Terms of Service

These Terms of Service ("Terms") form a binding agreement between you (an individual or organisation accessing Ascend) and OptivationAI, operating in New Zealand ("we", "us", "our"). By signing up for or using Ascend, you agree to these Terms in full.

If you are using Ascend on behalf of an organisation, you represent and warrant that you have authority to bind that organisation to these Terms.

Ascend is a professional workspace platform providing project databases, task management, time tracking, invoicing, and a unified inbox — designed for consultants, agencies, and independent practitioners.

We provide the service "as is" and "as available". While we maintain high uptime targets and take reliability seriously, we cannot guarantee uninterrupted or error-free service. We will communicate planned maintenance windows and unplanned outages through your account dashboard and registered email address.

You must provide accurate registration information and keep it current. You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account.

You must notify us immediately at hello [at] optivationai.com if you suspect unauthorised access to your account.

You must be at least 18 years of age, or the age of majority in your jurisdiction, to create an account. Ascend is a professional business tool and is not designed for or directed at minors.

You own your data. All content, databases, records, files, and information you create within Ascend ("Your Content") remains your property. We claim no ownership over it.

You grant OptivationAI a limited, non-exclusive, revocable licence to store, process, and display Your Content solely for the purpose of providing the Ascend service to you. This licence ends when you delete the content or close your account.

You are responsible for ensuring that Your Content does not infringe the intellectual property rights of third parties, violate any applicable law, or contain harmful, offensive, or illegal material.

Ascend offers two paid plans — "Solo" and "Studio" — each starting with a 30-day free trial that does not require a credit card. Paid plan fees are billed monthly or annually in advance, depending on your selection at checkout. Metered usage (AI tokens above your plan's allowance, file storage above your plan's quota, additional Studio seats) is calculated at the end of each billing cycle. All prices are listed in US Dollars (USD) and are inclusive of applicable taxes where required by law.

Cancellation: You may cancel your paid subscription at any time from your account settings. Your subscription will remain active until the end of the current billing period. We do not offer prorated refunds for partially used billing cycles.

Price changes: We will give you a minimum of 30 days' written notice before any increase to your subscription price. You may cancel during this notice period without penalty if you do not accept the new pricing.

Refunds: If you experience a material service failure or billing error attributable to us, please contact us within 30 days and we will review and resolve it promptly — including issuing a refund where appropriate.

You agree to use Ascend only for lawful business purposes and in ways that do not interfere with the platform's availability or integrity for other users.

The following are expressly prohibited:

• Reverse-engineering, decompiling, or disassembling any part of the Ascend platform
• Executing automated scripts, scrapers, or bots against Ascend APIs without prior written consent
• Uploading or transmitting malicious code, viruses, or any content that disrupts the service
• Attempting to gain unauthorised access to other accounts, systems, or infrastructure
• Using Ascend to process or store content that is illegal, defamatory, or in violation of third-party rights
• Reselling, sublicensing, or commercially distributing access to Ascend without a written reseller agreement

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that breach these provisions, with or without prior notice depending on severity.

The Ascend platform, including its software, interface designs, trademarks, and underlying technology, is owned by OptivationAI and protected under New Zealand and applicable international intellectual property law.

You are granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to access and use Ascend for your own business purposes in accordance with these Terms. Nothing in these Terms transfers any intellectual property rights in the platform to you.

Ascend includes AI-powered features ("AI Advisor"). By using these features, you acknowledge that content submitted as part of those interactions will be processed by our AI infrastructure to generate a response.

We use AI API providers with contractual zero-retention policies: processed content is not stored or used to train any AI models by those providers. Refer to our Privacy Policy for full details.

To the maximum extent permitted by New Zealand law, OptivationAI's total liability to you for any claim arising from these Terms or the use of Ascend shall not exceed the fees you have paid to us in the 12 months preceding the claim.

We are not liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages, including but not limited to lost profits, lost data, or business interruption — whether foreseeable or not.

You agree to indemnify and hold OptivationAI, its officers, and employees harmless from any claims, losses, or demands (including legal fees) arising from: (a) your use of Ascend in breach of these Terms; (b) Your Content infringing a third party's rights; or (c) your violation of any applicable law.

These Terms are governed by the laws of New Zealand. Any disputes arising from or in connection with these Terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of New Zealand.

Before commencing any formal proceedings, both parties agree to attempt resolution in good faith by first notifying the other party in writing of the dispute and allowing 30 days to reach a negotiated resolution.

We may update these Terms from time to time to reflect changes in the law, our business practices, or the features we offer. When we make material changes, we will:

• Notify you by email to your registered address at least 14 days before the change takes effect
• Display a notice within the Ascend platform
• Update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page

If you do not agree to the updated Terms, you may close your account and export your data before the effective date.

By you: You may close your account at any time from your account settings. Following closure, we will delete your workspace data in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

By us: We may suspend or terminate your account if you materially breach these Terms, subject to providing reasonable notice except in cases involving security, illegal activity, or serious harm to the platform or other users.

For any questions about these Terms, please contact: