Payment Authorization

This Payment Authorization describes the payment authorization structure for the applicable Sites customer relationship, including the signup payment, saved payment method, recurring billing after Launch Approval, authorized charge categories, payment method updates, disputes, refunds, credits, and related payment records.

1. Purpose And Relationship To Other Documents

1.1 Authorization role. This Payment Authorization records Customer's authorization for Sites and its payment processor to collect the Signup Payment, save a Payment Method, charge authorized recurring amounts after Launch Approval, charge Approved Add-ons and approved scopes, process failed-payment retries, and maintain payment records.

1.2 Incorporated payment terms. This Payment Authorization works together with the Order Form, Subscription / Payment Terms, Default / Nonpayment Terms, Ownership Transfer Terms, and any signed add-on, amendment, upgrade, downgrade, renewal, settlement, credit, or Exception Path scope.

1.3 Order Form controls amounts. The Order Form controls the selected plan, customer-specific monthly price, total amount due at signup, recurring monthly amount, selected add-ons, tax status, launch destination, and customer-specific payment entries.

1.4 Subscription / Payment Terms control payment lifecycle. The Subscription / Payment Terms control payment timing, payment categories, payment records, refund and credit review, cancellation request treatment, portal limits, failed-payment linkage, and payment processor alignment.

1.5 No processor override. Stripe or another payment processor may process payments, save the Payment Method, send invoices or receipts, and maintain payment records. Processor screens, invoices, emails, portal labels, settings, or payment links do not override the signed documents.

1.6 Issue-specific priority. This Payment Authorization controls authorization categories, saved-payment-method consent, and payment-record authorization. The Order Form controls customer-specific amounts and commercial entries. The Subscription / Payment Terms control payment lifecycle, cancellation and refund review, recurring billing trigger, payment processor alignment, and payment records. The Default / Nonpayment Terms control default, cure, service impact, suspension, settlement, write-off, and collections-review workflow. The Ownership Transfer Terms control transfer eligibility and transfer withholding. This Payment Authorization does not decide economics, tax treatment, accounting treatment, cancellation outcome, refund outcome, default consequence, or ownership-transfer outcome by itself.

2. Defined Authorization Terms

2.1 "Authorized Charges" means the payment categories Customer authorizes under this Payment Authorization, the Order Form, Subscription / Payment Terms, and approved scopes.

2.2 "Signup Payment" means the first monthly plan payment collected at signup. It is not a setup fee.

2.3 "Payment Method" means the card, bank account, wallet, or other payment method Customer provides through Stripe or another approved payment processor.

2.4 "Saved Payment Method" means the Payment Method stored by Stripe or another approved payment processor for later Authorized Charges, invoice payments, retries, and subscription management.

2.5 "Recurring Billing" means the ongoing monthly billing cycle for the selected plan after Launch Approval is recorded.

2.6 "Launch" means the new Sites-built website is published or live on the customer domain or other approved launch destination, the core launch scope is complete, required launch approvals are received or recorded, and the site is ready for public use under the signed scope.

2.7 "Approval" means a customer-visible, timestamped launch or payment-trigger approval by an authorized Customer representative through signature, dashboard approval, email approval, project-management approval, payment or launch confirmation, or another written approval record that identifies the approver, approval channel, approved launch scope, known deferred items, recurring-billing trigger, and next expected charge date.

2.8 "Launch Approval" means Launch and Approval together when those concepts are used as the combined trigger for Recurring Billing, Term Start, launch records, and post-launch service status.

2.9 "Term Start" means the Launch Approval date unless the Order Form expressly states another term-start rule.

2.10 "Approved Add-on" means an add-on, extra-time request, migration extension, scoped service, or Exception Path item approved in the Order Form, signed add-on scope, dashboard workflow, email approval, invoice approval, or another customer-visible written approval record that identifies the amount or cap, category, timing, payment method to be charged, and required customer confirmation.

2.11 "Failed Payment" means any declined charge, unpaid invoice, expired payment method, payment reversal, payment-processing failure, or other unpaid amount due under the signed documents after payment review confirms unpaid status. A good-faith billing inquiry, plausible duplicate-charge issue, suspected erroneous charge, customer support request, or documented good-faith dispute is not a default-triggering Failed Payment unless the payment review process confirms unpaid status, default status, fraud or security risk, chargeback abuse, or another signed-document default trigger.

2.12 "Cure Period" means the payment-resolution period stated in the Default / Nonpayment Terms, Order Form, payment notice, or other applicable payment record after a Failed Payment.

2.13 "Cancellation Resolution Review" means the review process triggered by a cancellation request, portal cancellation event, dashboard cancellation request, support cancellation request, billing email, invoice-email response, card-network inquiry, authorization revocation, or similar cancellation-related communication. The review record must identify the intake channel, requester, request date, customer status, Launch Approval status, Term Start if any, payment status, automatic-billing status, open invoices, refund or credit request, default status, ownership-transfer status, decision owner, customer communication, and outcome.

2.14 "Off-session" means a processor-supported charge attempt using a Saved Payment Method when Customer is not actively completing the payment flow. Off-session processor capability does not itself authorize the charge.

2.15 "Authorization Revocation" means a customer communication, portal action, processor action, card-network action, bank action, or other documented instruction that withdraws, limits, replaces, or questions saved-payment-method authorization or later Off-session use.

2.16 "Customer-visible approval or resolution record" means a signed document, Order Form, amendment, add-on approval, invoice approval, dashboard approval, email approval, settlement record, restoration record, default-resolution record, or other written record visible to Customer that identifies the approver, amount or cap, category, timing, payment method, service period or milestone if applicable, and approval date.

3. Customer Authorization

3.1 Authorization to charge. Customer authorizes Sites and its payment processor to charge the Payment Method for Authorized Charges under this Payment Authorization and the signed documents.

3.2 Authorization to save Payment Method. Customer authorizes Stripe or another approved payment processor to store the Payment Method as a Saved Payment Method for later Authorized Charges, invoice payments, payment retries, payment-status updates, and subscription management.

3.3 Saved-method consent record. The payment flow or acceptance record should identify the customer-visible consent language, consent timestamp, acceptance method, signer or authorized user, payment method type, processor account reference if used, payment-method reference if used, purpose of storage, Off-session charge categories, Authorization Revocation route, and authentication or mandate status if applicable.

3.4 Off-session charge boundary. A Saved Payment Method must not be charged Off-session unless the charge category, amount or cap, timing, payment method, invoice or approval ID, service period or milestone if applicable, tax status if applicable, and customer authorization basis are recorded. Processor ability to charge Off-session does not replace Customer authorization or signed-document limits.

3.5 Payment method type. Card, ACH, bank debit, wallet, and other payment method types may have different authentication, mandate, timing, return, retry, revocation, notice, and dispute behavior. The payment records should identify which payment method types are accepted for the transaction.

3.6 Authorization revocation handling. If Customer revokes, limits, replaces, or disputes saved-payment-method authorization, Sites must record the revocation channel, date, requester, affected Payment Method, affected charge categories, open invoices, scheduled retries, active subscription or invoice settings, automatic Off-session charge status, replacement-method request, customer communication, default status, and cancellation-review outcome. Later Off-session charges using the affected Payment Method must be placed on hold, converted to manual invoice or resolution review, or otherwise handled under the signed payment and default workflow unless the signed documents and payment records support a different result for the specific situation.

3.7 Authorization and records scope. This authorization and the related payment records apply to the customer account, Order Form, plan, approved add-ons, approved scopes, invoices, payment retries, refunds, credits, disputes, chargebacks, settlements, write-offs, and account-standing records connected to the signed documents. Processor and accounting events are not separate charge authorizations unless they create a charge category expressly authorized by the Order Form, Subscription / Payment Terms, or a separate customer-visible approval record.

3.8 Authority to bind Customer. The person accepting or signing this Payment Authorization represents that they have authority to authorize payment on behalf of Customer and to bind Customer to the payment obligations in the signed documents.

3.9 Business-use confirmation. Customer confirms the purchase is for business use and not personal, family, household, or consumer use.

3.10 Business-use and customer-location fallback. Business-use confirmation is an intake control. It does not eliminate federal, state, customer-location, consumer, mixed-use, cancellation, refund, tax, privacy, accessibility, payment, or service-record review. If consumer, mixed-use, unsupported-state, regulated-use, or location-gating issues appear, payment collection and recurring billing must route to the applicable review workflow.

4. Authorized Charge Categories

Customer authorizes Sites and its payment processor to charge the Payment Method for the following charge categories:

• Signup Payment;

• recurring monthly plan charges after Launch Approval is recorded;

• approved recurring add-ons;

• approved signup add-ons;

• approved and recorded Extra Managed Time;

• approved and recorded Extra Growth Time;

• approved and recorded Migration Expansion;

• approved and recorded Migration Plan if not included in the selected plan;

• approved and recorded Complex Migration;

• approved and recorded photography, video, brand identity, content writing, custom applications, custom workflows, or other separately scoped work;

• approved and recorded Exception Path charges;

• approved and recorded upgrades, plan changes, add-on changes, adjustments, or amendments;

• taxes or processor-supported tax amounts if applicable, configured, and customer-visible;

• approved settlement, restoration, or default-resolution amounts that require a customer payment and have a customer-visible approval or resolution record;

• failed-payment retries and unpaid invoice recovery for previously authorized charge categories, subject to the retry, notice, cure, and dispute-triage workflow;

• other charges expressly authorized by the Order Form, Subscription / Payment Terms, signed add-on scope, invoice approval, settlement record, or written payment record.

Separate from charge authorization, Sites and its payment processor may create records for permitted refunds, credits, reversals, adjustments, disputes, chargebacks, settlements, write-offs, and related payment events when those actions are permitted by the signed documents, processor rules, or an approved payment record. These processor and accounting actions are not separate customer charge categories unless they create an expressly authorized amount due from Customer.

Each non-plan charge not already fixed in the Order Form must identify the amount or cap, category, invoice or approval ID, timing, payment method to be charged, service period or milestone if applicable, tax status if applicable, refund or credit treatment if applicable, and separate customer confirmation before Sites charges a Saved Payment Method.

This Payment Authorization does not authorize late fees, interest, attorney fees, collection costs, acceleration, remaining-term amounts, liquidated damages, chargeback penalties, or similar remedies unless separately stated in a signed customer-visible document or resolution record.

5. Signup Payment Authorization

5.1 First month at signup. Customer authorizes Sites and its payment processor to charge the Signup Payment at signup.

5.2 Not a setup fee. The Signup Payment is the first monthly plan payment and is not a setup fee.

5.3 Total due at signup. The amount due at signup is the amount shown in the Order Form, payment flow, invoice, or approved payment record. It may include the Signup Payment, approved signup add-ons, approved one-time or scoped charges due at signup, and taxes if applicable.

5.4 Separate tracking. Customer authorizes Sites to record the Signup Payment separately from Recurring Billing for accounting, payment lifecycle, refund and credit review, launch, customer-service, and account-standing records.

5.5 Refund and credit review. Refund or credit treatment for the Signup Payment is governed by the Subscription / Payment Terms, including the required exception-review process.

5.6 Refund exception categories. This authorization does not approve absolute nonrefund treatment. Sites rejection, inability to serve, Sites delay, customer abandonment, duplicate or mistaken charge, unauthorized charge, processor error, chargeback, tax reversal, and approved customer-service accommodation require the Subscription / Payment Terms exception-review record before refund, credit, settlement, no-credit, default, tax, or accounting treatment is decided.

5.7 Signup Payment record. The payment record should identify the Signup Payment amount, approved signup add-ons if any, tax amount if any, total due at signup, Signup Payment treatment, service period if applicable, first post-Launch invoice trigger, first post-Launch invoice term-month number if applicable, no-duplicate-period check, and cancellation or default economic cross-reference.

6. Recurring Billing Authorization

6.1 Recurring Billing trigger. Customer authorizes Recurring Billing only after Launch Approval is recorded.

6.2 Monthly recurring charges. After Launch Approval is recorded, Customer authorizes Sites and its payment processor to charge the Payment Method for the recurring monthly amount shown in the Order Form, invoice, approved add-on record, or approved adjustment record.

6.3 Term connection. The standard structure uses a 24-month managed-service commitment beginning at Launch Approval unless the Order Form states another term-start rule. The Order Form and payment records should identify the Term Start, Signup Payment treatment, number of post-Launch recurring payments, total plan payments, first recurring service period, and whether the Signup Payment is term month 1, a pre-launch service-period payment, a credit, or another stated treatment.

6.4 No early recurring activation. Sites must not start Recurring Billing before Launch Approval is recorded.

6.5 Subscription records. Sites may create or activate processor subscription records, invoice records, and payment schedules only when consistent with the Launch Approval record, Order Form, Subscription / Payment Terms, Payment Authorization, and payment records.

6.6 No duplicate period. Sites must not use this authorization to charge the Signup Payment and first post-Launch recurring invoice for the same service period unless the record identifies a separate service period or performance obligation, a customer-visible payment approval record, invoice or service-period evidence, and the reason the charge is not an accidental duplicate.

6.7 First recurring invoice controls. Before the first post-Launch recurring charge, the payment record should identify subscription creation timing if applicable, collection method, billing cycle anchor if applicable, first invoice expected status, customer action path if authentication is required, invoice service period, term-month number, no-duplicate-period status, and next expected charge date.

7. Add-On, Extra Time, Migration, And Exception Path Authorization

7.1 Approval condition. Customer authorizes charges for add-ons, extra time, migration extensions, scoped work, and Exception Path work only if the charge is approved and recorded.

7.2 Approval records. Approval may be recorded in the Order Form, signed add-on scope, signed amendment, dashboard workflow, email approval, invoice approval, project-management approval, or another customer-visible written approval record that identifies the authorized approver, timestamp, approval channel, amount or cap, category, timing, payment method to be charged, service period or milestone if applicable, and tax status if applicable.

7.3 Required charge records. Each add-on or scoped charge should identify the scope, price, payment timing, approval record, service category, invoice category, service period or milestone, tax status if applicable, payment processor product or price reference if applicable, accounting category, and refund or credit treatment reference if applicable.

7.4 No implied expansion. A payment authorization for an add-on or scoped charge does not expand plan scope, time allowances, migration coverage, support levels, ownership-transfer rights, cancellation rights, or refund or credit treatment unless the written approval record expressly says so.

8. Taxes, Processor Tax Tools, And State Records

8.1 Customer-location records. Customer authorizes Sites to collect and record Customer's legal name, billing address, primary business address, customer state, service location, business-use confirmation, selected plan, invoice category, service category, and tax status.

8.2 Tax amounts if applicable. Customer authorizes charges for taxes or processor-supported tax amounts only if the applicable tax workflow has been configured, the processor or invoice configuration matches the applicable records, and the tax amount is customer-visible in the Order Form, invoice, payment flow, or approved payment record. A tax amount appearing in a form, invoice, payment flow, or payment record does not by itself decide tax treatment.

8.3 No tax conclusion. This Payment Authorization does not determine whether a transaction is taxable, exempt, subject to sales or use tax, subject to digital-services tax, subject to SaaS-like treatment, or subject to registration in any state.

8.4 Processor tax tools if used. Stripe Tax or another processor tax tool may support calculation or collection only if configured for the applicable transaction. It is not a taxability decision, tax registration decision, accounting conclusion, or legal conclusion.

8.5 Exemption documents. If Customer provides an exemption certificate, resale certificate, or similar tax document, Customer authorizes Sites to record and review that document for the applicable customer, state, transaction category, and review outcome.

8.6 Tax collection records. If tax is collected, refunded, credited, adjusted, or reversed, Customer authorizes Sites to maintain records showing tax amount collected, tax amount refunded or credited, jurisdiction or location code if used, registration status at charge, filing period if applicable, remittance status if applicable, refund tax reversal status, and exemption status.

9. Failed Payments, Retries, Dunning, And Default Linkage

9.1 Failed Payment authorization. If a payment fails, Customer authorizes Sites and its payment processor to retry the Payment Method, request a new Payment Method, send or record payment notices, and update Customer's account status.

9.2 Retry and dunning workflow. Customer authorizes Stripe or another approved processor to use retry, invoice-reminder, and dunning workflows consistent with the Subscription / Payment Terms, Default / Nonpayment Terms, and applicable payment records.

9.3 Payment notice and cure. Failed Payments may trigger payment notices, a Cure Period, service pause, suspension, restoration requirements, default review, settlement, write-off, or other resolution under the Default / Nonpayment Terms. Notices should identify the invoice or payment event, amount, payment category, cure path, service impact risk, and support or billing-contact route.

9.4 Service impact. If payment remains unresolved after required triage, notice, and cure, Sites may pause or suspend non-critical work, support, updates, dashboard access, Managed Time, Growth Time, migration work not needed to preserve data, add-ons, or other services under the Default / Nonpayment Terms. Urgent fraud, security, processor, chargeback abuse, unauthorized access, or platform-risk issues may require faster action.

9.5 Restoration. Restoration after a Failed Payment requires payment resolution, Payment Method update if needed, default-status update, and restoration record.

9.6 No automatic aggressive remedy. This authorization does not automatically authorize acceleration, remaining-term collection, liquidated damages, attorney-fee recovery, collections placement, or ownership-transfer denial. Those outcomes require the staged review, authority, proportionality, evidence, and approval records described in the Default / Nonpayment Terms.

10. Disputes, Chargebacks, Refunds, Credits, And Reversals

10.1 Billing questions. Customer must promptly notify Sites about billing questions, suspected errors, duplicate charges, unauthorized charges, refund or credit requests, disputes, chargebacks, or reversals.

10.2 Refunds and credits. Refunds, credits, adjustments, settlements, and make-goods are governed by the Subscription / Payment Terms and must be recorded with reason codes and approval records.

10.3 Dispute records. Customer authorizes Sites to maintain records for disputes, chargebacks, reversals, processor inquiries, evidence submissions, customer communications, service status, refund or credit status, default status, outcome, and accounting impact.

10.4 Payment status during dispute. Sites must classify payment issues as billing inquiry, good-faith dispute, processor chargeback, fraud or security issue, platform-risk issue, or actual nonpayment before applying ordinary service impact, suspension, default, or ownership-transfer consequences. A dispute, chargeback, reversal, or processor inquiry may create actual unpaid status, unresolved nonpayment, documented fraud concern, documented security risk, documented platform risk, documented chargeback abuse, or default condition after triage. Sites may pause or suspend affected services under the Default / Nonpayment Terms while preserving reasonable records and security obligations, but a good-faith billing inquiry, plausible duplicate-charge issue, or documented good-faith dispute must be triaged before ordinary service impact unless urgent fraud, security, processor, or platform-risk conditions apply.

10.5 No waiver. Responding to a dispute, providing evidence, issuing a credit, or accepting a settlement does not waive other rights, duties, or ownership-transfer conditions unless the written resolution record says so.

11. Customer Portal And Self-Service Controls

11.1 Allowed portal functions. Customer may use the payment portal for payment-method updates, invoice access, receipt access, billing-contact updates, or similar billing-support functions if enabled.

11.2 Restricted portal functions. Customer portal features must not allow cancellation, downgrade, refund request approval, payment plan approval, ownership transfer, term shortening, add-on removal, or default resolution unless the portal workflow matches the signed documents and service records.

11.3 No portal override. Customer use of the portal, invoice email, payment link, support request, dashboard request, or Help Center workflow does not amend the Order Form, shorten the term, waive amounts due, approve refund or credit treatment, approve plan changes, or trigger ownership transfer.

11.4 Cancellation request intake. A portal, dashboard, support, or billing workflow may allow clear cancellation-request intake, acknowledgement, and status tracking if it does not create unilateral term-shortening, automatic refund or credit approval, payment waiver, transfer right, or default-resolution outcome.

11.5 Cancellation-event billing-status review. A cancellation request, portal cancellation event, dashboard cancellation request, support cancellation request, billing email, invoice-email response, card-network inquiry, Authorization Revocation, manual processor cancellation, subscription deletion, pause or collection-setting change, open-invoice retry, post-cancellation attempted charge, or similar cancellation-related communication or processor event must trigger Cancellation Resolution Review. Future automatic recurring charges must be placed on hold, converted to manual invoice or resolution review, or otherwise handled under the signed cancellation and default workflow unless the signed documents and payment records support continued automatic charges for the specific situation.

12. Payment Method Updates And Authorization Revocation

12.1 Payment Method updates. Customer is responsible for keeping a valid Payment Method on file and for updating billing information when the existing Payment Method expires, fails, is revoked, is replaced, or can no longer be used for Authorized Charges.

12.2 Replacement Payment Method. If Customer provides a replacement Payment Method, Customer authorizes Sites and its payment processor to save and use that replacement Payment Method for Authorized Charges under this Payment Authorization and the signed documents.

12.3 Revocation does not waive amounts due. Authorization Revocation does not by itself waive amounts due, cancel the Order Form, shorten the term, approve a refund or credit, create ownership-transfer rights, or resolve open invoices. Revoked or disputed authorization must be handled through the applicable payment, cancellation, dispute, and default workflow.

12.4 Open invoice handling. If Authorization Revocation occurs while invoices, retries, disputes, cancellation requests, or default issues remain open, Sites must record the affected amounts, affected Payment Method, payment status, proposed resolution path, customer communication, and any replacement payment arrangement.

13. Payment Records And Record Authorization

13.1 Required records. Customer authorizes Sites and its payment processor to create and maintain payment, invoice, subscription, payment-method, account-standing, refund, credit, dispute, chargeback, tax, and service records needed to administer the customer account and the authorized payment relationship.

13.2 Record categories. Sites may maintain records concerning Customer identity, business-use confirmation, selected plan, Order Form, payment authorization, payment method status, invoices, charges, service periods, Launch Approval, Recurring Billing, refunds, credits, disputes, failed payments, account standing, taxes if applicable, and related customer communications.

13.3 Administrative records. Payment, accounting, tax, default, and ownership-transfer information may be maintained in Sites' service records, payment processor records, accounting records, tax records, and supporting files. Those records support account administration and do not create separate charge authorization unless the charge is otherwise authorized by the signed documents or a customer-visible approval record.

13.4 Record conflicts. If processor records and Sites records conflict, Sites may preserve and review the records before making customer-service, default, ownership-transfer, tax, accounting, refund, credit, or dispute decisions.

13.5 Tax and accounting neutrality. This authorization permits payment processing and related records, but it does not decide tax income timing, accounting treatment, settlement treatment, write-off treatment, or allocation among plan, add-on, migration, tax, and transfer events.

14. Customer Payment Responsibilities

Customer must:

• provide accurate billing information;

• maintain a valid Payment Method;

• ensure the signer has authority to authorize payments;

• confirm business-use status;

• confirm customer state, billing address, primary business address, and service location;

• review invoices and payment notices promptly;

• promptly notify Sites of billing errors or suspected unauthorized charges;

• provide exemption or tax documents if applicable and accepted;

• keep billing contact information current;

• resolve Failed Payments within the Cure Period;

• preserve payment and approval records needed for Launch, billing, default, and ownership-transfer review.

15. Rejected Authorization Positions

This Payment Authorization rejects the following positions unless a signed amendment or other approved written record expressly provides otherwise:

• statements that Customer owes nothing at signup;

• statements that payment is delayed until launch;

• standalone wording that recurring billing begins at launch without also explaining the first-month-at-signup rule and Approval trigger;

• treating the Signup Payment as a setup fee;

• treating a Saved Payment Method as authorization for any charge category, amount, timing, or service period not supported by the signed documents or a customer-visible approval record;

• automatic customer self-cancellation that bypasses the signed term, payment obligations, default workflow, or ownership-transfer conditions;

• absolute nonrefund treatment with no exception-review process;

• treating a processor tax tool as a taxability decision;

• treating payment processor invoice text as the complete payment disclosure;

• treating customer portal settings as a contract amendment.