Refund & Cancellation Policy

1. Overview

SoftGodam is committed to fair and transparent billing. This policy describes the circumstances under which refunds and cancellations are granted for our software development, retainer, managed services, and related offerings. By making a payment to SoftGodam, you acknowledge and agree to this policy.

All payments are processed securely through Razorpay. Refunds, where applicable, are credited to the original payment method within the timelines described below.

2. Fixed-Price Projects

Advance / Milestone payments

• Before work begins: A full refund of the advance is issued if you cancel the engagement in writing before any billable work has commenced, less any payment gateway processing fees (typically 2–3%).
• After work has begun: Refunds are prorated based on the percentage of agreed deliverables not yet completed and accepted. The unearned portion will be refunded; work already delivered and accepted is non-refundable.
• After milestone sign-off: Payments linked to milestones that have been formally signed off (accepted) by the client are non-refundable.

In the event of a dispute over what percentage of work has been completed, we will engage in good-faith mediation within 14 business days of receiving a written dispute.

3. Monthly Retainer Engagements

• Cancellation notice: Retainer agreements require 30 days' written notice of cancellation. During the notice period, services continue and the retainer fee for that period remains due.
• Mid-month cancellation: If you cancel mid-cycle, the retainer fee for the current billing month is non-refundable. Services will continue through the end of the current billing cycle.
• Unused hours: Unused hours in a retainer cycle do not carry forward by default (unless your contract specifies a carry-forward policy) and are not refundable.
• Overage charges: Charges for hours worked beyond the included retainer hours are non-refundable once the work has been delivered.

4. SLA Service Credits

Where SoftGodam fails to meet the response or resolution SLAs defined in your service agreement, you may be entitled to service credits applied against future invoices. The credit amount is calculated automatically based on the breach type and your SLA tier.

Service credits are the sole remedy for SLA breaches and are not convertible to cash refunds unless explicitly stated in a separate written agreement. Credits expire if your account is terminated.

To claim an SLA credit, raise a support ticket referencing the affected incident within 14 days of the breach. Credits will be applied to your next invoice.

5. Duplicate or Erroneous Payments

If you have been charged more than once for the same invoice, or if a payment was processed in error, contact us at billing@softgodam.com within 7 days. We will verify and process a full refund of the duplicate or erroneous charge within 5–7 business days.

Please include your invoice number, payment reference ID (from Razorpay), and a brief description of the issue.

6. Non-Refundable Items

The following are not eligible for a refund under any circumstances:

• Late-payment fees and interest charges
• Setup, onboarding, or discovery-phase fees once the engagement has started
• Third-party licences, tools, cloud services, or subscriptions procured on your behalf
• Payments for work explicitly accepted and signed off by the client
• Any portion of a payment where the corresponding deliverable has been deployed to a production or live environment

7. Refund Process & Timelines

Timelines refer to business days (Monday–Friday, excluding Indian public holidays). Credit timeline reflects when the amount appears in your bank account or card statement, depending on your bank.

8. How to Request a Refund

1. Log in to your client portal and navigate to Invoices.
2. Identify the invoice and payment you wish to dispute or refund.
3. Email billing@softgodam.com with the subject line "Refund Request — Invoice #XXXXXX" including:
   • Your company name and registered email
   • Invoice number and Razorpay payment reference ID
   • Reason for the refund request
4. Our billing team will respond within 2 business days to confirm receipt and next steps.

You can also raise a support ticket from your portal for billing queries — select category Query and our team will route it to the billing department.

9. Chargebacks

We strongly encourage you to contact us before initiating a chargeback with your bank or card issuer. Most issues are resolved quickly through direct communication. If a chargeback is filed without prior contact, we reserve the right to suspend account access and contest the chargeback with evidence of service delivery.

Repeated or fraudulent chargebacks may result in permanent account termination.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated by email to registered clients at least 14 days before they take effect. Continued use of our services after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

11. Contact

For billing and refund enquiries, please reach out to: