Terms of Service

By downloading, installing, or using the App, or by buying a licence, you agree to these terms. If you don’t agree, don’t use the App.

1The App and your licence

Centient is desktop accounting and office-admin software for Australian small businesses. It runs on your own computer.

• Lifetime licence. A one-time payment grants you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, perpetual licence to install and use the App for your own business, on the platforms we support, including the updates we make available for that version line. You receive a product key for that licence.
• Running costs add-on. Optional features that depend on services we run or pay for (for example invoice parsing, open bank feeds, and remote companion use) may be offered as a subscription add-on tied to your product key, at the price and terms shown on the Site. Until we enforce that add-on, those features are included with a valid lifetime licence.

The licence is for use, not ownership. We retain all rights in the App that we don’t expressly grant you here.

2Acceptable use

You agree not to:

• resell, sublicense, rent, or redistribute the App or your licence key;
• circumvent licensing or use a licence on more businesses or devices than it covers;
• reverse-engineer, decompile, or disassemble the App, except to the extent this restriction is prohibited by law (including your rights under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth));
• use the App unlawfully, or to store or process content you have no right to.

3Your data and your responsibilities

Centient is privacy-first and local-first. Your business records are stored on your own device; we don’t hold your books on our servers. That means:

• Your data is yours. You keep ownership of everything you put into the App.
• Backups are your responsibility. Because the data lives on your machine, keeping backups and securing your device is up to you. We’re not liable for data loss caused by hardware failure, loss or theft of your device, or your own actions.
• Accuracy is your responsibility. You’re responsible for the records you create and for meeting your own tax, BAS, payroll, and reporting obligations.

How we handle the limited information that does reach us is set out in our Privacy Policy.

4The AI assistant — not professional advice

The App includes an AI assistant that helps with office admin and bookkeeping. It is a tool to assist you, not a substitute for professional judgement.

• Centient is not a registered tax or BAS agent and does not provide accounting, tax, financial, or legal advice. Figures the App produces — including GST, BAS, payroll, and tax amounts — are estimates for your review.
• You should check important figures and lodgements with a registered tax/BAS agent or accountant before relying on or submitting them.
• Actions that change your records or send things on your behalf are surfaced for your approval. When you approve an action, you authorise it, and you’re responsible for the outcome.

5Payment, pricing and refunds

• Prices are in Australian dollars and include GST where applicable. The price and what it covers are shown at the time of purchase.
• Payments are processed by our payment provider (Stripe). We don’t store your full card details.
• Your licence is issued once payment is received.
• Refunds. Our products come with guarantees that can’t be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law (see clause 9). Apart from those guarantees, payments are non-refundable. Nothing here limits any refund or remedy you’re entitled to by law.

6Intellectual property

The App, the Site, and all related software, design, and content are owned by Centient or our licensors and are protected by law. These terms don’t transfer any of that to you beyond the licence in clause 1. You keep all rights in your own data.

7Third-party services

Some features connect to third-party services — for example payment processing, AI/language-model providers, the Australian Business Register and address lookups, optional bank feeds, and email. Those services are run by others under their own terms and privacy policies. We’re not responsible for third-party services, and your use of them may be subject to their terms. The Privacy Policy describes what information is shared with them and when.

8Warranties and disclaimers

We work to make the App reliable, but to the extent permitted by law, and subject to clause 9, the App and Site are provided “as is” and “as available”, without warranties of any kind. We don’t warrant that the App will be uninterrupted or error-free, or that it will meet every requirement of your business.

9Australian Consumer Law

Our goods and services come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law. For major failures you’re entitled to a replacement or refund and to compensation for other reasonably foreseeable loss or damage; for failures that don’t amount to a major failure, you’re entitled to have the problem fixed and, if it can’t be fixed in a reasonable time, to a refund. Nothing in these terms excludes, restricts, or modifies any consumer guarantee, right, or remedy you have under the Australian Consumer Law that cannot lawfully be excluded.

10Limitation of liability

Clause 9 prevails over this clause to the extent of any inconsistency. Otherwise, to the maximum extent permitted by law:

• we’re not liable for indirect, incidental, special, or consequential loss, or for loss of profits, revenue, data, or goodwill; and
• where our liability can be limited (rather than excluded), our total liability to you for any claim is limited, at our option, to re-supplying the relevant service or refunding the fees you paid to us for it.

11Termination

You can stop using the App at any time. We may suspend or end your licence if you materially breach these terms. On termination, your right to use the App ends, but the data on your device remains yours and stays with you. Clauses that by their nature should survive (including 3, 6, 8, 9, 10, and 12) survive termination.

12Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. We’ll post the current version here and update the date above. Material changes will be notified by reasonable means. Continuing to use the App after changes take effect means you accept the updated terms.

13Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of New South Wales, Australia. You and we submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of New South Wales and the courts able to hear appeals from them.

14Contact

A.C.N. 636 443 804 Pty Ltd, trading as Centient
ABN 65 636 443 804
Email: [email protected]