Legal

Terms &
Conditions

Effective 1 April 2026 Last updated 28 April 2026 Next Era (ABN: pending registration)
Plain-English summary: These terms govern all engagements between Next Era and our clients. We've written them as clearly as we can. If anything is unclear, email us before signing — we're happy to explain.
01

About These Terms

These Terms and Conditions ("Terms") govern the relationship between Next Era ("we", "us", "our") and any individual or business ("Client", "you") that engages our services, accesses our website at nexteraresult.com, or signs a statement of work or proposal issued by us.

By booking a call, signing a proposal, or making a payment, you agree to these Terms in full. If you do not agree, please do not engage our services.

These Terms apply alongside any specific Statement of Work ("SOW") or engagement letter we issue. Where a SOW conflicts with these Terms, the SOW takes precedence for that specific engagement.

02

Our Services

Next Era provides AI automation consulting and implementation services for accounting firms, including but not limited to:

  • Workflow audits and automation opportunity assessments
  • Design and development of custom AI agents and automated workflows
  • Integration of AI agents with third-party software platforms (including Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and others)
  • Team training and onboarding on deployed agents
  • Ongoing agent maintenance, monitoring, and optimisation

The scope of services for each Client is defined in the relevant SOW. We reserve the right to decline any engagement at our sole discretion.

Free Automation Audit: We offer a limited number of free workflow audits. The audit includes a structured call and a written findings report delivered to you. Participation in a free audit does not create any obligation on either party to enter into a paid engagement.

03

Quotes & Proposals

All quotes and proposals issued by Next Era are valid for 30 days from the date of issue, unless stated otherwise. After this period, we may revise pricing or scope based on current workload and costs.

A proposal becomes a binding engagement when you provide written acceptance (including email) and pay any applicable deposit. Work does not commence until both conditions are met unless otherwise agreed in writing.

If the scope of an engagement changes after acceptance — whether at your request or due to circumstances outside either party's reasonable control — we will issue a change order documenting the revised scope and any adjustment to fees. Additional work will not be performed without your written approval of a change order.

04

Fees & Payment

Project Fees: Build engagements are priced as a fixed project fee as set out in the relevant SOW. Unless otherwise stated, payment is structured as follows:

  • 50% deposit due upon signing the SOW, before work commences
  • 50% balance due upon delivery of the completed agent to your environment

Ongoing Retainer: Monthly optimisation and maintenance services are invoiced monthly in advance. The first invoice is issued on the date the agent goes live.

Invoices are due within 14 days of the invoice date unless otherwise specified. Overdue invoices will accrue interest at 2% per month on the outstanding balance.

We reserve the right to suspend work on any engagement where an invoice is more than 14 days overdue. Suspension does not relieve you of any payment obligations.

All fees are in Australian Dollars (AUD) and, where applicable, are exclusive of GST. GST will be added to invoices at the prevailing rate where required by Australian law.

We do not offer refunds on completed work. If work is cancelled mid-project, you will be invoiced for work completed to date at our standard hourly rate, up to the total project fee.

05

Intellectual Property

Your ownership: Upon receipt of final payment, all custom AI agents, workflows, integrations, and deliverables built specifically for you under an SOW become your property. You are free to use, modify, and host them without ongoing dependency on Next Era.

Our pre-existing IP: We retain ownership of any frameworks, methodologies, templates, tools, or know-how that we developed independently of your engagement and that we use in delivering the services. Where these are incorporated into your deliverables, we grant you a perpetual, non-exclusive licence to use them as part of the deliverable.

Third-party tools: Deliverables may depend on third-party platforms (such as Make, n8n, Claude API, Xero API). Your continued use of these components is subject to the terms and pricing of those providers, which are outside our control.

You warrant that any materials, data, or assets you provide to us for use in the engagement do not infringe any third party's intellectual property rights, and you indemnify us against any claim arising from such materials.

06

Confidentiality

Both parties acknowledge that during an engagement, each may receive or have access to confidential information of the other ("Confidential Information"), including client data, workflow details, business processes, financial information, and technical materials.

Each party agrees to:

  • Keep all Confidential Information strictly confidential
  • Not disclose Confidential Information to any third party without the other party's prior written consent
  • Use Confidential Information solely for the purpose of the engagement
  • Apply the same standard of care to protecting the other party's Confidential Information as it applies to its own (and no less than reasonable care)

These obligations do not apply to information that: (a) is or becomes publicly available through no fault of the receiving party; (b) was already known to the receiving party prior to disclosure; (c) is independently developed without reference to the Confidential Information; or (d) is required to be disclosed by law or a court order, provided the disclosing party is given prompt notice where legally permissible.

Confidentiality obligations survive termination of the engagement for a period of 3 years.

07

Data & Privacy

We handle all personal information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).

Data you provide us: Any personal or client data you share with us for the purposes of the engagement is used solely for delivering the agreed services. We do not sell, rent, or share your data with third parties except as necessary to deliver the services (e.g. passing documents to an AI processing API).

Third-party AI providers: Where we use third-party AI APIs (such as Anthropic's Claude API) to process data as part of an agent build, we use enterprise-grade API agreements that do not permit the provider to train their models on your data. We will disclose which providers are used in your engagement's documentation.

Minimum access principle: We request only the permissions necessary to build and test your agent. We do not retain credentials after an engagement concludes unless required for ongoing maintenance, in which case credentials are stored in a dedicated secrets manager.

Your obligations: Where your engagement involves processing personal information belonging to your clients, you remain the responsible party under Australian privacy law. You warrant that you have the necessary authority and consents to share that information with us for the stated purpose, and you indemnify us against any claim arising from your failure to do so.

Our full Privacy Policy is available at nexteraresult.com/privacy.

08

Your Responsibilities

To enable us to deliver the services effectively, you agree to:

  • Provide timely access to the information, systems, and personnel reasonably required for the engagement
  • Designate a primary contact within your firm who has authority to make decisions and approve deliverables
  • Review and provide feedback on draft deliverables within agreed timeframes (typically 5 business days unless otherwise specified)
  • Ensure that any third-party software licences required for the engagement are in place and cover the intended use
  • Inform us promptly of any material changes to your business, software stack, or regulatory obligations that may affect the engagement
  • Not use the agents or deliverables we build for any unlawful purpose

Delays caused by your failure to meet these responsibilities may result in timeline extensions and, where we incur additional cost, may be subject to additional fees documented in a change order.

09

Warranties & Disclaimers

We warrant that we will perform the services with reasonable care and skill, and that deliverables will materially conform to the specifications agreed in the SOW at the time of delivery.

AI limitations: You acknowledge that AI agents and automated workflows operate on probabilistic outputs and may produce errors, omissions, or unexpected results. We design agents with human review checkpoints for consequential actions, but we do not warrant that any agent will be free from error or operate without interruption. You are responsible for maintaining appropriate oversight of agent outputs and for any decisions made on the basis of those outputs.

Third-party platforms: We are not responsible for the availability, accuracy, security, or changes to functionality of third-party platforms (including Xero, MYOB, Make, n8n, or any AI API provider). Where a third-party change affects a deliverable we have built, remediation may be subject to additional fees.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, we exclude all other warranties, whether express or implied, including any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Nothing in these Terms excludes rights you may have under Australian Consumer Law that cannot be excluded.

10

Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, our total aggregate liability to you for any claim arising out of or in connection with these Terms or an engagement — whether in contract, tort (including negligence), statute, or otherwise — is limited to the total fees paid by you to us in the 3 months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

In no circumstances will we be liable to you for:

  • Loss of profit, revenue, or anticipated savings
  • Loss of data or corruption of data
  • Loss of business, contracts, or goodwill
  • Any indirect, special, incidental, or consequential loss

even if we have been advised of the possibility of such losses.

Note for Australian Consumers: Nothing in this clause limits your rights under the Australian Consumer Law where those rights cannot be excluded, restricted, or modified.
11

Termination

Termination for convenience: Either party may terminate an ongoing retainer or maintenance arrangement by giving 30 days' written notice. Project engagements (fixed-scope builds) may only be terminated for cause or by mutual written agreement.

Termination for cause: Either party may terminate an engagement immediately upon written notice if the other party:

  • Materially breaches these Terms or the SOW and fails to remedy that breach within 14 days of written notice
  • Becomes insolvent, enters administration, or has a receiver appointed
  • Engages in conduct that is unlawful, fraudulent, or brings the other party into disrepute

Effect of termination: On termination:

  • All outstanding invoices become immediately due and payable
  • You will be invoiced for any work completed but not yet invoiced, calculated at the agreed project rate or pro-rata monthly retainer
  • We will promptly return or delete your Confidential Information and data upon written request, subject to any retention obligations under law
  • Clauses relating to confidentiality, intellectual property, payment, liability, and governing law survive termination
12

Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. For active engagements, we will notify you by email at least 14 days before material changes take effect.

Your continued use of our services after the effective date of any changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not accept the revised Terms, you may terminate your engagement in accordance with Section 11.

These Terms were last updated on 28 April 2026.

13

Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Victoria, Australia. Both parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Victoria and the Federal Court of Australia for any dispute arising under or in connection with these Terms.

Dispute resolution: Before initiating any formal proceedings, both parties agree to attempt to resolve any dispute through good-faith negotiation. If a dispute is not resolved within 20 business days of written notice, either party may refer the matter to a mediator agreed upon by both parties, before resorting to litigation.

14

Contact

If you have any questions about these Terms, or wish to discuss anything before engaging our services, please contact us:

We aim to respond to all enquiries within 2 business days.