Terms of Service · Stowlane

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the Stowlane self-storage management platform and related services (the "Service"), provided by HamiltonDevCo ("Stowlane," "we," "us," or "our"). The Service is offered to self-storage facility owners and operators ("Operator," "you," or "your"). By creating an account, checking the acceptance box at sign-up, or using the Service, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

1. The Service is a subscription/license, not a sale of software

Stowlane grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and use the Service during your subscription term, for your own internal business of operating a self-storage facility. We are providing a hosted software service. We are not selling you the software, any copy of it, or any ownership interest in it. No title to, or ownership of, the Service passes to you. Any rights not expressly granted here are reserved.

Plain language: You're renting access to Stowlane, not buying the software. You can use it while you pay; you don't own it.

2. Intellectual property

All intellectual property in and to the Service — including the software, source code, designs, user interfaces, documentation, trademarks (including the Stowlane name and logo), and all improvements and derivative works — is and remains the exclusive property of Stowlane/HamiltonDevCo and its licensors. Operators, founding-group members, and anyone who contributes to the cost of building the Service receive only a license to use the Service under these Terms; they never acquire ownership of, or any equity, royalty, or other proprietary interest in, the Service or its intellectual property. Paying for early access, a founding seat, or a build does not transfer IP.

Plain language: Stowlane owns the software and everything in it. Even if you're in the founding group or helped fund the build, you get to use it — you never own a piece of it.

3. You are the merchant of record

The Service may help you accept payments from your tenants through a third-party payment processor (Stripe) using your own connected payment account. When you do, you are the merchant of record. That means:

You — not Stowlane — are responsible for all chargebacks, disputes, and refunds on payments you accept, and these are debited from your balance with the processor.
You are responsible for the processor's standard dispute (chargeback) fee on disputed transactions.
Stowlane does not mark up processing fees, dispute fees, or refunds, and does not add a fee of its own to your tenants' payments beyond the platform fee disclosed in your plan. We are not in the middle of your money: funds settle to your bank from your connected account.
You are responsible for compliance with the payment-card network rules and your processor agreement.

Plain language: When your tenants pay you, you're the business taking the card — like any store. Chargebacks, refunds, and dispute fees come out of your balance, not ours, and we don't mark them up.

4. Credit-card surcharges (passing the card fee to tenants)

The Service can pass a credit-card surcharge through to your tenants. If you enable surcharging, you agree that:

Surcharges are applied to credit-card transactions only. Surcharging debit-card and prepaid-card transactions is prohibited by network rules and law, and the Service is configured to surcharge credit only.
You must disclose the surcharge to your tenants before they pay, both at the point of sale and (where required) by advance notice, and the surcharge amount appears as a separate line item.
Surcharge limits are governed by the rules of the card networks and the law of each state. Kentucky does not cap credit-card surcharges; other states impose caps or restrictions. You are responsible for surcharging only where it is lawful and within applicable caps. The Service's per-state surcharge logic is provided as a tool, not as legal advice, and you remain responsible for compliance in your jurisdiction.

Plain language: You can add the card fee to a tenant's credit-card payment (not debit), as long as you tell them first. Kentucky has no cap; other states do — surcharge only where it's legal.

5. Fees, billing, and taxes

You agree to pay the subscription fees for the plan you select (monthly, annual, or a Lifetime plan as described below). Fees are billed in advance and are non-refundable except as required by law or as expressly stated here. We may change subscription fees on prospective notice; changes take effect at your next renewal.

Sales tax. Your subscription may be subject to sales, use, or similar taxes — for example, Kentucky taxes access to prewritten software (SaaS). Where Stowlane is required to collect such tax, it will be added to your invoice and remitted by us. Where Stowlane is not the party obligated to collect, you are responsible for determining, collecting, and remitting any taxes due on your own account and on the rents and fees you collect from your tenants. Fees stated exclude taxes unless otherwise noted.

Plain language: You pay for your plan up front. Taxes (like Kentucky's SaaS tax) may be added. Any tax we're not collecting is yours to handle.

6. Lifetime plan

If you purchase a "Lifetime" plan, the following terms apply in addition to the rest of these Terms:

Scope. A Lifetime plan grants a license to use the Service for a single named self-storage facility ("per-facility"). It does not cover additional facilities, which require separate plans.
Non-transferable, except on sale of the facility. A Lifetime plan is personal to you and the named facility and may not be sold, assigned, or transferred — except that it may transfer to the buyer of the named facility upon (a) prior written notice to Stowlane and (b) the buyer's agreement to these Terms.
"Lifetime" means the commercial service life of the Service, not perpetuity. If Stowlane discontinues the Service (in whole, or the Lifetime offering), our obligation is limited to a commercially reasonable wind-down: we will give reasonable advance notice and provide a reasonable means to export your data. A Lifetime plan does not obligate Stowlane to operate the Service forever, to provide support indefinitely, or to any refund beyond what is commercially reasonable and required by law. No perpetual obligation survives discontinuation beyond a commercially reasonable wind-down and export window.
Pass-through costs remain yours. Third-party costs tied to your use (e.g., payment processor connected-account and payout fees) are not covered by the Lifetime fee.

Plain language: A Lifetime plan is for one facility, can't be resold except to whoever buys that facility (with notice), and "lifetime" means the life of the product — if we ever shut Stowlane down, we give you notice and a way to export your data, not a promise to run it forever.

7. Term, cancellation, and data export on exit

These Terms apply for as long as you use the Service. You may cancel at any time; cancellation stops future renewals and takes effect at the end of your current paid period. We may suspend or terminate your access for non-payment, material breach, or unlawful use, on reasonable notice where practicable. On termination for any reason, you may, for a reasonable period, export your data (tenants, units, leases, balances) in a standard format. After that period we may delete your data in the ordinary course, subject to the Privacy Policy and any legal retention obligations.

Plain language: Cancel whenever — it stops at the end of what you've paid for. Your data is yours: you can export it on the way out.

8. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

use the Service to violate any law, payment-network rule, or third party's rights;
upload unlawful, infringing, or malicious content, or others' personal data without a lawful basis;
reverse engineer, copy, resell, sublicense, or create derivative works of the Service, or attempt to access it other than through the interfaces we provide;
probe, scan, overload, or interfere with the security or integrity of the Service; or
use the Service to send unlawful communications to your tenants.

9. Warranty disclaimer

The Service is provided "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE," without warranties of any kind. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Stowlane disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and non-infringement, and does not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure, or that it will meet your requirements. Stowlane is a software provider, not a law firm, accountant, or insurer; nothing in the Service is legal, tax, or financial advice.

Plain language: We do our best, but the Service comes as-is, with no guarantees, and it's not legal or tax advice.

10. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Stowlane will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for lost profits, lost revenue, lost data, or business interruption, arising out of or relating to the Service, even if advised of the possibility. Stowlane's total aggregate liability for all claims relating to the Service will not exceed the amounts you paid to Stowlane for the Service in the twelve (12) months before the event giving rise to the claim. Stowlane is not liable for chargebacks, refunds, dispute fees, tenant non-payment, or the acts of the payment processor or other third parties.

Plain language: If something goes wrong, our liability is capped at what you paid us in the last year, and we're not on the hook for indirect losses or for your chargebacks and refunds.

11. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Stowlane/HamiltonDevCo and its owners, officers, and agents from and against any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or related to: (a) your use of the Service; (b) your collection of payments, surcharges, and taxes from your tenants; (c) your relationship with and data about your tenants; (d) your breach of these Terms or violation of law; and (e) chargebacks, refunds, and disputes on payments you accept.

Plain language: If you get us sued over how you run your facility, take payments, or handle your tenants' data, you cover our costs.

12. Governing law and dispute resolution

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. The parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the state and federal courts located in Nelson County, Kentucky (placeholder — to be confirmed with counsel and the chosen entity). Before filing suit, the parties will attempt in good faith to resolve any dispute informally. Nothing here prevents either party from seeking injunctive relief to protect intellectual property or confidential information.

Plain language: Kentucky law applies, and disputes go to court in the named Kentucky county (which we'll finalize with a lawyer).

13. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be posted here with a new version date; continued use after the effective date means you accept the updated Terms. The version you accepted at sign-up is recorded on your account.

14. Contact

Questions about these Terms: HamiltonDevCo, justin.hamilton@hamiltondevco.com.