Terms of Service

These Terms of Service ("Terms") form a binding agreement between PineThom ("PineThom", "we", "us" or "our") and the school, daycare or individual that creates an account ("School", "you"), and every person invited by a School to use the platform ("Authorized Users", which include directors, staff members and parents or guardians).

By creating an account, accepting an invitation, or using the PineThom platform (the "Service"), you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy. If you create an account on behalf of a School, you represent that you are authorized to bind that School to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

PineThom is a cloud-based management platform designed for small childcare providers. It includes, according to the features enabled for each School:

• Digital check-in and check-out of children, through a time-limited rotating PIN code generated by the family and validated by staff, or through a drawn on-screen signature;
• Attendance records and immutable audit logs (who, when, method and, when permitted by the device, approximate location);
• Child profiles, including allergies, health and care notes, enrollment information and classroom assignment;
• Staff-to-child ratio indicators based on the limits configured by the School;
• Document tracking (such as immunization and physical examination forms) with expiration alerts, including files uploaded by families and approved by the School;
• Lists of persons authorized for pickup, including changes suggested by families and approved by the School;
• Communication between Schools and families, and operational requests and approvals.

PineThom is a software tool only. We are not a childcare provider, we are not licensed or regulated as one, and we do not supervise children, staff or facilities.

• School Data: all information entered into the Service by or on behalf of a School or its Authorized Users, including child profiles, attendance records, documents and communications.
• Child Data: the portion of School Data that relates to an identified child, including health, allergy, routine and attendance information.
• Family User: a parent or legal guardian invited by a School to access the family portal.
• Staff User: a director, teacher or employee invited by a School.

• School accounts are created by a director or owner through self-serve registration. Staff and Family Users can only join through an invitation issued by the School.
• You must provide accurate information and keep it up to date.
• You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and of any PIN code generated for drop-off or pickup, and for all activity that occurs under your account.
• PIN codes are personal and non-transferable. Sharing a code, or allowing another person to use your account, undermines the legal validity of attendance records and is prohibited.
• You must notify us and your School immediately of any unauthorized use of your account.

The School decides who to invite and which role each person receives (director, staff or family). The School is solely responsible for revoking access when someone leaves the School or when a family is disenrolled, and for keeping authorized-pickup lists current. PineThom is not responsible for access granted — or not revoked — by a School.

• New Schools receive a 7-day free trial with full functionality. No payment card is required to start a trial.
• One trial per School. We may refuse additional trials created to avoid payment.
• At the end of the trial, continued use requires an active subscription. If you choose not to subscribe, we may restrict editing features while keeping your data available in read-only mode for a grace period of 30 days, after which the data may be deleted as described in our Privacy Policy.
• We will remind you before the trial ends, using the email registered on the account.

• Paid plans are billed monthly, in advance, through our payment processor (currently Stripe). By subscribing you authorize recurring charges until cancellation.
• Promotional pricing (for example, a discounted rate for the first months) applies only as described in the specific offer and converts to the regular price afterwards.
• You may cancel at any time; the cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing cycle. Except where required by law, payments are non-refundable.
• We may change prices with at least 30 days' prior notice. Continued use after the new price takes effect constitutes acceptance.
• Applicable taxes may be added to the prices. You are responsible for any taxes associated with your subscription.

PineThom does not process, hold or transmit tuition payments between Schools and families. Any payment status shown in the Service (for example, reminders about weekly tuition or late fees) is informational only and reflects records entered by the School. Payments arranged outside the platform (such as Zelle, checks or cash) are the exclusive responsibility of the School and the family. PineThom is not a bank, money transmitter or payment processor for tuition.

• The Service records drop-offs and pickups through electronic methods: a drawn on-screen signature, or a rotating 4-digit PIN code generated by a Family User and validated by a Staff User. Each event is written to an immutable audit log with date, time, method, the person identified and, when the device allows, approximate location.
• Under the federal ESIGN Act, the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) and the Florida Electronic Signature Act (Fla. Stat. § 668.50), these electronic records and signatures are intended to be legally equivalent to handwritten signatures on paper.
• The School is responsible for supervising the check-in process, visually confirming the identity of the person dropping off or picking up a child, and verifying that its use of electronic records satisfies the record-keeping rules that apply to its license (including Florida Administrative Code Rule 65C-22.001, where applicable).
• PineThom does not verify the identity of the person presenting a code or drawing a signature. The attendance record reflects the information entered at the time; the School remains responsible for the accuracy of its records before regulators.

• The Service is directed to Schools and adults. Children under 13 do not have accounts and we do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children.
• Child Data is entered by the School or by Family Users. Before entering Child Data, the School must obtain the consent of the child's parent or legal guardian, as required by the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and any applicable state rules, and must inform families that the data will be processed in PineThom.
• We process Child Data solely as a service provider acting on the School's instructions, for the purpose of operating the platform.
• Parents and guardians may review, correct or request deletion of their child's information at any time, through the School or by contacting us as described in the Privacy Policy.

Certain records stored in the Service (for example, immunization forms or attendance histories) may be subject to additional laws such as FERPA (for institutions that receive applicable federal funds) or state childcare regulations. The School — not PineThom — is responsible for determining which rules apply to it and for configuring retention accordingly. Health and allergy information in the Service is operational information for daily care; PineThom is not a medical records system and nothing in the Service constitutes medical advice.

The School is solely responsible for:

• Holding and maintaining all licenses and registrations required to operate, and complying with all applicable regulations (including Florida DCF rules, where applicable);
• The accuracy and lawfulness of all School Data it enters, including ratio limits configured in the system;
• Obtaining all consents required from families before entering Child Data or before inviting Family Users;
• Reviewing and approving (or rejecting) changes and documents submitted by families before relying on them;
• Maintaining an up-to-date list of persons authorized for pickup and making final decisions about releasing a child;
• Supervising staff and ensuring the Service is used in accordance with these Terms;
• Exporting or printing any records it must retain under applicable rules.

You agree not to:

• Use the Service for any unlawful purpose, or in violation of any childcare, privacy or consumer-protection law;
• Upload content you do not have the right to share, including documents about children without the required consent;
• Share accounts or credentials, or allow children to operate adult accounts;
• Probe, scan or test the vulnerability of the Service, attempt to access another School's data, or interfere with the Service's operation;
• Reverse engineer the Service, scrape its content, or use it to build a competing product;
• Upload malware or use the Service to send spam or unsolicited communications.

• The School owns its School Data. Family Users retain ownership of the content they submit. Nothing in these Terms transfers ownership of your data to PineThom.
• You grant PineThom a limited, non-exclusive license to host, store, process and display School Data solely to provide and improve the Service, and as required by law.
• We may use aggregated and de-identified data (which cannot identify any school, child or person) to improve the Service and produce statistics. We never sell personal information.

The Service, including its software, design, logos and documentation, is the property of PineThom and its licensors and is protected by intellectual-property laws. These Terms grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use the Service while your account is active. If you send us suggestions or feedback, we may use them without restriction or compensation.

The Service relies on third-party providers for cloud hosting, databases, email delivery and payment processing. Your use of the Service is also subject to the technical limitations of those providers. We are not responsible for third-party websites or services linked from the Service.

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE", WITH ALL FAULTS. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, PINETHOM DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

• We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free or that records will satisfy every interpretation of every inspector or regulator. Ratio indicators and expiration alerts are aids, not compliance guarantees.
• PineThom does not provide legal, licensing, medical or compliance advice. Templates, indicators and reports do not replace the School's judgment or obligations.
• No system is perfectly secure; while we apply industry-standard safeguards (described in our Privacy Policy), we cannot guarantee absolute security.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, PINETHOM WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA, GOODWILL OR BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY, ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO THE SERVICE.

PINETHOM'S TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS RELATING TO THE SERVICE IS LIMITED TO THE AMOUNTS PAID BY THE SCHOOL TO PINETHOM IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM, OR ONE HUNDRED US DOLLARS (US$100) IF NO AMOUNTS WERE PAID.

Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations; in those cases, the limitations apply to the fullest extent permitted.

The School agrees to indemnify, defend and hold harmless PineThom from claims, damages, fines and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from: (a) School Data entered without the required consents or legal basis; (b) the School's violation of these Terms or of any law or regulation; (c) decisions made by the School regarding the care, release or supervision of children; or (d) access granted or not revoked by the School.

• These Terms apply while your account is active. You may close your account at any time; subscriptions remain payable until the end of the current billing cycle.
• We may suspend or terminate access for breach of these Terms, non-payment, or where required to protect the security or integrity of the Service or other Schools' data.
• After termination, the School has 30 days to request an export of its School Data. After that period, data may be deleted as described in the Privacy Policy, except where retention is required by law.
• Sections that by their nature should survive termination (including ownership, disclaimers, limitation of liability, indemnification and dispute resolution) survive.

Our collection and use of information is described in the Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms.

We may update these Terms from time to time. For material changes, we will provide at least 30 days' notice by email or through the Service. Continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance. If you do not agree with the changes, you must stop using the Service and close your account.

• These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Florida, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules.
• Before filing any claim, the parties agree to try to resolve the dispute informally for at least 30 days, by written notice.
• Except for claims that qualify for small-claims court and requests for injunctive relief, disputes will be resolved by binding individual arbitration under the rules of the American Arbitration Association, seated in Orange County, Florida, in English.
• CLASS ACTION WAIVER: claims must be brought individually, and not as part of a class, collective or representative action, to the extent permitted by law.
• If arbitration is found unenforceable, the exclusive venue will be the state and federal courts located in Orange County, Florida.

• These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, are the entire agreement between you and PineThom regarding the Service.
• If any provision is held unenforceable, the remainder stays in effect.
• Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver.
• You may not assign these Terms without our consent; we may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition or sale of assets.
• We are not liable for delays caused by events beyond our reasonable control (force majeure), including failures of internet, cloud or telecommunications providers.
• Notices to PineThom must be sent to the contact below; notices to you may be sent to the email registered on your account.

Questions about these Terms: contact@pinethom.com

PineThom · Grow your school, keep your family.