General Policies
The following is a “working document” where we will keep our general policies current.
Support Services
The support policy of FatLab, LLC is as simple as “to the best of our ability.” We promise to work against any challenge or issue to the absolute best of our ability. Though we are experts in our field, we are not miracle workers and are only human, so we believe this is the best guarantee that we can provide.
Hosting Infrastructure (Location and Monitoring)
FatLab maintains all infrastructure within a managed account at Cloudways. All infrastructure is monitored 24/7/365 by Cloudways and FatLab, LLC.
Hosted Email
As of 2017, we are no longer accepting new email hosting clients. Due to the nature of email, our clients would be better served working with a specialized email provider such as Rackspace or Google G-Suite. At the time of this writing, we have no plans to discontinue current email services for clients that currently utilize them.
Email Support
We monitor our systems 24/7/365 and will respond to any issue that may impede email transactions. If any such issue occurs, please open a ticket by sending an email to [email protected] or by visiting our Get Web Support page.
We are happy to set up new email accounts and aliases for you as the need arises or we can set you up with administrator access to manage your inboxes yourself. Desktop, software, and device support is provided to the best of our ability and is not guaranteed. I.e. we will ensure that all email systems are up and running but might not be able to troubleshoot individual software or device setups. If you are having trouble setting up any particular divide, we provide account-specific instructions at Rackspace (have your email address and password available).
Third-Party Billing
FatLab does not provide or support third-party billing. The party for whom we do the work, the party from whom we receive our orders, is the financially responsible party. We are happy to send a copy of the invoice or bill a party’s credit card that is not named on the invoice. However, the invoice will remain in the name of our direct client, and we consider them responsible for all payments. Non-payment may result in termination of service, including ongoing support, hosting, or even our good nature. Like you, we work for money; it’s cold-hearted, but we cannot provide the services we do.
We don’t support third-party billing simply because it puts us in a bad position. If the third party does not pay promptly, we must cut services to the primary client, which seems a little unfair – and we like to play fair.
Payment (Invoice & Credit Card)
Hosting and monthly support agreements are billed monthly. Clients can choose to make payments by check or ACH. Our invoicing system allows for saving credit cards so that monthly charges can be paid automatically. All hourly work is invoiced at the end of the month.
Invoice Terms
For clients that pay by invoice, all invoices are due upon receipt. We will send reminders. Because most of the requests we receive are timely and deadlines are tight, we expect that our clients will also compensate us in a timely manner.
Past Due Payments and Termination of Services
It rarely gets this ugly. For invoices 30 days old, a second notice of the outstanding balance will be sent via email, and for others at 60 and 90 days. At 60 days, you will probably get a pleading email and/or phone call. However (and this is important), at 60 days, we reserve the right to suspend all support services, including hosting services. Hosted sites can be taken offline and remain offline until payment is received. Honestly, it is surprising how quickly this motivates people to get a past-due payment though we wish it never came to this.