dtjoyce.
com
WORKING TOGETHER
Terms & conditions
effective 1 june 2017
The latest version of these terms and conditions can be found at dtjoyce.com/terms
1. Introduction
1.A. Our business relationship. These general
terms cover my relationship with my clients. Some
clients may have separate written agreements whose
terms differ from or modify these terms; please refer
to any separate written agreements I have made with
you for additional or different terms and conditions.
If you do not have a separate written agreement
with me, these terms in whole cover your business
transactions with me, and you agree to them when
you engage me for any and all work.
1.B. Definitions.
I, me, my refers to Dustin Tyler Joyce
You, your refers to you and/or your
organization
In writing includes via email or other digital
means
2. Billing & invoicing
2.A. Invoicing schedule. I generally invoice my
clients when a requested project is completed and/or
on or around the last business day of the month. These
end-of-month invoices usually include all projects
completed for the invoiced client during the preceding
calendar month. However, I reserve the right to
alter, without prior notice, my invoicing schedule. In
particular, some large projects may billed separately or
incrementally.
2.B. Expenses. Unless special arrangements are
otherwise made in writing, fees and expenses I incur to
complete my work for you will be your responsibility
and will be billed directly to you. These costs will
be approved by you in writing in advance of being
incurred. You will be billed for all reimbursable
expenses, together with receipts or other appropriate
documentation of these expenses. This bill will
generally be included in the regular invoice you receive
from me (see 2.A above); payment for reimbursable
expenses will be made by you by the due date of the
invoice (generally within 30 days; see 3 below).
2.C. Electronic invoicing. In most instances, I prefer
to invoice my clients electronically via email.
3. Invoice due date
3.A. Payment deadline. Payment for invoices from
me is due upon receipt of an invoice. Invoices for
which payment is not received by 11.59pm Eastern
Time on the 30th calendar day following the date of
an invoice are subject to late fees (see 5.A below).
Regardless of how payment is made, it is the clients
responsibility to ensure that I receive payment before
late fees begin to accrue. In particular, if payment is
made by check (see 4 below), regardless of postmark,
I must receive the check by this deadline.
3.B. Reminders. I will endeavor to remind clients via
email of unpaid invoices before the due date. I do this
as a courtesy and am not liable for overdue invoices
if these reminders are not sent or are disregarded or
misdirected. I suggest that clients check their spam
filters to ensure that email messages from me arrive
in the inbox. I am not responsible for email messages
that are sent to spam folders or otherwise misdirected,
unless an error was made on my part in entering an
email address.
3.C. Extended deadline. If your organizations
accounting department generally takes longer than 30
days to process invoices and payments, I can extend the
payment deadline for an individual invoice to 60 days
for an additional fee of $5.00 or 1.5% of the invoice
amount, whichever is greater.
3.D. Payments not received. If you fail to pay, or if
you fail to pay by the deadline agreed to in my contract
with you or pursuant to 3.A and/or 3.C above, you
may be required to pay damages equal to double the
value of the contract per the New York City Freelance
Isnt Free Act of 2016 (see 9.B below).
4. Payment
4.A. Primary payment methods. I am happy to
accept the following forms of payment:
Major credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American
Express, or Discover)
PayPal
Google Wallet/Android Pay
Check
dustin@dtjoyce.com
347.616.3501 N.Y.
202.649.0404 D.C.
Payment via credit card and PayPal should be
completed online following the instructions found
in your invoice. If you pay by check, you should mail
your check to the address in the invoice you receive
from me.
4.B. Additional payment methods. If you would
like to fulfill your invoice with another method of
payment, please notify me as soon as possible. I will
endeavor to work with you to the best of my ability,
though please note that I may not be able to accept all
payment methods.
4.C. Payment by phone. I cannot accept payment
by phone.
5. Late & other fees
5.A. Late fees. Invoices that remain unpaid 30 days
after billing are considered overdue and are subject to a
monthly late fee of $10.00 or 3%, whichever is greater.
If your invoice has incurred one or more late fees, the
fee(s) should be submitted with your payment for
that invoice. An invoice that has incurred late fees but
whose original invoice amount has been paid is not
considered closed until all late fees are paid as well.
5.B. Collection fees. You agree to pay all reasonable
attorneys fees and/or other fees or costs if the account
is placed with an attorney or collection agency for
collection.
6. Copyright
6.A. Ownership of copyright. I retain the copyright
over the work I do for you until I receive payment in
full from you, including late fees or court-imposed
damages (see 9.B below), if any. Prior to receiving
payment, printer-ready and other prepared files I
send to you include a limited, revocable license for
your printing, presentation, or other use of the work.
Upon receiving payment, the copyright will transfer
to you or your organization and I will retain a license
pursuant to 6.B below.
6.B. Perpetual, royalty-free license. You agree that
I retain a perpetual, royalty-free license to use the work
I do for you, including drafts, in my portfolio, blog
posts, social media, publications, and other materials
that I produce to showcase my work, highlight my
skills to potential clients and others, or discuss my
work processes. You understand that this portfolio and
other materials may be in print and/or digital formats,
including on the internet where it will be publicly
accessible. This license is nontransferable without
prior permission, verbal or written, from you.
6.C. Ownership of files. Unless consented to in a
prior written agreement, I retain ownership of my
copy or copies of the original or native files for the
documents, artwork, and other materials I create for
you. If you wish to receive copies of these files for your
own records or use, I will provide them for a fee after
I have received payment in full from you. Please note
that your copyright does not give you ownership of my
files, even when those files contain your copyrighted
material; your copyright simply prohibits me from
reproducing that work for purposes other than those
in accordance with my license.
6.D. Email messages and attachments. My copies
of all email messages, email attachments, and other
correspondence I receive from your organization are
my property. (This should not be construed as a claim
to copyright. Your organization retains its copyright
on all original documents, files, correspondence, and
other intellectual property you send to me for which
your organization owns the copyright.)
6.E. Outgoing correspondence. My outgoing
correspondence to your organization, including emails
and email attachments not subject to the terms above,
are copyrighted by me and may not be duplicated for
any purpose other than conducting your organizations
business relationship with me.
6.F. Creative Commons. Original content on my
website, dtjoyce.com, is available under a Creative
Commons license, unless otherwise noted. More
information is available at dtjoyce.com/copyright
7. My logo and
corporate identity
7.A. My logo. My logo and icon and variations
thereof; my serpentine; my color palette; and
other elements of my corporate visual identity are
trademarks owned by me and may not be copied under
any circumstances without my written permission.
7.B. Promotion discount. Where possible on
materials I produce for you, I will include an
unintrusive logo, URL for my website, and/or other
identifier to promote my work to potential clients.
In return, I will provide a 15% discount on my final
invoice for that work. If you prefer that I not include
such an identifier, or if it is not possible to include such
an identifier on the material, I will remove the 15%
discount from my final invoice.
8. Miscellaneous
8.A. Independent contractor status. You
understand that you are engaging me as an
independent contractor. These terms and conditions,
the business/working relationship between you and
me, and my work for you are not intended to create
any partnership, joint venture, co-ownership, agency,
or employment relationship between us. Unless you
and I specifically agree in writing, neither you nor I
will act as an agent or make commitments on each
others behalf.
8.B. Etsy shop. These terms and conditions do not
apply to my Etsy shop, which is covered by policies
that may be found at
etsy.com/shop/GreatDocuments/policy
9. Jurisdiction
9.A. Choice of law. My consulting work is a sole
proprietorship based in Jackson Heights, Queens
County, New York, United States of America. You
agree that my relationship with you is subject to the
laws and jurisdiction of the City and State of New
York and the United States of America. In the unlikely
event that litigation should be required, you agree that
it will take place in the courts of the City and State of
New York.
9.B. Notice of New York City freelancer law. On
15 May 2017, New York Citys Freelance Isnt Free Act
(Local Law 140 of 2016), went into effect. Among other
requirements, this law provides that:
Contracts or agreements with a value of $800.00
or more, including multiple contracts with a
combined value of $800.00 or more over a period
of 120 days, must be in writing.
Payment must be made by the date specified in
the contract or agreement. For contracts that
dont specify a payment date, payment must be
made within 30 days after work is completed.
Failure to pay in a timely manner may subject
you to a penalty of double the value of the
contract.
Because I perform most of my work in New York City,
this law likely applies to my relationship with you,
contracts or agreements you and I enter into, and the
work I do for you (see 9.A above).
For more information on the law, visit
www1.nyc.gov/site/dca/businesses/
freelance-isnt-free-act.page
9.C. Indemnification. I am not liable to you or
any third party for damages, including lost profits,
lost savings, and/or other incidental consequential
or special damages, arising out of the work I do
for you even if you advise me of the possibilities of
such damages. You agree to defend, indemnify, and
hold me harmless from any and all liabilities, losses,
costs, damages, penalties, and any other expenses
including attorneys fees arising directly or indirectly
from the business relationship between you and me.
Additionally, you will indemnify and hold me free and
harmless from any obligation, cost claim, judgment,
attorneys, fees, and attachments rising from, growing
out of, or in any way connected with the services
rendered to you under these terms and conditions.
9.D. Waiver of counterclaims. You waive any and
all of your rights to interpose any claims, deductions,
setoffs, or counterclaims of any nature in any dispute
with respect to these terms and conditions or my
work for you. Any claims, deductions, setoffs, or
counterclaims must be brought as a separate action
subject to 9.A above.
9.E. Validity of terms. This digital version of these
terms and conditions is valid and binding as if it were
a printed version signed by both you and me. In the
event of a discrepancy between versions of these terms,
the current version posted in HTML at dtjoyce.com/
terms shall be deemed the correct and valid version.
9.F. Changes in terms. These terms are subject to
change. Clients should visit dtjoyce.com/terms for
the latest version of these terms and conditions. I will
endeavor to notify clients of changes in these terms;
such notification may be in the form of a blog post,
email signature, social media post, or other passive
form of notification.