money, this Policy prevails. The ACL and other laws that cannot be excluded prevail over this Policy.

Capitalised terms have the meaning in the Terms of Service unless defined here.

A labour hire charge is not a Seat fee and is not collected as a Marlwood Billing Seat. It is invoiced by the Labour Hire Business under its own agreement. Seat cancellation and Seat refunds do not apply to it. The Australian Consumer Law still applies to that supply.

Collections for Seats are made through Marlwood Billing, the practice’s own merchant system. It is not Stripe, PayPal, Square, or any other checkout brand. Marlwood is the merchant of record. The ledger of invoices, GST, authorities, collections, failed drawings, refunds and entitlements is held on the house.

Card, BECS Direct Debit, Apple Pay and Google Pay are accepted on Marlwood Billing. Full primary account numbers and CVC are tokenised in memory and are not stored. A house token and, for Direct Debit, a Direct Debit Request mandate are retained so renewals can be drawn. Settlement is to the practice’s Australian bank account under the facility recorded in the house console (ABN, statement descriptor, BECS Debit User Identification Number).

A Seat is not active, and a Product account will not be created, until collection has cleared (see clause 7). Registering interest is not a payment instruction.

The prominent price on the Platform is the GST-inclusive monthly amount, in Australian dollars. The amount before GST, and the GST, are shown beside it in smaller type. Checkout collects the GST-inclusive total. A tax invoice shows consideration, GST and total where we are registered and the supplier ABN is on the document. A document without that ABN is an invoice, not a tax invoice. If our GST registration status changes, invoices will reflect that status.

Some Construction prices are also published elsewhere as GST-inclusive amounts (for example Studio $149, Firm $349, Enterprise $799 including GST). On this Platform the large figure is the GST-inclusive monthly price. The amount before GST is shown beside it. What you pay matches that inclusive figure, subject to rounding to the nearest cent.

Package prices are as published at the time you complete checkout. We may change published prices prospectively. A change does not affect a period already paid. For a renewal, clause 11 (changes) applies.

The House Owner Seat is complimentary, is not for sale, and is available only to the principal.

Where we are registered for GST and the supplier ABN is on the document, we issue a tax invoice for each taxable supply. Until that ABN is recorded, the account shows an invoice of what was collected, and that document is not a tax invoice. Invoices are available in the account and may be sent to the account email.

You must ensure the practice name, ABN (if any), and email on the account are correct. We are not responsible for a tax invoice that is wrong because you gave us wrong details.

We retain invoice and collection records for the period required by Australian taxation law (ordinarily at least five years).

We accept the following methods, where offered at checkout:

1. debit and credit card;
2. BECS Direct Debit from an Australian bank account (clause 6);
3. Apple Pay;
4. Google Pay.

This clause is the Direct Debit Request Service Agreement between you and us in respect of BECS Direct Debit through the Bulk Electronic Clearing System. By nominating an Australian bank account and confirming a Direct Debit Request you agree to this clause.

Card and wallet payments are treated as cleared when the rail returns a successful authorisation and capture (or the equivalent).

BECS Direct Debit is treated as cleared when the debit is accepted by the rail. If the debit is later returned unpaid, collection is treated as never having cleared, the Seat may be suspended, and any Product account created on the faith of that debit may be suspended or closed.

We do not create a Property Intelligence or Construction account, and we do not issue a live handoff token, until collection has cleared. There is no second charge on those Products for an entitlement already collected here.

If you pay for a Product that is marked coming soon, the entitlement is held against the paid invoice. When the Product launches, the Seat opens against that invoice.

You may cancel a coming-soon entitlement before the Product is live. We will refund amounts collected for that unreleased entitlement in full, including GST, to the original rail where the rail allows, within 10 Business Days of a valid request. If the rail cannot accept a refund (for example a closed account), we will take reasonable steps to pay you another way.

If a package includes both a live Product and a coming-soon Product, the live portion is supplied and is not refundable for change of mind (subject to the ACL). The coming-soon portion is refundable under this clause until it is live. Any refund of a package will be apportioned reasonably between the portions.

Seats are offered on a monthly term unless an invoice states otherwise. A Seat renews automatically at the end of the period until you cancel. At checkout you are told, in plain terms, the GST-inclusive amount, that the Seat renews monthly, and that you authorise Marlwood Billing to debit the nominated method each period until you cancel. Completing checkout with that notice visible, and with the contract tick checked, is your authority to those recurring collections.

You may cancel at any time in the account or by writing to us. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current paid period. We do not pro-rate a cancellation mid-period for change of mind, except: (a) where the ACL requires a refund; (b) clause 8 (coming soon); or (c) where we have failed to supply a live Product for more than 14 consecutive days other than for scheduled maintenance or a force majeure event.

We may refuse a renewal if the Product is discontinued. If we discontinue a live Product you have paid for, we will refund the unused portion of the then-current period on a pro-rata GST-inclusive basis.

Discovery is complimentary unless a fee is agreed in writing before the appointed time. If we decline a Discovery, there is nothing to refund.

Mandate fees are as confirmed in writing. Deposits are applied to the fee. Work may pause if an invoice is overdue. Disbursements (including third-party software, domains, travel agreed in writing) are additional unless the Mandate says they are included.

Mandate invoices are due within seven days of issue unless the Mandate states another period. Overdue amounts may accrue interest at 8% per annum calculated daily, or the maximum permitted by law if lower, from the due date until payment.

We may change Seat fees prospectively. We will give at least 14 days’ notice to the account email before a higher fee applies to a renewal. If you do not cancel before the renewal, you authorise us to debit the new fee. A reduction may take effect immediately.

If a collection fails, we may retry a reasonable number of times and we may notify you. We may suspend the Seat, Agent access, and Product handoff until the invoice is paid.

You remain liable for amounts billed for a period that was supplied. We may recover reasonable collection costs to the extent permitted by law.

We do not presently charge a separate failed-payment administration fee. If we introduce one, we will give 14 days’ notice and it will not exceed a reasonable estimate of our cost.

The ACL cannot be excluded. If our services have a major failure, you may reject them and choose a refund or replacement, or keep them and be compensated for any drop in value. If a failure is not major, we may resupply the services within a reasonable time.

A major failure includes (without limiting the ACL) where you would not have acquired the services if you had known the nature and extent of the failure, where the services are substantially unfit for their disclosed purpose and cannot be made fit in a reasonable time, or where the services create an unsafe situation.

Change of mind after a live paid period has started is not a ground for refund, except as required by law or clause 8. Amounts paid for a Seat or Mandate that we terminate for misuse under the Terms of Service are not refundable, except where the ACL requires a refund.

Duplicate collections, collections in error, and unauthorised collections will be refunded to the original rail where we can, promptly after we verify the error.

Refund requests: williamc@cmlpropertygroup.com.au, with invoice number, date, amount, and reason. We will acknowledge within five Business Days and determine the request within 15 Business Days of receiving the information we reasonably need.

If you dispute a collection, contact us first. Many issues are a cancel date, a coming-soon hold, or a GST line that can be explained or corrected without a chargeback.

Unjustified chargebacks (where the supply was made in accordance with the Contract Documents and the ACL does not require a refund) may result in suspension or closure of the account and recovery of the amount plus any chargeback fee the rail imposes on us, to the extent permitted by law.

Nothing in this clause limits your right to dispute a Direct Debit with your financial institution or to exercise a right under the ACL.

You must pay amounts due without set-off or counterclaim, except a set-off required by law.

If a withholding or similar tax is required by law to be deducted from a payment to us, you must gross up the payment so that we receive the amount we would have received if no deduction had been made, unless the tax is on our net income in Australia.

You are responsible for taxes that apply to you in your jurisdiction. Seat fees are for a business supply. We do not collect foreign VAT or sales tax unless required by law.

A Seat is a licence, not a sale of software. Title to the Platform and Products remains with us. Working Papers are licensed as in the Terms of Service.

We may amend this Policy by publishing a new version at https://marlwoodconsulting.com/legal/billing. For a paid Seat, we will give at least 14 days’ notice of a change that is materially adverse to you. You may cancel before that date. Continued payment or use after the effective date is acceptance.

Billing contact: William Gaule, Marlwood Consulting, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Email: williamc@cmlpropertygroup.com.au. Include the invoice number in all billing correspondence.