Quayle Consulting Inc. Terms, Conditions, and Expectations

Clients need to know what to expect when working with Quayle Consulting Inc. (QCI). Rather than write in legal mumbo-jumbo, here are our expectations. We can agree to different terms; this is just our standard set.

"Free Look"

We will be glad to talk with you for 15 minutes to prepare an estimate or proposal. This is totally free. If we solve your problem in that time, that's fine. Repeat and referral business is what we need.

Standard Terms

All of our prices are in US dollars. Sales taxes will be charged for the following states: NM, MI, OH, TN, VA. A tax-exempt certificate will be required if no tax is collected.

We can accept transactions in Euros. You will pay all applicable taxes and customs duties.

Our standard payment terms are "Net 30", that is, payment is due 30 calendar days after the invoice date.

Phone calls, letters, email, or travel used to collect payment will be added to the total amount due.

Should litigation be required to collect payment, you agree to the laws in effect in Violet Township, Ohio.

Quayle Consulting can accept orders using PayPal, Visa, American Express, MasterCard, and Discover. You may have a surcharged added to cover the cost of processing.

Charon Products

Successful use of Charon emulation products requires hardware that meets or exceeds the corresponding Software Product Description. Server-class systems are recommended for reliability. Quayle Consulting reserves the right to back out of any project if the customer insists on using substandard hardware.

The Charon manufacturer (Stromasys ) issues 30-day temporary licenses upon receipt of order. Active licenses are issued only upon receipt of funds in our bank account. Please plan accordingly.

Charon Annual Support

Charon annual support includes the following:

• The right to move to the latest version of the Charon product.
• Software license keys that are invalided by a host system change will be replaced with a new key if support is current.
• Hardware key failures are rare, but they do occur. A failed license key will be replaced at no charge when a valid support contract is in effect.
• If you experience a Charon-related problem on your system, QCI can submit a problem report to the Charon support center. QCI will, if possible, provide a work-around. Previous versions of Charon products are supported by Stromasys on a "best efforts" basis.

Stromasys Policies

• Here is the Stromasys License and Warranty for Charon products.
• Annually-renewable product licenses require a current support contract for key renewal or replacement.
• The initial start of annual support is the first day of the month following a product order. The start of the support period does not matter whether you enter production with Charon.
• Re-starting support after a lapse of less than a year requires that the renewed support "dovetail" the previous support contract.
• Re-starting support after a lapse of a year or more requires the purchase of two years of support.
• At renewal time, the manufacturer can accept an order of fractional years to extend support expiration dates, such as synchronizing with the client's fiscal year.

Services

QCI can provide the following services that are not included by the Charon support contract on either a time-and-materials basis or on retainer:

• Upgrading to a new version of Charon.
• Moving Charon from one host system to another.
• VMS or Tru64 UNIX systems support.
• On-site support.
• Application support.

Time as Worked

We will bill you for time worked, whether on your site, our offices, or elsewhere.

For engagements at a customer's site, one hour on-site or more counts as a day.

Phone Calls, Email, Fax

Simple email and faxes are free. If extensive work (greater than 5 minutes) is needed to prepare a response, or you need an immediate reply, it will be billed as normal time.

With an existing contract, phone calls (except "After Hours" or "Emergency") are billed in 15-minute increments. That is, a one minute phone call costs you the same as a fourteen minute phone call.

If no contract is in effect, phone calls are billed in 1-hour increments.

After Hours

Work done between 6 PM and 8 AM Eastern time, or done on Saturday, Sunday, a US national holiday, or previously-scheduled vacation is billed in 1-hour increments. This includes phone calls, doing things during night-time maintenance periods, etc.

Any time that begins in, ends in, or crosses through the "After Hours" times will be treated as "After Hours" time.

If we work during these hours for our convenience, it will be treated as normal time.

Emergency Surcharge

An unexpected, urgent, customer requirement which causes us to modify our schedule will incur a surcharge of 100%. Any work more than 18 hours in any 24-hour period will also be subject to the emergency surcharge.

Travel

Travel time is not charged for trips when the one-way travel time is less than two hours, except for travel that is required during the "After Hours" period. After hours travel is billed in 1-hour increments.

Trips where the one-way travel time is longer than two hours are charged in 15-minute increments. Travel time includes en route to and from an airport, check-in, check-out, customs, driving and any waiting time.

Hotel, meals, tips, etc. are billed as expended. We do not provide receipts for expenses less than $25.

Travel to the customer's site will take place the day before the engagement begins.

Bad Checks

We will add $100 for each check you give us that bounces. Sure, it's more than our financial institution charges, but that's not really the point, is it?

For clients in the US, checks that bounce may be automatically re-submitted, with funds withdrawn by ACH.

How Much?

Everyone wants to know what a project will cost. Most clients do not have a clear enough picture of what they need for us to bid a fixed-price contract. Time we spend with you to help you develop detailed requirements is charged as normal time worked.

Our rate depends on the nature of the work to be performed, the duration of the contract, etc. Large or long-term projects will get you a lower rate. An "as needed" arrangement will be more per hour, but you'll only be charged for actual work performed. We're open to retainer arrangements.

Testimony as an expert witness, either in a courtroom or in deposition, will be charged at a higher rate.

Scope Creep

Things added to a project will always make a project cost more. We will assume that anyone from your company has the authority to add to your project. If not, we need to know who does have that authority, and it's your responsibility to let us know that in advance.

For more information or a free consultation, click on the button below to contact Quayle Consulting.