Terms of Service

1. Your account

To use Hecta, you create an account and provide accurate information about your farm business. You're responsible for keeping your login credentials secure and for all activity under your account. If you suspect unauthorised access, notify us immediately at security@hecta.com.au.

You must be at least 18 years old and legally able to enter into contracts in Australia. If you're creating an account on behalf of a business entity (e.g., a Pty Ltd or partnership), you confirm you have authority to bind that entity to these terms.

One account per farm. If you operate multiple farms, each needs its own Hecta account and subscription.

2. The service

Hecta provides a software platform for Australian farms to sell products directly to consumers and wholesale buyers. This includes an online storefront, order management, subscription (CSA) tools, wholesale portal, customer management, and analytics.

We aim for 99.9% uptime but don't guarantee it. We'll notify you of planned maintenance at least 24 hours in advance via email. Unplanned outages will be communicated via our status page.

We may update, modify, or discontinue features at any time. If we discontinue a feature you rely on, we'll give at least 60 days notice and help you transition.

3. Your content & data

You own your content. Product descriptions, photos, farm profiles, and any other content you upload to Hecta remains yours. We don't claim ownership of your content.

By uploading content, you grant Hecta a limited licence to display, store, and transmit it as needed to operate the service — for example, showing your product photos on your storefront, or including your farm name in customer emails. This licence ends when you delete your account.

Data portability. You can export your products, customers, orders, and subscription data at any time from Settings. Exports are provided in CSV format. We don't charge for data exports.

Data retention. After account deletion, we retain your data for 30 days (in case you change your mind), then permanently delete it. Transaction records are retained for 7 years as required by Australian tax law.

We never sell your data to third parties. We never use your customer lists for our own marketing. Your customers are your customers.

4. Payments & billing

Your Hecta subscription

Hecta charges a monthly or annual subscription fee based on your chosen plan. Plans and pricing are listed on our pricing page. We may change pricing with 30 days notice — existing subscribers keep their current price until the end of their billing period, then the new price applies.

Your subscription renews automatically. You can cancel anytime from Settings → Plan & billing. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing period — we don't prorate refunds for partial months.

If payment fails, we'll retry twice over 7 days and notify you by email. If payment still fails after 14 days, your store enters read-only mode (customers can see your store but can't place orders). It reactivates immediately when you update your payment method.

Free trial

New accounts receive a 30-day free trial with access to all features. No credit card is required to start a trial. At the end of the trial, you choose a plan and enter payment details. If you don't, your store enters read-only mode.

5. Stripe Connect

Customer payments are processed through Stripe Connect. When you connect Stripe, you create a Stripe Express connected account and agree to Stripe's Connected Account Agreement.

Hecta operates as a platform. Customer charges are created on Hecta's platform account and transferred to your connected account, minus payment processing fees (2.25% + $0.30 per card transaction, powered by Stripe). Cash and bank transfer transactions do not incur processing fees.

Stripe deposits funds to your nominated bank account on your chosen payout schedule (daily, weekly, or monthly). We don't hold your funds — Stripe manages the payout process directly.

Chargebacks and disputes on customer transactions are handled through Stripe. Hecta will assist with dispute evidence where possible (including providing terms agreement records), but the financial liability for chargebacks sits with the connected account as per Stripe's policies.

Non-card payments (cash and bank transfer)

You may enable cash and bank transfer as payment methods for your customers through Settings. These payment methods are not processed through Stripe and are not guaranteed by Hecta. By enabling these payment methods, you acknowledge and accept the following:

• Payment is your responsibility. Hecta creates an order record and provides tools to track payment status (receipt uploads, deadlines, fraud alerts), but does not process, hold, or guarantee the payment itself. You are responsible for confirming that payment has been received before releasing goods.
• Hecta is not liable for unpaid orders. If a customer places a cash or bank transfer order and does not pay, Hecta has no obligation to compensate you for the lost goods, delivery costs, or packing time. The risk of non-payment sits entirely with you.
• Automatic cancellation is a tool, not a guarantee. Orders with unconfirmed bank transfers are automatically cancelled after the confirmation deadline. This reduces but does not eliminate the risk of packing an unpaid order. You should not pack bank transfer orders until payment is confirmed.
• Fraud protection is advisory only. Hecta may flag suspicious orders (new customers, large amounts, repeat non-payers) but these are warnings, not guarantees. You are responsible for deciding whether to fulfil a flagged order.
• Refunds on non-card orders are outside Stripe. If you need to refund a cash or bank transfer order, you must arrange the refund directly with the customer. Hecta records the refund for your bookkeeping but does not process the return of funds.

Card payments processed through Stripe are covered by Stripe's buyer and seller protections. Cash and bank transfer payments are not. We strongly recommend using the trust threshold feature (Settings → Payments → Fraud protection) to require at least one completed card order before offering non-card payment methods to new customers.

6. Admin access to your account

Hecta staff may access your farm account under the following circumstances:

• White-glove setup — for founding farms that requested setup assistance. We log in to add products, configure the storefront, and set up order cycles. This is done with your knowledge and at your request.
• Technical support — in response to a bug report or help request from you. We only access your account when you ask for help, not proactively.
• Platform integrity — investigating suspected Terms of Service violations (prohibited products, fraud). We will notify you before or immediately after access, unless doing so would compromise a legal investigation.

Safeguards

When Hecta staff access your account, the following safeguards apply:

• Admin sessions are time-limited to 2 hours maximum and expire automatically
• All access is logged with the administrator's identity, time, and duration
• Any changes made during an admin session are recorded in your farm's audit trail
• Access is never used for marketing, data mining, or purposes unrelated to the three circumstances listed above

By creating a Hecta account, you consent to admin access under the circumstances described above. If you have concerns about a specific access event, you can request the audit log by contacting privacy@hecta.com.au.

7. Customer data

When customers create accounts, place orders, or subscribe through your Hecta storefront, their personal information (name, email, phone, address, payment method) is collected and processed by Hecta on your behalf.

Under the Australian Privacy Act, you are the entity responsible for how your customers' data is used. Hecta acts as your data processor. This means:

• You must have a privacy policy that discloses your use of Hecta and Stripe
• You must not use customer data collected through Hecta for purposes unrelated to your farm business
• If a customer requests data deletion, you must facilitate it (Hecta provides a “delete customer” function)
• You must not export customer data and sell it or share it with unrelated third parties

Hecta will not contact your customers directly except to facilitate transactions you've initiated (order confirmations, delivery reminders, subscription billing notifications). We will never market Hecta's services to your customers.

8. Acceptable use

You may only use Hecta to sell legal products in Australia. You must comply with all applicable laws, including food safety regulations, consumer protection law, and privacy law. Specifically:

• Products listed must be legal to sell in your state and comply with relevant food safety standards (including Standard 3.2.2A where applicable)
• Product descriptions must be accurate and not misleading
• Pricing must comply with Australian Consumer Law (prices displayed to consumers must include GST where applicable)
• You must hold any required licences, permits, or registrations for your food business
• You must not use the platform to sell prohibited items (alcohol without a licence, tobacco, controlled substances, weapons, or any product illegal to sell without specific authorisation)

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these rules. We'll always contact you first and give you a chance to fix the issue, unless the violation is severe (e.g., selling unsafe food, fraud).

9. Intellectual property

Hecta's software, branding, documentation, and content are owned by Hecta and protected by Australian intellectual property law. Your subscription gives you a licence to use the service — it doesn't transfer ownership of any Hecta intellectual property.

The “Powered by Hecta” footer on your storefront may not be removed on Starter and Growth plans. Professional and Hub plans may optionally remove it.

You retain all rights to your farm brand, logos, product names, and content. We won't use your brand in our marketing without your permission (though we may list your farm name on a “customers” page if you opt in).

10. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Hecta's liability to you for any claim arising from these terms or your use of the service is limited to the total fees you've paid to Hecta in the 12 months preceding the claim.

Hecta is not liable for:

• Loss of revenue, customers, or data caused by service outages, bugs, or errors
• Disputes between you and your customers (including chargebacks, refund requests, or product complaints)
• Food safety incidents, regulatory enforcement actions, or compliance failures
• Stripe service disruptions, payment processing failures, or payout delays
• Third-party service failures (Resend, Twilio, Cloudflare, or any other provider)
• Indirect, consequential, or punitive damages of any kind

This limitation does not apply to liability that cannot be excluded under Australian law, including liability under the Australian Consumer Law consumer guarantees.

11. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Hecta, and any officers, employees, and agents from any claims, damages, or expenses arising from:

• Your breach of these terms
• Your products (including food safety claims, allergen incidents, or product liability)
• Your violation of any law or regulation
• Disputes between you and your customers
• Content you upload to the platform

12. Termination

By you

You can cancel your subscription and delete your account at any time from Settings. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing period. After cancellation:

• Your store goes offline immediately (or at the end of your billing period, your choice)
• Active subscriptions your customers hold are cancelled and final charges processed
• Your data is retained for 30 days, then permanently deleted
• You can export all your data before deletion

By Hecta

We may terminate your account if:

• You materially breach these terms and don't fix the breach within 14 days of us notifying you
• Your payment fails for 30+ consecutive days
• You use the platform for illegal activity
• We're required to by law or court order

Except in cases of illegal activity, we'll give at least 14 days notice before terminating your account. We'll provide data export access during the notice period.

If Hecta shuts down

If we ever stop operating the Hecta platform, we'll give at least 90 days notice, help you export your data, and provide guidance on migration to alternative platforms. We won't disappear overnight.

13. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. For material changes (anything that affects your rights, obligations, or costs), we'll email you at least 30 days before the change takes effect. You can cancel your account before the change applies if you disagree.

Minor changes (typo corrections, clarifications that don't change meaning, updated contact information) may be made without notice. We'll always show the effective date and maintain a version history.

Continued use of the service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated terms.

14. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of Queensland, Australia. Both parties submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Queensland. Nothing in these terms excludes or limits your rights under the Australian Consumer Law.

15. Contact

Questions about these terms? Get in touch:

• Email: legal@hecta.com.au
• General support: help@hecta.com.au
• Mail: Hecta, 10 Leinster Drive, Mareeba QLD 4880

We aim to respond to legal enquiries within 5 business days.