Refund & Cancellation Policy

Last Updated: January 1, 2026

Company: GreenEmber Design ("Company," "we," "us," "our")

Client: The person or business purchasing services ("you," "your")

This Refund & Cancellation Policy explains how cancellations, pauses, and refunds work for our web design and related services. This policy is intended to be read alongside (and not replace) your signed proposal, statement of work, or service agreement. If there is a conflict, the signed agreement governs.

1) Services covered

This policy applies to purchases of:

Website design and development (custom builds, redesigns, landing pages, ecommerce)
Branding / graphic design when bundled with web work
Website maintenance / care plans / support retainers
Hosting (if provided by us)
SEO / digital marketing (if provided by us)

2) Important reality of custom digital services

Web design and development are custom services. Once time has been scheduled and work has begun, that time cannot be “returned.” For that reason, refunds are limited and based on work completed, milestones delivered, and costs already incurred.

Nothing in this policy limits any non-waivable rights you may have under applicable law.

3) Deposits, retainers, and kickoff payments

Unless your proposal states otherwise:

Deposits/retainers are non-refundable. They secure your place on our production schedule and cover onboarding, project setup, planning, discovery, and administrative costs.
We typically begin work only after (a) the deposit/retainer is paid and (b) required onboarding items are received (e.g., content, access, questionnaire, etc.).

4) Cancellation requests must be in writing

All cancellation or pause requests must be sent in writing to: katelin@greenemberdesign.com
(“In writing” includes email from the authorized decision-maker on the account.)

The cancellation is effective on the date we confirm receipt in writing.

5) Canceling a fixed-scope web design/development project

A) Canceling before work begins

If you cancel before we start work (i.e., before kickoff work begins and before any deliverables are produced):

Your deposit/retainer remains non-refundable, and
Any other amounts you paid (if any) may be refunded minus any non-refundable third-party costs already incurred (see Section 8).

B) Canceling after work begins but before launch

If you cancel after work begins, you are responsible for:

The non-refundable deposit/retainer, and
Payment for work completed through the cancellation date, calculated either:
- by the completed milestones in your proposal, or
- by time spent at $75/hour if your agreement is time-and-materials.

If you have paid more than the amount earned for completed work (plus non-refundable costs), we will refund the difference. If you have paid less, you agree to pay the remaining balance due for work performed.

C) No refunds after completion / launch

Once any of the following occurs, no refunds will be issued for the completed scope:

The website (or a major phase) is delivered and approved,
The site is launched/published/transferred to your hosting,
Final project files are delivered and accepted,
The work is otherwise considered complete under the statement of work.

6) Postponements, pauses, and “inactive projects”

If a project is delayed because required client items are not provided (content, feedback, approvals, access, etc.):

We may place the project on hold after 14 days of inactivity.
If inactivity continues for 30 days, we may consider the project canceled or closed.
To restart a paused/closed project, a reactivation fee of $250 and/or revised timeline/pricing may apply.

7) If we cancel or cannot complete your project

If we cancel the project for reasons not caused by your breach (for example, we become unable to complete the work), then:

We will refund any unearned portion of fees you paid for work not yet performed,
Less any non-refundable third-party costs already incurred.

We are not responsible for indirect losses (e.g., lost profits, lost revenue) related to cancellation, delays, or downtime.

8) Third-party costs are non-refundable

Third-party purchases are non-refundable, regardless of when you cancel, because they are billed by outside vendors and/or immediately provisioned.

These may include (but are not limited to):

Domain registrations/transfers
Hosting from third-party providers (if not hosted directly by us)
Premium themes, plugins, extensions, or software licenses
Stock photography, fonts, icons
Paid advertising spend (Google/Meta/etc.)
Printing, copywriting, photography/videography from third parties

If we purchase third-party items on your behalf, you agree to reimburse those costs even if the project is canceled.

9) Maintenance plans, support retainers, hosting, and subscriptions

A) Monthly plans

Monthly maintenance/hosting/support plans are billed in advance. Unless your agreement states otherwise:

You may cancel with 30 days’ written notice.
No partial-month refunds are provided.
Service continues through the end of the current billing period unless otherwise stated.

B) Annual or prepaid plans

If you prepay annually and cancel early:

Setup/onboarding fees are non-refundable, and
We may refund unused full months (or unused time) at our discretion, minus any non-refundable third-party costs and any discounts that required annual prepayment.

10) Payment disputes and chargebacks

If you have a billing concern, please contact us first at katelin@greenemberdesign.com so we can resolve it quickly.

If a chargeback or payment dispute is filed:

We may pause work and/or suspend services until the issue is resolved.
You are responsible for any chargeback fees assessed to us by our payment processor.
We reserve the right to provide documentation (contracts, emails, work logs, deliverables) to contest fraudulent or improper disputes.

11) How refunds are issued

If a refund is approved:

Refunds are issued to the original payment method when possible.
Processing time is typically 5–10 business days after approval (banks may take longer to post funds).
Refunds do not include any bank/payment processing fees that are non-refundable to us, unless required by law.

12) Contact

To request a cancellation or discuss a refund, contact:

Email: katelin@greenemberdesign.com
Company name: GreenEmber Design