For contracts on software development, IT consulting, digital transformation and system support. As of October 2026. This English text is a convenience translation; the German version is legally binding.
(1) These General Terms and Conditions apply to all contracts between Jan Harm Engineering, owner Jan Christopher Harm, Am Fehrbelliner Tor 15, 16816 Neuruppin, Germany (the “Contractor”) and its clients for software development, IT services, IT consulting, digital transformation, and the setup, maintenance and support of hardware and software systems.
(2) The offer is directed exclusively at businesses within the meaning of § 14 of the German Civil Code (BGB), legal entities under public law and special funds under public law (the “Client”).
(3) Terms and conditions of the Client that deviate from, conflict with or supplement these terms do not become part of the contract unless the Contractor expressly agrees to them in text form. This also applies if the Contractor performs services without reservation despite knowing of such terms.
(4) Individual agreements, in particular in quotations and individual contracts, take precedence over these terms.
(1) Presentations on the website are non-binding and do not constitute a binding offer. Quotations from the Contractor are valid for 30 days from the quotation date unless stated otherwise.
(2) A contract is concluded when the Client accepts the quotation in text form (e.g. by email) or the Contractor confirms the order. If the Contractor begins work at the Client’s request, the contract is deemed concluded on the terms of the quotation as of the start of work.
(3) Amendments and additions to the contract require text form.
(1) The type and scope of services are set out in the quotation or service description. Consulting and other services are owed as services, meaning that the Contractor commits to making an effort but not to achieving a particular result. Development work with a specifically agreed deliverable (e.g. a defined software application or interface) is performed as work under a contract for work (Werkvertrag).
(2) Unless expressly agreed otherwise, the Contractor determines the manner of performance at its own discretion, in particular the approach, working hours, place of work and technologies used. The Contractor may engage subcontractors and remains responsible to the Client.
(3) If the Client requests changes or extensions to the scope after the contract has been concluded (change requests), the Contractor will review them and submit an offer on the effects on fees and deadlines. Until agreement is reached, the contract continues unchanged.
(1) The Client will provide the Contractor in good time and free of charge with all information, documents, access, hardware and software, and contact persons required for the services, and will make necessary decisions without delay.
(2) The Client is responsible for the lawfulness of the content and data it provides and ensures that the Contractor’s use of them does not infringe third-party rights.
(3) The Client will back up its data and systems appropriately and regularly before work begins, unless data backup is expressly part of the contract.
(4) If performance is delayed because the Client does not meet its duties to cooperate, agreed deadlines are extended accordingly. The Contractor may charge for any resulting additional effort on a time-and-materials basis.
(1) Dates and deadlines are only binding if expressly agreed as binding in text form. Non-binding time estimates are planning figures.
(2) Force majeure and unforeseeable events beyond the Contractor’s control (e.g. failure of infrastructure or third-party services, illness, official measures) extend agreed deadlines by the duration of the disruption plus a reasonable restart period.
(1) Fees are set out in the quotation. Unless agreed otherwise, services are billed on a time-and-materials basis at the hourly or daily rate stated in the quotation. Fixed prices apply only to the scope described in the quotation.
(2) The Contractor is a small business within the meaning of § 19 of the German VAT Act (UStG). Therefore, no value added tax is charged or shown. Should this change, the Contractor will add VAT at the applicable rate.
(3) Invoices are due for payment without deduction within 14 days of the invoice date. For larger projects, the Contractor may request advance payments according to progress or agreed milestones. Invoices are generally issued electronically (e.g. as a PDF by email).
(4) Travel costs, third-party costs (e.g. licences, hosting, domains, hardware) and other expenses are charged separately at cost, provided they were announced in advance or stated in the quotation.
(5) In the event of late payment, the Client owes default interest at the statutory rate (§ 288 (2) BGB) and the flat-rate default fee under § 288 (5) BGB. The Contractor may withhold further performance until payment is made. Further claims remain unaffected.
(6) The Client may place its own copyright notice (“© year Client”) as operator in the website. Licence, copyright and attribution notices required by third-party licence terms (paragraph 5), for example in source code, licence files or on licence pages, must not be removed.
(7) The Client grants the Contractor the rights to the content and data it provides that are necessary for performing the services.
(8) An exclusive right of use or a transfer of copyright requires a separate agreement in text form and is generally remunerated separately.
(1) In case of defects in work under a contract for work, the Contractor is first entitled and obliged, at its choice, to remedy the defect (repair or replacement). If remedy fails after two attempts, the Client may reduce the price or withdraw from the contract in accordance with statutory provisions.
(2) Defects must be reported in text form with a comprehensible description (symptom, steps to reproduce) without delay, and no later than 10 working days after discovery.
(3) The limitation period for warranty claims is 12 months from acceptance. This does not apply in the cases of Section 10 (2) or in cases of fraudulent concealment.
(4) Warranty does not apply to the extent the defect results from changes not made by the Contractor, improper use, changes to the system environment or interference by third parties. According to the state of the art, software is never entirely free of errors; insignificant deviations from the agreed quality are not defects.
(5) For services (e.g. consulting, support), the statutory provisions on breach of duty apply.
(1) The Contractor is liable without limitation for intent and gross negligence, for injury to life, body or health, under the Product Liability Act, and where it has given a guarantee.
(2) In cases of slight negligence, the Contractor is only liable for breach of essential contractual obligations (obligations whose fulfilment is necessary for the proper performance of the contract and on which the Client may regularly rely). In this case, liability is limited to the foreseeable damage typical for this type of contract, and in any case to the order value of the respective contract.
(3) The Contractor is liable for loss of data only to the extent that restoration would have been necessary even if the Client had made proper, regular backups appropriate to the risk.
(4) Any further liability is excluded. This also applies to the personal liability of the Contractor’s employees and vicarious agents.
Both parties undertake to keep confidential any confidential information of the other party that becomes known to them during the cooperation and to use it only for performing the contract. This does not apply to information that is generally known, was lawfully obtained from third parties, or must be disclosed due to legal or official obligations. This obligation continues for three years after the end of the contract.
(1) The parties comply with the applicable data protection laws. Information on the processing of personal data on this website can be found in the Privacy Policy.
(2) If the Contractor gains access to personal data for which the Client is responsible while performing services (e.g. maintenance, support, system care), the parties will conclude, on request and before such work begins, a data processing agreement under Art. 28 GDPR.
(1) Contracts for ongoing services (e.g. maintenance, support, system care, hosting) run for an indefinite period unless agreed otherwise and can be terminated by either party in text form with 30 days’ notice to the end of a month.
(2) The right to terminate for good cause remains unaffected. Good cause for the Contractor exists in particular if the Client remains in default of payment despite a reminder and a set deadline.
(3) If the Client terminates a project contract before completion without good cause, services rendered up to that point must be paid for. § 648 BGB applies to services not rendered.
(4) Notices of termination require text form.
(1) The Contractor may present the deliverables in the state at acceptance (e.g. through descriptions and screenshots) for reference purposes, provided that neither the Client’s name nor its logo is mentioned and no confidential content or personal data is visible.
(2) The Contractor may name the Client as a reference by name or logo (e.g. on the website) only with the Client’s prior consent in text form. Consent can be revoked at any time with effect for the future.
(3) The Contractor assumes no responsibility for changes made to the deliverables by the Client or third parties after acceptance. The Contractor may state in its presentation that the website or application may have evolved since handover.
(1) The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG).
(2) If the Client is a merchant, a legal entity under public law or a special fund under public law, the place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from the contractual relationship is Neuruppin. The Contractor may also bring an action at the Client’s general place of jurisdiction.
(3) Should individual provisions of these terms or the contract be or become wholly or partly invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions is unaffected. The statutory provision replaces the invalid provision.
(4) The Contractor is neither willing nor obliged to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board (see the Legal Notice).
