Terms of Service

These Terms govern your use of WAO's WhatsApp ordering service. They form a binding agreement between M/s WAO, a partnership firm constituted under the Indian Partnership Act, 1932 and operating from Delhi NCR, India ("WAO", "we", "us"), and the restaurant or food business that subscribes to the service ("you", "the Restaurant").

By signing up, completing onboarding, or using the service, you accept these Terms. If you are accepting on behalf of a business, you confirm you are authorised to bind it.

1. What WAO provides

WAO is software that lets your customers order directly from you over WhatsApp. Depending on the plan you subscribe to, the service may include:

• An AI ordering assistant on your WhatsApp Business number that takes orders, answers menu questions and confirms orders.
• Menu setup and ongoing menu and price management.
• Order notifications to you, and order status updates to your customers.
• A customer database of people who have ordered from you, with order history.
• Promotional campaign tools for sending offers to customers who have opted in.
• Review requests and basic analytics on orders and channel performance.

The exact features, order limits and outlet count for your subscription are those set out in the plan you selected at signup. We may add, improve or change features over time. If we remove a material feature you are paying for, we will tell you in advance and you may cancel under section 14.

WAO is a software provider, not a food business. We do not prepare, sell, package or deliver food. We do not take payment from your customers on your behalf. Every order is a contract between you and your customer.

2. Your account

• You must be a legally constituted business able to enter contracts in India, and you must hold every licence your operations require, including a valid FSSAI registration or licence.
• Information you give us at signup and onboarding must be accurate and kept up to date.
• You are responsible for anything done through your account, including by your staff. Keep access credentials and the owner WhatsApp number secure, and tell us promptly if you suspect misuse.
• The service is provided for the outlets named in your plan. Using one subscription across additional outlets requires an upgrade.

3. Your responsibilities

The ordering assistant only works if the information behind it is right, and only helps if someone acts on the orders. You are responsible for:

• Menu and price accuracy. Items, prices, taxes, portion sizes, availability and any allergen or dietary information you publish through the service.
• Accepting and fulfilling orders that come through, including honouring quoted prices and stated pickup or delivery times.
• Food safety, hygiene and legal compliance in everything you sell, and compliance with FSSAI and local law.
• Marking items unavailable when you run out, so customers are not sold what you cannot make.
• Monitoring your order channel during your stated operating hours and responding to orders promptly.
• Keeping your WhatsApp Business number and Meta Business account active and in good standing, and complying with Meta's policies.
• Collecting payment from your customers. Money for orders goes directly to you. WAO never holds customer funds.
• Customer service and complaints about your food, your service, refunds and order disputes.

4. Dependence on WhatsApp

This section matters more than most, so we state it plainly.

WAO runs on the WhatsApp Business Platform, operated by Meta. Your use of the service is also subject to Meta's terms, the WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy and Meta's Commerce Policy. You are responsible for complying with them.

• We do not control WhatsApp's availability, performance, pricing, policies or approval decisions.
• Meta may throttle, restrict, suspend or terminate your WhatsApp Business Account, change its messaging rules, or change what it charges for message delivery, at any time and without notice to us.
• Meta charges for certain message categories. Where your plan includes a message allowance, messages beyond it, or charges introduced or increased by Meta, may be billed to you.
• Your number may be restricted if your customers report your messages as spam. Section 8 exists to protect you from this.
• If Meta restricts or removes your account, we will help you understand and respond to it, but we cannot reverse it and we are not liable for it.

5. Fees and billing

• Fees, the billing cycle, any one-time setup fee, and any order or outlet limits are those in the plan you selected. Fees are exclusive of GST and other applicable taxes, which are charged additionally.
• Subscription fees are billed in advance for each billing period and are due on the invoice date.
• Where your plan includes an order or message cap, orders or messages beyond it may be charged at the overage rate in your plan, or may require an upgrade.
• If payment is not received within 7 days of the due date, we may suspend the service after giving you notice. We may charge interest on overdue amounts at 1.5% per month or the maximum permitted by law, whichever is lower.
• We may change our prices. For existing subscribers, we will give at least 30 days' notice before a price change takes effect, and you may cancel before it does.
• Cancellations and refunds are governed by our Refund and Cancellation Policy.

6. Pilots and trials

We may offer a pilot, free period or discounted introductory rate. Unless we agree otherwise in writing:

• A pilot runs for the period stated when it was offered, after which standard fees apply unless you cancel.
• Pilot terms are specific to you and are not a commitment to future pricing.
• Everything in these Terms applies during a pilot, including the limitation of liability in section 12.

7. Customer data

This is the part we consider non-negotiable, and it runs in your favour.

• You own your customer data. The customers who order from you, their order history and their contact details belong to you, not to WAO.
• WAO acts as your Data Processor for that data under India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. You are the Data Fiduciary. Our respective obligations are set out in the Data Processing Agreement, which forms part of these Terms.
• We never share your customers with another restaurant, never sell customer data, and never use it to market anything of our own.
• You can export your customer data at any time during your subscription, and for 30 days after it ends. After that, we delete our copy in line with the Data Processing Agreement.
• If you upload an existing customer list, you confirm you have a lawful basis to share it with us and that those customers were given notice as the law requires.
• We may use aggregated and de-identified information about how the service is used to operate and improve it. This never identifies you or your customers.

8. Acceptable use

You must not use the service to:

• Send unsolicited promotional messages, or message people who have not opted in or who have opted out.
• Send messages that breach the WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy or any applicable law on commercial communications.
• Sell alcohol, tobacco, controlled substances, or any restricted or prohibited item, or sell anything you are not licensed to sell.
• Misrepresent your food, prices, licences or business identity.
• Upload contact lists obtained without consent, purchased, scraped or otherwise acquired unlawfully.
• Reverse engineer, copy, resell, sublicense or white-label the service, or attempt to access another restaurant's account or data.
• Interfere with, overload or probe the security of our systems.

Breach of this section risks your WhatsApp number as much as your WAO account, and we may suspend the service immediately to protect you and other users.

9. Intellectual property

• WAO owns the service, its software, workflows, prompts, designs and documentation, and all intellectual property in them. You get a non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use the service during your subscription, for your own business.
• You own your menu content, photographs, brand, trade marks and customer data. You grant us a limited licence to use them only to operate the service for you.
• Feedback and suggestions you give us may be used freely to improve the service, with no obligation to you.
• We may name you and use your logo as a customer in our marketing. If you prefer we do not, write to us and we will stop.
• WhatsApp, Meta and other third-party names are the property of their owners. Nothing here grants you rights in them.

10. Support and availability

• We provide support over WhatsApp and email during our stated support hours, and will respond as promptly as we reasonably can.
• We aim for high availability, and we build the service to keep taking orders. We do not, however, guarantee uninterrupted or error-free operation, and no uptime commitment applies unless we have agreed one with you in writing.
• We may carry out maintenance, and will try to schedule anything disruptive outside peak meal times.
• Parts of the service depend on third parties, including Meta. Their outages are outside our control.

11. Disclaimers

The service is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we exclude all implied warranties, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement.

We do not warrant that every order will be received, understood, confirmed or fulfilled without error. The assistant interprets natural language and can misread an unusual message. You remain responsible for checking orders before you make them, and for fixing mistakes with your customers.

We make no promise about the volume of orders, revenue, savings, commission avoided or customer retention you will achieve. Any figures in our marketing are illustrative, based on other restaurants, and are not a guarantee of your results.

12. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law:

• Neither party is liable for indirect, incidental, special or consequential loss, or for loss of profit, revenue, goodwill, business opportunity, or anticipated savings, however caused.
• Our total aggregate liability to you for all claims arising out of or relating to the service, in contract, tort or otherwise, is limited to the total fees you actually paid us in the three months immediately before the event giving rise to the claim.
• We are not liable for loss arising from: your menu or price errors; your failure to accept, prepare or fulfil an order; food safety or quality; acts or omissions of Meta, WhatsApp, or any delivery, payment or POS partner; restriction or suspension of your WhatsApp number; or your breach of section 8.

Nothing in these Terms excludes liability for fraud, wilful misconduct, or anything that cannot be excluded under Indian law.

13. Indemnity

You will indemnify WAO against claims, losses and reasonable costs arising from: the food and services you sell; your menu, prices and content; your promotional messages and contact lists; your breach of these Terms or of Meta's policies; and your breach of data protection law as Data Fiduciary for your customers.

14. Suspension and termination

• You may cancel at any time as set out in the Refund and Cancellation Policy.
• We may suspend the service if fees are overdue, if we reasonably believe section 8 is being breached, if Meta requires it, or if continuing would create a legal or security risk. Except in urgent cases we will give you notice and a chance to fix the problem.
• Either party may terminate on 30 days' written notice, or immediately for a material breach that is not cured within 15 days of notice.
• On termination: your access ends at the end of the paid period; you may export your customer data for 30 days afterwards; we then delete our copy as set out in the Data Processing Agreement; and any fees already due remain payable.
• Sections 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 18 and this section survive termination.

15. Confidentiality

Each party will keep the other's non-public business information confidential, use it only for the purpose of this agreement, and protect it with at least reasonable care. This does not apply to information that is public through no fault of the recipient, was already known, is independently developed, or must be disclosed by law.

16. Force majeure

Neither party is liable for failure to perform caused by events beyond its reasonable control, including internet or telecom failure, outages or policy changes at Meta or other platforms, power failure, natural disaster, epidemic, civil unrest, strike or government action. Payment obligations already incurred are not excused.

17. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms. For changes that materially affect your rights or obligations, we will give you at least 30 days' notice by email or WhatsApp before they take effect. Continuing to use the service after that constitutes acceptance. If you do not accept, you may cancel before the change takes effect.

18. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of India. Any dispute will first be discussed in good faith between the parties. Failing resolution within 30 days, the dispute will be referred to arbitration under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, before a sole arbitrator appointed by mutual consent. The seat and venue of arbitration will be New Delhi and the language will be English. Subject to arbitration, the courts at Delhi have exclusive jurisdiction.

19. Contact

Questions about these Terms: info@getwao.com. M/s WAO is based in Delhi NCR, India; a postal address for formal correspondence is available on request by email.