Terms and conditions
These terms describe how our work runs, in more detail than the rest of the site. If something here contradicts what you were told on a call, this page is what we meant.
1. Who we are
saltedcaramel.ai is a trading name of Moncoco, business registration 108‑34‑07302. Enquiries reach us at [email protected].
We work remotely with English-speaking businesses anywhere, and on-site in South Africa and with English-speaking businesses in Korea.
2. What we sell
Two things, bought separately:
- A business process review. We examine how work is actually done in your business, establish what the current way of working costs you in time and in software spend, and set out what should change. This is a complete product on its own.
- Business reporting. Building or repairing the reporting a business needs to answer basic questions about its own operations. Frequently bought on its own, and occasionally necessary before a review can produce accurate figures.
Implementing any proposed solution is a separate engagement under a separate quote. Buying a review never obliges you to buy an implementation, and we will not treat it as though it did.
3. How an engagement runs
3.1 The first call
Free, about 30 minutes, no preparation needed. We establish what is going wrong, which part of the business to look at, and how much of your team's time we would need. Nothing is chargeable at this stage.
3.2 The estimate
After the call we send an estimate: a price range and a timescale. It is an indication to help you decide whether to continue. It is not a quote and it does not bind either of us.
3.3 The quote
If the estimate looks workable we go through the detail, usually in a second conversation, and then issue a quote with one exact figure and a defined scope.
No work begins until you have accepted that quote in writing. The agreed figure does not change during the engagement unless the scope changes under clause 4.2, and we do not bill by the hour.
3.4 The review
We observe the work as it is done, interview the people doing it, and take the volume figures from your own records. This usually takes two to three weeks.
3.5 The report
We deliver the documents described in clause 5 and walk you through them on a call.
4. Scope
4.1 What scope means
A quote covers a defined set of roles and systems, named in the quote itself. A role is a distinct job rather than a headcount: five people doing the same job in the same way are one role for our purposes, and we do not charge you for the other four.
4.2 When scope changes
Occasionally what we find is materially larger than what was described: more distinct roles, more systems in use, or work that turns out to be several processes rather than one. If that happens we stop and tell you, rather than quietly absorbing it or quietly exceeding the quote.
You then choose: keep the original scope and leave the extra out of the report, or agree a revised fixed quote covering it. We do not carry out or charge for out-of-scope work without your written agreement.
4.3 Your team's time
The review needs roughly 45 minutes with each person whose work is being reviewed, usually spread across a week and usually while they are doing the job rather than sitting in a meeting room. This is negotiable depending on the kind of work.
If the people we need are not made available within the agreed period, the engagement may take longer, and clause 4.2 may apply.
4.4 Whether your data can support a figure
Our figures depend on your records. Where those records will not support an accurate number, we can usually count a sample of real transactions by hand and extrapolate.
Where even that is not possible, we will tell you within the first week rather than presenting a soft figure as a firm one. You may then reduce the scope, accept clearly-labelled estimates, or commission reporting work first as a separate engagement.
5. What you receive
- The Business Process Review. How the work is done today, where time and money are going, what that costs annually, and the arithmetic behind every figure so you can check it.
- The Solution Proposal, where a build is warranted. What the proposed system does, in enough detail that a competent developer could quote it without re-interviewing your staff, together with an indicative cost and the saving it is expected to produce.
Both are covered by the review fee. The Solution Proposal exists only where building something is actually the right answer. Where the answer is instead to reduce licences, change a process or buy an existing tool, the review says so, and that is a complete result rather than a lesser one.
6. Ownership of the documents
On payment in full, the documents are yours. You may use them however you like, including giving them to another supplier to quote from or to build from. They are deliberately written so that you can.
We keep the right to re-use our own general methods, templates and know-how. We claim no ownership of your business information.
7. Implementation
7.1 Separate engagement
If you ask us to build what we proposed, that is quoted and contracted separately.
7.2 The review fee is not credited
The review fee is not deducted from any implementation invoice, whoever carries out the work. The review is billed and kept because it is a product in its own right. A refundable fee would make the report a sales document, and you would be entitled to read every recommendation in it that way.
7.3 How long our implementation quote stands
Our implementation quote stands for six months from the date of the Solution Proposal.
That is conditional on the reviewed processes not being changed in the meantime by another supplier. This is a practical limit rather than a restriction on who you may hire. Our price is built on the processes we observed, and if those are altered the design no longer matches the business. Where that has happened we would need to re-check the affected areas before standing behind the figure, and that re-check would be quoted separately.
8. Fees and payment
- Fees are as stated in the accepted quote and are exclusive of any taxes that apply.
- Unless the quote says otherwise, half is payable before work begins and the balance on delivery of the documents.
- Invoices are payable within 14 days.
- The documents are delivered on completion of the review, and ownership under clause 6 passes on payment in full.
9. Cancellation
You may cancel at any time before work begins for a full refund of anything already paid.
After work begins, you may cancel and we will charge only for the work actually carried out to that point, and hand over whatever we have completed.
We may cancel if we cannot get the access or the people the engagement requires, or if payment is more than 30 days overdue. If we cancel for our own reasons we refund anything paid for work not done.
10. Confidentiality
Everything we see during an engagement is confidential. Nothing we learn about your business is shared outside this company, used for any other client, or published in any form without your explicit written agreement. That includes case studies and examples.
We offer a mutual non-disclosure agreement before you ask for one, and we are happy to sign yours instead if you would rather use your own.
We will tell you what we take away, where it is kept, and when it is destroyed. Working material is destroyed within 90 days of the engagement ending, other than the delivered documents themselves, which we retain so we can answer questions about them.
How this site handles your information is covered separately in our privacy notice.
11. What we do not promise
Our figures are careful estimates built by observation and by your own volume records, presented conservatively with the arithmetic shown. They are not guarantees of savings. What a business actually realises depends on decisions and execution after the report, which are outside our control.
Where the report recommends third-party software, we are describing what appears to fit. We are not reselling it, we take no commission on it, and we are not responsible for how a third-party vendor performs.
12. Liability
Our total liability arising from an engagement is limited to the fees paid for that engagement. We are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, including lost profits or lost business.
Nothing here excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded, including for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for fraud.
13. Governing law
These terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of Korea, and the courts of the Republic of Korea have jurisdiction. This does not remove any mandatory protection you have under the consumer or commercial law of the country you are in.
14. Changes
We may update this page. The terms that apply to an engagement are the ones in force when you accepted the quote, and we will send you a copy on request.