Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

Spigot is operated by Spigot Software LLC, a California limited liability company ("Spigot", "we", "us", or "our"). By accessing or using Spigot ("the Service"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use the Service. These Terms apply to all users including staff, administrators, board members, shareholders, and other account holders of water companies using Spigot.

2. Description of Service

Spigot is a web-based billing and operations platform built for small water utilities, including mutual water companies, community water systems, and rural water districts. The Service includes the Spigot web application, the Spigot Field iOS app for field meter reading, an online customer payment portal, and any related tools or integrations provided by Spigot.

3. Account Responsibilities

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials. Spigot staff and administrator accounts are intended for use by authorized personnel of your organization only. Shareholder and customer accounts are for use by the account holder only. You agree to notify us immediately at contact@spigothq.com if you suspect unauthorized access to your account.

4. Subscription and Setup Fees

Use of Spigot by water companies requires a one-time setup fee (the "Setup Fee") and an ongoing monthly subscription fee. The Setup Fee is due prior to onboarding. Monthly fees are billed in advance. Failure to pay may result in suspension of access. Cancellation of the monthly subscription can be requested at any time by contacting contact@spigothq.com.

5. Customer Online Bill Payments

Spigot enables shareholders, customers, and other account holders of water companies to pay their water bills online through the Service. Online payments are processed by Stripe, a third-party payment processor. Spigot does not store credit card or bank account information; all payment data is handled directly by Stripe in accordance with its terms of service and PCI compliance standards.

Water companies using Spigot are responsible for their own billing policies, including due dates, late fees, and refund policies. Spigot facilitates payment collection on behalf of the water company but is not responsible for disputes between account holders and their water company regarding bill amounts, charges, or refunds.

Where a water company enables it, online payments may include a processing fee or surcharge (for example, a percentage of card payments) that is set by the water company and shown to you at the time of payment before you authorize the transaction. Any such fee is charged by and payable to the water company; Spigot does not retain it. Surcharge availability and amounts are subject to applicable law and payment-card network rules.

For recurring or automatic (autopay) charges, where a water company offers autopay and you enroll in it, the applicable fee and how it is calculated are disclosed to you when you enroll, and each charge is confirmed by a receipt.

Failed or declined payments are the responsibility of the account holder. Spigot will notify relevant parties of failed transactions but cannot guarantee successful payment collection.

6. Data Ownership

You retain full ownership of all data you input into Spigot, including account records, meter readings, billing history, and payment records. Spigot processes this data solely to provide the Service and does not sell or share your data with third parties for any purpose other than operating the Service.

7. Acceptable Use

You agree not to misuse the Service. Prohibited uses include but are not limited to: sharing login credentials with unauthorized individuals, attempting to access another organization's data, reverse engineering or copying any part of the Service, submitting false meter readings, or using the Service for any unlawful purpose.

8. Availability and Uptime

Spigot will make reasonable efforts to maintain availability of the Service. We do not guarantee uninterrupted access and are not liable for downtime caused by maintenance, third-party service failures, or circumstances beyond our control.

9. Termination

Either party may terminate the Service relationship at any time. Upon termination, the water company may request an export of its data within 30 days. After that period, data may be permanently deleted. Portal access for account holders will be revoked upon termination of the water company's account.

10. Disclaimer of Warranties

The Service is provided "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" without warranties of any kind. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, SPIGOT DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. Spigot does not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free, or that data will be accurate or preserved without loss. You are responsible for reviewing your billing configuration, rates, and outputs for accuracy. Reports, worksheets, and exports generated by the Service, including compliance worksheets (such as California eAR/SAFER pre-fills) and accounting journals, are preparation aids generated from your data; you remain responsible for reviewing them and for your own regulatory filings, tax reporting, and books.

11. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Spigot shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from your use of the Service, including but not limited to billing errors, missed payments, or data loss. Our total liability to you for any claim shall not exceed the amount paid by you in the three months preceding the claim.

12. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Spigot Software LLC and its officers, members, employees, and agents from and against any claims, demands, damages, losses, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to: (a) your use of the Service; (b) your billing, rate-setting, late-fee, collection, service-disconnection, or refund decisions and policies; (c) the content of any notice, statement, or communication you create or send through the Service; (d) your violation of these Terms or any applicable law; or (e) your violation of the rights of any third party, including your shareholders or account holders. Spigot will provide reasonable notice of any claim subject to indemnification.

13. Third-Party Services and Customer-Connected Integrations

Spigot integrates with third-party services including Stripe for payment processing, cloud hosting and database providers for application hosting and data storage, an email delivery provider for transactional and notification email, Google Cloud Vision for automated reading of meter images, and Sentry for error monitoring. Each third-party service operates under its own terms of service and privacy policy. Spigot is not responsible for the actions or failures of third-party services.

The Service also offers optional integrations that your organization can choose to connect, such as QuickBooks Online (Intuit) for accounting synchronization and AMR/AMI meter-data services (for example, Badger BEACON) for automatic retrieval of meter readings. By connecting an integration, you represent that you are authorized to do so on behalf of your organization, and you authorize Spigot to exchange data with that service on your behalf. Credentials and tokens for connected integrations are stored encrypted and used only to operate the integration, and you may disconnect an integration at any time. Connected services are governed by their own terms, and Spigot is not responsible for their availability or for the accuracy of data they supply. Meter readings imported from a file or retrieved from a vendor, and accounting entries exported to your books, remain your responsibility to review.

14. Changes to Terms

We may update these Terms of Service from time to time. We will notify users of material changes via email. Continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated terms.

15. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. Subject to the Dispute Resolution section below, any dispute not resolved by arbitration shall be brought in the state or federal courts located in Ventura County, California, and the parties consent to the jurisdiction of those courts.

16. Dispute Resolution; Binding Arbitration; Class-Action Waiver

PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY: IT AFFECTS YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS. Except for the excluded claims described below, any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service will be resolved by final and binding arbitration administered by JAMS (or, if the parties agree, the American Arbitration Association) under its applicable rules, rather than in court, except that either party may bring an individual claim in small-claims court. The arbitration will take place in Ventura County, California, or by videoconference, and judgment on the award may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.

CLASS-ACTION WAIVER: YOU AND SPIGOT AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN AN INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS, COLLECTIVE, OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. The arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person's claims or preside over any form of class or representative proceeding.

Excluded claims: either party may seek injunctive or other equitable relief in court to protect its intellectual property or to address unauthorized access to the Service. Opt-out: you may opt out of this arbitration agreement within 30 days of first accepting these Terms by sending written notice to contact@spigothq.com; opting out will not affect any other provision of these Terms.

17. Force Majeure

Neither party will be liable for any delay or failure to perform resulting from causes beyond its reasonable control, including acts of God, natural disasters, fire, flood, epidemic or pandemic, war, terrorism, civil unrest, labor disputes, governmental action, power or internet failures, or the failure of third-party services or suppliers.

18. Assignment

You may not assign or transfer these Terms or any of your rights or obligations under them without Spigot's prior written consent. Spigot may assign these Terms, in whole or in part, including in connection with a merger, acquisition, reorganization, or sale of all or substantially all of its assets. These Terms bind and benefit the parties and their permitted successors and assigns.

19. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, that provision will be enforced to the maximum extent permissible and the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect. The invalidity of one provision will not affect the validity of any other.

20. Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and any written order form, subscription, or service agreement between you and Spigot, constitute the entire agreement between the parties regarding the Service and supersede all prior or contemporaneous agreements, proposals, and communications, whether oral or written. Any conflicting or additional terms in your purchase order or other document are rejected and have no effect.

21. Contact

If you have questions about these Terms of Service, contact us at contact@spigothq.com or visit usespigot.com.