Terms of Service

Version 1.2  ·  Effective 2 October 2026

By creating an account or using BoardHQ you agree to these terms. Please read them carefully. If you do not agree, do not use the service.

1. The service

BoardHQ provides board governance and meeting management software as a service ("Service"), operated in New Zealand. We reserve the right to modify or discontinue the Service at any time with reasonable notice.

2. Your account

• You must provide accurate information when registering.
• You are responsible for keeping your password secure and for all activity under your account.
• You must be 18 or older to use BoardHQ.
• One person may not maintain more than one personal account.

3. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

• Use the Service for any unlawful purpose.
• Upload content that is defamatory, fraudulent, or infringes third-party rights.
• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to other accounts or systems.
• Interfere with or disrupt the Service or its infrastructure.
• Resell or sublicense access to the Service without our written consent.

4. Your data

You retain ownership of all content you upload or create (minutes, documents, resolutions, etc.). You grant us a limited licence to store and process that content solely to provide the Service. We do not claim any intellectual property rights over your content.

5. Subscriptions and billing

• Paid plans are billed monthly or annually in advance via Stripe, depending on the plan you choose.
• Each level includes a number of boards and members. Community and Large Charity can add members beyond their allowance for $10 a month ($100 a year) each; this is not charged during the free period. Boards cannot be added beyond a level's allowance: move to a higher level instead.
• Prices are in New Zealand Dollars (NZD). We are not currently registered for GST, so no GST is charged.
• Subscriptions renew automatically at the end of each month or year until cancelled.
• You may cancel at any time from Billing → Manage subscription. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the period you have already paid for: you keep full access until then and are not charged again.
• If a payment fails, we keep your access open for 7 days while the payment is retried. If it still has not been paid, access is paused until it is. Pausing access does not delete your data.
• We do not offer refunds for partial billing periods unless required by New Zealand consumer law.
• We reserve the right to change pricing with 30 days' notice.

6. Free period

New organisations receive a free period that depends on their level: 12 months for Community and 6 months for Large Charity (both for registered charities), and 3 months for Large Company. A charity or company gives its registration number when it signs up, and confirms that it is accurate. No credit card is required. We email the organisation's admins 60, 30 and 7 days before the free period ends. At the end of it, the account moves to a read-only state, where everything can still be viewed and downloaded, unless a paid plan is selected. The free period for a level is not renewed, and each charity number or NZ Business Number can receive it once.

7. Data backup and retention

BoardHQ is a working governance tool, not a long-term archive. You are responsible for maintaining your own records. We provide a self-service backup (admin → Backup Data) so you can download all meeting minutes as tamper-evident PDFs, plus resolutions, action items, and member lists. We strongly recommend downloading regular backups and storing them securely outside of BoardHQ.

We retain your data while your account is active. If your account is closed or your subscription lapses, data may be deleted within 30 days — except where we are required by law to retain it. BoardHQ accepts no liability for loss of data that has not been backed up by the organisation.

8. Service availability

We aim for high availability but do not guarantee uninterrupted access. Scheduled maintenance will be notified in advance where possible. We are not liable for losses arising from downtime.

9. Data security

We apply reasonable technical measures to protect your data, including TLS encryption and access controls. However, no system is completely secure. You are responsible for maintaining secure access credentials. In the event of a data breach that affects your personal information, we will notify you as required by the NZ Privacy Act 2020.

10. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by New Zealand law, BoardHQ is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. We are not liable for any indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from use of the Service, including loss of data, revenue, or business opportunity. Our total liability shall not exceed the amount you paid us in the 12 months preceding the claim.

11. Termination

We may suspend or terminate your account if you breach these terms. You may close your account at any time by contacting support@boardhq.net. On closure, your data will be deleted within 30 days (see Privacy Policy §7 for exceptions).

12. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of New Zealand. Any disputes will be resolved in the courts of New Zealand.

13. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. We will notify you by email at least 14 days before material changes take effect. Continued use of the Service after that date constitutes acceptance of the new terms.

14. Contact

Questions about these terms? Email support@boardhq.net.