Terms of Service

01 / Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using VendorIQ in any way — including browsing the website, creating an account, uploading data, or purchasing a subscription — you agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated herein by reference.

If you do not agree to these Terms, you must immediately stop using the Service and, if applicable, cancel your subscription and delete your account.

02 / Description of Service

VendorIQ is a vendor spend intelligence platform designed for franchise systems, multi-unit operators, and their vendor partners. The Service includes tools for:

• Uploading and analyzing vendor spend data via CSV import or QuickBooks integration
• Benchmarking vendor costs against industry and category averages
• Generating franchise-wide vendor spend reports and intelligence dashboards
• Connecting franchisors and franchisees with preferred vendor networks
• Vendor Intelligence reports showing category overpay signals (select plans)
• Support tools including ticket submission and live chat assistance

VendorIQ reserves the right to modify, update, or discontinue any feature of the Service at any time. We will provide reasonable notice of material changes where practicable.

03 / Account Registration & Security

To access most features of VendorIQ, you must create an account. When registering, you agree to:

• Provide accurate, current, and complete information about yourself and your organization
• Maintain and promptly update your registration information to keep it accurate
• Keep your password confidential and not share access credentials with unauthorized parties
• Notify us immediately at hello@vendorintel.ai of any unauthorized access or security breach
• Accept responsibility for all activity that occurs under your account

Account Types

VendorIQ offers several account roles, each with different access levels:

VendorIQ reserves the right to suspend or terminate accounts that provide false information, violate these Terms, or misrepresent their role or organizational affiliation.

04 / Billing & Subscriptions

VendorIQ offers both free and paid subscription plans. Paid plans are billed on a recurring monthly or annual basis through our payment processor, Stripe, Inc.

Current Subscription Plans

Prices are listed in U.S. dollars and are exclusive of applicable taxes. VendorIQ reserves the right to change subscription pricing with at least 30 days' advance notice to active subscribers.

Billing Terms

• Monthly plans are billed on the same calendar day each month.
• Annual plans are billed in full at the start of each annual period.
• Auto-renewal: Subscriptions automatically renew unless cancelled before the renewal date.
• Failed payments: If a payment fails, we will retry the charge and notify you by email. Access may be suspended after 3 failed attempts.
• Taxes: You are responsible for all applicable sales tax, VAT, GST, or similar levies.
• Upgrades: When upgrading mid-cycle, you will be charged a prorated amount for the remainder of the billing period.
• Downgrades: Downgrades take effect at the start of the next billing cycle.

05 / Refund Policy

To request a refund within the 14-day window, contact us at hello@vendorintel.ai with your account email and order details. Approved refunds are processed within 5–10 business days to the original payment method.

Exceptions

• Refund requests submitted after 14 days of the initial charge will not be honored.
• Renewal charges are non-refundable unless required by applicable law.
• Annual plan refunds after the 14-day window will be prorated at VendorIQ's discretion.
• Accounts suspended for Terms violations are not eligible for refunds.
• One-time report purchases (e.g., the AT RISK homepage report unlock at $29) are non-refundable once the report has been accessed.

If you believe you have been charged in error, contact us promptly. We are committed to resolving billing disputes fairly and quickly.

06 / Acceptable Use Policy

You agree to use VendorIQ only for lawful business purposes and in accordance with these Terms. You must NOT:

• Upload, post, or transmit any data or content that is false, misleading, defamatory, or violates any third party's rights
• Use the Service to engage in fraud, manipulation of vendor data, or misrepresentation of spend figures
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any part of the Service, other user accounts, or VendorIQ's systems
• Use automated tools, bots, scrapers, or crawlers to extract data from the platform without written authorization
• Reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, or attempt to derive source code from the Service
• Resell, sublicense, or redistribute VendorIQ data or reports without explicit written permission
• Upload files containing viruses, malware, or other harmful code
• Interfere with or disrupt the integrity, performance, or availability of the Service
• Use the Service to conduct or facilitate illegal activities
• Create multiple accounts to circumvent plan limitations or free-tier restrictions

Violation of this policy may result in immediate account suspension or termination, and may expose you to legal liability. VendorIQ cooperates with law enforcement in cases of illegal activity.

07 / Intellectual Property

VendorIQ's Intellectual Property

The VendorIQ platform, including its software, algorithms, scoring models, benchmark databases, UI design, logos, trademarks, and all content created by VendorIQ, is owned by or licensed to VendorIQ, LLC and is protected by U.S. and international intellectual property laws. You receive a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and use the Service solely for your internal business purposes during the term of your subscription.

Nothing in these Terms transfers any ownership rights to you. You may not use VendorIQ's trademarks, logos, or branding without prior written consent.

Your Data and Content

You retain ownership of all data, documents, and content you upload to VendorIQ ("User Content"). By uploading User Content, you grant VendorIQ a limited, worldwide, royalty-free license to process, store, and use your data solely to provide and improve the Service for you.

VendorIQ may use anonymized and aggregated User Content (stripped of all personally identifiable and company-identifiable information) to generate industry benchmarks and platform-wide analytics. Such aggregated data cannot be attributed to any individual user or company.

You represent and warrant that you have all necessary rights to upload your User Content and that doing so does not violate any third-party rights or applicable law.

08 / Your Data & Privacy

Our collection and use of personal information is governed by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference. By using VendorIQ, you consent to our data practices as described in the Privacy Policy.

Data Security

VendorIQ implements commercially reasonable security measures to protect your data, including encryption in transit (TLS 1.2+), server-side password hashing (PBKDF2-SHA-256), access controls, and regular security reviews. However, no system is 100% secure, and VendorIQ cannot guarantee absolute security of your data.

Data Retention

We retain your account data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the Service. Upon account deletion, we will delete or anonymize your personal data within 90 days, except where retention is required by law or for legitimate business purposes (e.g., fraud prevention, financial records).

Data Portability

You may request an export of your uploaded data at any time by contacting hello@vendorintel.ai. Exports will be provided in CSV format within 10 business days.

09 / Third-Party Services & Integrations

VendorIQ integrates with third-party services to deliver certain features. By enabling these integrations, you also agree to the relevant third-party terms:

• QuickBooks / Intuit: The QuickBooks integration is subject to Intuit's Terms of Service. VendorIQ accesses only the vendor expense data you authorize via OAuth.
• Stripe: Payment processing is subject to Stripe's Services Agreement. VendorIQ does not store full payment card numbers.

VendorIQ is not responsible for the availability, accuracy, or practices of third-party services. Links to third-party websites are provided for convenience only and do not constitute an endorsement.

10 / Disclaimers

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, VendorIQ expressly disclaims all warranties, whether express, implied, statutory, or otherwise, including but not limited to:

• Implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement
• Warranties that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free from harmful components
• Warranties regarding the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of any benchmark data, scores, or analytics
• Warranties that the Service will meet your specific business requirements

Benchmarking data, vendor cost signals, and AI-generated insights are provided for informational purposes only. VendorIQ does not guarantee that acting on platform recommendations will result in cost savings or other business outcomes.

11 / Limitation of Liability

VendorIQ, its officers, directors, employees, agents, and licensors shall not be liable to you for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, punitive, or exemplary damages arising out of or related to your use of (or inability to use) the Service, including but not limited to loss of profits, loss of revenue, loss of data, loss of goodwill, or business interruption — even if VendorIQ has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

VendorIQ's total cumulative liability to you for any claims arising under or related to these Terms or the Service shall not exceed the greater of: (a) the total subscription fees paid by you to VendorIQ in the 12 months immediately preceding the claim, or (b) $100 USD.

12 / Termination

Termination by You

You may cancel your subscription and/or delete your account at any time by contacting hello@vendorintel.ai or via your account settings. Cancellation of a paid subscription takes effect at the end of the current billing period (access continues until then).

Termination by VendorIQ

VendorIQ may suspend or terminate your account and access to the Service immediately and without prior notice if:

• You breach any provision of these Terms
• You fail to pay subscription fees when due
• We reasonably believe your account has been compromised or is being used fraudulently
• Continued provision of the Service to you creates legal or regulatory risk for VendorIQ
• We decide to discontinue the Service (with 30 days' notice where practicable)

Effect of Termination

Upon termination: (a) your license to use the Service ends immediately; (b) you may request an export of your data within 30 days before it is deleted; (c) all fees owed through termination become immediately due; (d) Sections 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, and 14 survive termination.

13 / Dispute Resolution

Informal Resolution First

Before filing any formal claim, you agree to first contact VendorIQ at hello@vendorintel.ai and give us 30 days to attempt to resolve the dispute informally. Many issues can be resolved quickly through direct communication.

Binding Arbitration

If informal resolution fails, any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service shall be resolved by binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Commercial Arbitration Rules. The arbitration will take place in the State of Texas, USA, unless both parties agree otherwise. The arbitrator's decision shall be final and binding.

Class Action Waiver

You and VendorIQ each agree that any dispute resolution proceedings will be conducted only on an individual basis and not in a class, consolidated, or representative action. If this waiver is found unenforceable, the arbitration clause above will not apply and the dispute will be resolved in court.

Exceptions

Either party may seek emergency injunctive or other equitable relief from a court of competent jurisdiction to prevent irreparable harm pending arbitration. Claims relating to VendorIQ's intellectual property may be brought in court.

14 / Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Texas, United States of America, without regard to its conflict of law principles.

For disputes not subject to arbitration, you agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Travis County, Texas. You waive any objection to venue in such courts.

If you are accessing VendorIQ from outside the United States, you are responsible for compliance with all local laws and regulations applicable to your use of the Service.

15 / Changes to These Terms

VendorIQ reserves the right to modify these Terms at any time. When we make material changes, we will:

• Update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page
• Send an email notification to all registered account holders
• Display a prominent notice in the platform for at least 14 days

Your continued use of the Service after the effective date of any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated Terms. If you do not agree to the revised Terms, you must stop using the Service and cancel your subscription before the changes take effect.

For minor changes (such as formatting, typo corrections, or clarifications that do not affect your rights), we may update the Terms without individual notice.

16 / Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding these Terms of Service, please contact us through any of the following channels:

VendorIQ, LLC
Austin, Texas, USA
Email: hello@vendorintel.ai