§ 1 Scope, provider, businesses only
(1) These General Terms and Conditions apply to all contracts for the purchase of software licences and related services (updates, support) via www.ascensus-digital.de (including the customer account) between Ascensus GmbH, Werstener Dorfstraße 152, 40591 Düsseldorf, Germany, Düsseldorf Local Court HRB 103379, VAT ID DE365814339, represented by its managing director Robert Reznizak (“Provider”) and the purchaser (“Customer”).
(2) The offer is addressed exclusively to businesses within the meaning of § 14 of the German Civil Code (BGB), i.e. natural or legal persons or partnerships with legal capacity acting in the exercise of their commercial or self-employed professional activity. Consumers (§ 13 BGB) are excluded. By ordering, the Customer expressly confirms that it acts as a business. Orders are currently possible only for companies established in the European Union.
(3) Conflicting or deviating terms of the Customer do not become part of the contract unless the Provider expressly agrees to them in text form.
(4) Each contract is governed by the version of these terms in force when it is concluded. For a renewal initiated by the Customer (§ 7), the version then in force and confirmed by the Customer applies. Automatic renewals take place on the existing terms.
(5) During an ongoing subscription the Provider may offer the Customer an amended version in text form. It applies once the Customer expressly agrees. If the Customer does not agree, the existing version continues to apply; the Provider may terminate the subscription under § 4 (8).
§ 2 Subject matter
(1) The Provider supplies the software selected in the order process (in particular WordPress plugins) and provides the licence services (§ 5 (2)) for the licence term – depending on the product as an annual or monthly licence with automatic renewal (subscription) or as a lifetime licence (§ 6 (4)).
(2) The specific scope, the number of permitted domains, the system requirements and the scope of updates and support follow from the product description at the time of the order. The software is a tool for operating the Customer's website; the Provider owes no particular commercial result and no availability of the Customer's website or third-party systems.
(3) The software is made available for download and as a licence key via the customer account. The Customer is responsible for the technical requirements (WordPress/PHP version, hosting, internet access).
(4) Custom software development and consulting are not covered by these terms; they are agreed separately.
§ 3 Conclusion of contract
(1) The presentation of products in the shop is not a binding offer but an invitation to order.
(2) The Customer submits a binding offer by selecting the product and term, providing its company name and complete billing address (and, if established outside Germany, a valid VAT ID), confirming these terms and, separately, its status as a business, and completing payment in the payment process of our payment service provider. Before completing the order the Customer can review and correct its entries.
(3) The Provider confirms receipt of the order by email without delay. The contract is concluded with this confirmation or when the licence is made available in the customer account.
(4) The contract languages are German and English. In case of discrepancies between the language versions, the German version prevails.
(5) The Provider stores the order data and the confirmed version of these terms. The terms are available on this page at any time and can be saved and printed; the order confirmation names the applicable version.
§ 4 Prices, VAT, payment, invoice
(1) All prices are net prices in euro, plus the VAT owed by law.
(2) For customers established in Germany the Provider charges German VAT. Services to businesses established in another EU Member State are not taxable in Germany; the Customer is liable for the VAT (reverse charge), provided it uses a valid VAT ID that the Provider can confirm, including name and address, in the official confirmation procedure. The Provider repeats the check at renewals and may request proof of business status in case of doubt. Online purchase is not possible for companies in territories with special VAT status; the Provider invoices individually on request.
(3) The Customer must state company name, address and VAT ID correctly, update changes in the customer account without delay and inform the Provider if its VAT ID becomes invalid.
(4) Payment is made by card through the payment service provider Stripe; its terms apply additionally. The fee is due at the time of the order; for subscriptions at the start of each billing period in advance. If a payment fails, collection is retried at reasonable intervals; the Customer is notified by email.
(5) The Customer agrees that invoices are sent electronically – as PDF or as a structured electronic invoice – by email or in the customer account.
(6) The price agreed at conclusion of the contract applies to the current billing period and to every automatic renewal as long as the parties have not agreed a different price. The Provider does not change the price of an ongoing subscription unilaterally.
(7) If the Provider wishes to change the price for future billing periods, it informs the Customer of the new price in text form in good time before the end of the current billing period. The new price applies only if the Customer expressly agrees. Silence, continued use or leaving the payment method in place do not constitute consent.
(8) The Provider may terminate a subscription in text form with two months' notice (annual subscription) or one month's notice (monthly subscription) to the end of the current billing period. It may combine the termination with an offer to continue the subscription on changed terms. If the Customer does not expressly accept the offer by the end of the billing period, the subscription ends at that time; no further charge is made and § 6 (3) applies.
§ 5 Rights of use, licence services, licence check
(1) The Customer receives a simple right, unlimited in time, to use the versions of the software obtained during the licence term on the agreed number of domains. Where the software or parts of it are subject to an open-source licence (in particular the GNU General Public License), the terms of that licence take precedence; rights under such licences are not restricted by these terms.
(2) Licence key, access to the update server, automatic updates, customer account and support (“licence services”) are services of the Provider for the Customer and the activated domains. They may not be transferred to third parties without the Provider's consent in text form. Agencies may use the licence services for client websites they manage.
(3) The licence is activated for a specific domain by entering the licence key. The Customer can release activated domains in the customer account and activate the licence on another domain as long as the permitted number is not exceeded.
(4) The software checks the licence by querying the Provider's licence server, transmitting the licence key, domain and plugin, WordPress and PHP version (see privacy policy). If the licence server is temporarily unreachable, the software initially remains usable; if the check fails for a longer period, functions requiring a licence may be restricted until the next successful check.
(5) The Provider may deactivate the licence key if the fee has been refunded or charged back, while a payment is disputed, or if the Customer has passed the licence key to third parties contrary to (2). Deactivation affects the licence services and the functions of the software that require a licence; the Customer's content and data are retained.
§ 6 Term, renewal, expiry, lifetime, updates and support
(1) Subscriptions run for the term selected in the order process (monthly or annual) and renew automatically for the same period at the existing price unless cancelled.
(2) The Customer may cancel a subscription at any time with effect from the end of the current paid billing period – in the customer account, via the “Cancel contracts here” page or by email to info@ascensus-beratung.de. The Provider confirms the cancellation in text form. Until the end of the paid period all rights remain; no pro-rata refund is made. Termination by the Provider is governed by § 4 (8). The right to terminate for good cause remains unaffected.
(3) If a licence ends by cancellation or lapse of time, the last installed version remains usable on the activated domains without time limit. Updates (including security updates), support and the ability to activate further domains or to re-activate the software end. Software without updates may become insecure or incompatible over time. The Customer can renew the licence in the customer account with the same licence key (§ 7).
(4) With the lifetime licence the Customer receives, against a one-off payment, a right of use unlimited in time within the agreed scope and updates and support without further payment for the lifetime of the product. The lifetime of the product is the period during which the Provider offers or further develops the product or a successor product with essentially the same functionality; it is not tied to the lifetime of a person. If the Provider discontinues updates and support for the product, it announces this at least twelve months in advance in text form; the last version provided remains usable without time limit.
(5) During the licence term the Provider provides updates within the scope of the product description. There is no entitlement to specific new features or to compatibility with unapproved third-party systems. The Provider may change the software for good reason (e.g. security, legal changes, technical development) as long as the core contractual purpose is not impaired.
(6) Support is provided by email to info@ascensus-beratung.de on business days on a reasonable commercial effort basis; no binding response or resolution times are promised. Not covered are problems caused by modified software, third-party systems or improper use, and custom adaptations.
§ 7 Renewal by the Customer
The Customer can renew an expiring or expired licence in the customer account by making a payment. For early renewal the term continues from the previous end; for an already expired licence it starts with the payment. The price and the terms in the version in force at renewal and confirmed by the Customer apply.
§ 8 Customer duties
(1) The Customer keeps its access data secret and informs the Provider without delay in case of suspected misuse.
(2) The Customer backs up its website and data regularly and appropriately to the risk, in particular before updates, and tests updates before use on production systems.
(3) Where plugins contain AI features, the Customer uses its own access to the AI provider and is responsible for costs, the AI provider's terms, the lawfulness of the data transmitted and for reviewing the results. AI-generated output is a suggestion; the Customer takes decisions itself.
(4) The Customer is responsible for the content and lawful operation of its websites (in particular data protection, legal notice, consents). The plugins process website visitors' data on the Customer's system; the Provider has no access to it. If support requires access to systems containing personal data, the parties first conclude a data processing agreement.
§ 9 Defects, right of return
(1) The Provider warrants that the software has the quality promised in the product description when it is made available.
(2) The Customer notifies defects comprehensibly and, where possible, reproducibly in text form. The Provider remedies defects at its option by update, patch, workaround or provision of a defect-free version. If remedy finally fails after a reasonable period, the Customer has the statutory rights subject to § 10 and § 11.
(3) Complete freedom from errors cannot be guaranteed technically.
(4) To the extent the law on leases applies to the contract, the Provider's strict liability for defects already existing at conclusion of the contract (§ 536a (1) alt. 1 BGB) is excluded. § 10 (1) remains unaffected.
(5) There is no statutory right of withdrawal, as the offer applies exclusively to businesses.
(6) Contractual right of return (14 days). The Provider voluntarily grants the Customer the following right of return: the Customer may return the first purchase of a licence for a product, and an automatic renewal, within 14 days of payment without giving reasons, in text form – by email to info@ascensus-beratung.de or via the online form. For the first purchase the right exists once per customer and product. The Provider refunds the amount paid including VAT to the original payment method; upon return, licence key, updates and support end and § 6 (3) does not apply. Statutory rights regarding defects remain unaffected. The right of return does not apply to custom services.
§ 10 Liability
(1) The Provider is liable without limitation under the statutory provisions for intent and gross negligence, including that of its legal representatives and agents, for damage arising from injury to life, body or health, under the Product Liability Act, and where it has fraudulently concealed a defect or given a guarantee.
(2) In cases of simple negligence the Provider is liable only if it breaches an essential contractual obligation. Essential contractual obligations are obligations whose fulfilment makes the proper performance of the contract possible in the first place, or whose breach jeopardises the achievement of the purpose of the contract, and on whose observance the Customer may regularly rely. In this case liability is limited to the damage typical for this type of contract and foreseeable at the time the contract was concluded.
(3) For loss of data the Provider is liable in the cases of (2) only for the effort that would have been required for restoration had the Customer backed up its data properly and regularly (§ 8 (2)).
(4) For continued use of the software after the end of the licence (§ 6 (3)) the Provider owes no updates, no bug fixes and no support. (1) remains unaffected.
(5) Otherwise the Provider's liability for damages and reimbursement of expenses, on whatever legal ground, is excluded.
(6) The above provisions also apply for the benefit of the Provider's legal representatives, employees and agents. They do not change the burden of proof to the Customer's detriment.
§ 11 Limitation periods
(1) Claims of the Customer for defects of quality and title and claims for damages and reimbursement of expenses under § 10 (2) become time-barred one year after the statutory start of the limitation period.
(2) (1) does not apply in the cases of § 10 (1); the statutory periods apply in that respect.
(3) Where the software is provided for a limited time, the Customer's claim to have defects remedied during the term of the contract remains unaffected.
§ 12 Data protection
Information on the processing of personal data is provided in the privacy policy.
§ 13 Final provisions
(1) German law applies, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG).
(2) The exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from or in connection with this contract is Düsseldorf if the Customer is a merchant, a legal entity under public law or a special fund under public law, or is established in another Member State of the European Union. The Provider may also sue the Customer at the Customer's general place of jurisdiction.
(3) Should individual provisions be or become invalid, the remaining provisions remain unaffected; the statutory provision replaces the invalid one.
(4) Amendments and additions require text form. Individual agreements take precedence.