Terms of Service

1. Definitions

• "Oikos," "we" — Oikos United LLC.
• "Service" — the Oikos Church multi-tenant platform and modules (People, Groups, Children's Ministry, Finance/Giving, Calendar, Communication, Website, optional Oikos AI) and related sites.
• "Customer," "Church," "you" — the subscribing church/organization; the person accepting represents they can bind the Church.
• "Church Data" — data the Church and its users put into or generate in the Service (congregant, children's, giving, communication).
• "Authorized Users" — Church staff, volunteers, and congregants the Church permits to use the Service.

2. The Service; modules and tiers

Subscription with a generous free tier and paid modules/tiers; features and pricing are as shown at signup or in an order. We may improve or change the Service and will not materially degrade a paid feature you rely on without notice.

3. Accounts, roles, Authorized Users

The Church is responsible for its account, configuring roles and access, keeping credentials secure, promptly removing access, and its Authorized Users' compliance. The Church is responsible for its Authorized Users' acts and omissions.

4. Customer responsibilities and data rights

The Church is the controller of Church Data and is responsible for having the right and any required consents to collect and process it — including parental/guardian consent for children (Children's Addendum) and texting consent (SMS/TCPA Policy) — and for the accuracy and lawfulness of its data and its ministry/financial/safety decisions.

5. Ownership; license

We own the Service and its IP and grant the Church a non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use it during the term for internal ministry operations. The Church owns Church Data and grants us only the limited license needed to host, process, secure, back up, and display it to provide the Service (and to use the sub-processors in the Privacy Policy/DPA). We use Church Data only to provide the Service.

6. Acceptable use **

The Church and Authorized Users will not: use the Service unlawfully or store data they lack rights to; send messages without required consent or violate anti-spam/TCPA rules; misuse giving features or misrepresent tax matters; upload malware; probe/breach security; access another tenant's data; reverse-engineer (except as law allows); or resell without permission. We may suspend access for violations that risk harm, security, or legal exposure. A fuller Acceptable Use Policy is incorporated by reference.

7. Subscription, billing, cancellation, auto-renewal

• Fees as stated at signup/order. Paid subscriptions auto-renew; the recurring amount, cadence, and cancellation method are presented clearly and conspicuously at the point of sale with the Church's affirmative consent before charge, per applicable automatic-renewal laws. We give at least [30] days' notice before a price change affecting renewal.
• Cancellation is available in billing settings or by contacting us, by a method at least as easy as signup; it takes effect at the end of the current paid term. The free tier requires no payment.
• Fees are non-refundable except where required by law. Taxes are the Church's responsibility where applicable. On non-payment we may downgrade to the free tier or suspend paid features after notice.

8. Giving / payments; PCI

Online and recurring giving are processed by Stripe; funds settle directly to the Church, the merchant of record for its donations. Oikos takes no custody of donated funds and is not a bank, money transmitter, or charitable recipient. Card data is handled only by Stripe (PCI Level 1); the Service is designed so Oikos does not receive or store full card numbers (SAQ-A). Giving is governed by the Giving & Donations Terms, including the Church's responsibility for IRS-compliant acknowledgments and refund/dispute handling.

9. Oikos AI **

Optional Oikos AI features are powered by a third-party provider (Anthropic's Claude API), off unless the Church enables them, and are designed to minimize the church data sent to the provider (see Privacy Policy §7). As currently designed, data questions are answered by sending the question and data structure rather than bulk records; if we change this, we will update the Privacy Policy first. Per Anthropic's commercial API terms as of the effective date, Anthropic does not use API inputs/outputs to train its models (Anthropic's representation, not an Oikos warranty). Oikos does not use Church Data to train AI models. AI output can be inaccurate and is not professional (tax, accounting, legal, or pastoral) advice — review before relying on it. We may change or discontinue AI features.

10. No professional advice; accuracy **

> Oikos Church is a software tool, not tax, accounting, legal, financial, or pastoral advice, and Oikos is not an accounting firm, tax adviser, law firm, or financial adviser. Reports, fund-accounting figures, giving statements, budgets, and AI answers are for the Church's convenience and are not guaranteed to conform to GAAP, FASB not-for-profit standards, IRS rules, or other standards. The Church is solely responsible for the accuracy of its books, giving records, tax acknowledgments, and any filings and should consult qualified professionals. See the Financial-Advice & Accuracy Disclaimer.

11. Warranty disclaimer

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, and non-infringement. We do not warrant it will be uninterrupted, error-free, or that data will be accurate, complete, or timely. Some jurisdictions limit these exclusions.

12. Limitation of liability

True third parties: Stripe, Supabase, [hosting], Clearstream, Anthropic, and any background-check provider have their own terms; the Church's use of those integrations is subject to them. We are not responsible for these third parties' acts, omissions, or availability. Oikos affiliate products: the church finance ledger is "Powered by Oikos Books," which is an Oikos United LLC product, not a third party — we do not and cannot disclaim our own product to you. Oikos Books processing of Church Data is covered by these Terms, the Privacy Policy, and the DPA (where it appears in the sub-processor list, that is for processing-chain transparency, not third-party disclaimer).

16. Suspension; termination

Either party may terminate per the subscription terms; we may suspend/terminate for material breach, non-payment, or legal/security risk. On termination we handle Church Data per the DPA; the Church should export first. Survival applies to IP, disclaimers, liability, indemnity, dispute resolution (§18), and governing law.

17. Governing law

Governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, without regard to conflicts rules. Exclusive forum and jury waiver are in §18. Non-waiver note: mandatory, non-waivable protections of a Church's or congregant's home jurisdiction are not waived.

18. Dispute resolution — exclusive Virginia forum; mutual jury waiver

18.1 Informal resolution first. Before filing suit, a party must give written notice of the dispute and the parties will attempt in good faith to resolve it within 30 days. 18.2 Exclusive forum. Any suit relating to the Service or these Terms will be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts sitting in [Charlottesville — CONFIRM venue/county], Virginia, and each party irrevocably consents to their jurisdiction and venue and waives forum-non-conveniens objections. 18.3 Mutual jury waiver. EACH PARTY KNOWINGLY AND VOLUNTARILY WAIVES ITS RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL in any action relating to the Service or these Terms, to the fullest extent permitted by law. 18.4 No class or representative actions. Each party will bring claims only in its individual capacity, not as a plaintiff or class member in any class, collective, consolidated, or representative proceeding, to the extent permitted by law. 18.5 Injunctive relief. Either party may seek temporary injunctive relief in any court of competent jurisdiction to protect IP or confidential information pending resolution under this section.

19. Changes to these Terms

We may modify with notice for material changes; continued use after the effective date is acceptance.

20. Electronic records and signatures (E-SIGN/UETA)

The Church consents to receive these Terms, policies, disclosures, and notices electronically, and agrees electronic acceptance has the same effect as a handwritten signature under E-SIGN and UETA. This also covers click-through acceptance of the DPA and other incorporated policies.

21. Miscellaneous

Entire agreement (Terms + incorporated policies); severability with reformation; no waiver; no Customer assignment without consent (Oikos may assign in a merger/asset sale); force majeure; notices.