N Northwind Studio

Policies & legal

Clarity on how we partner

Northwind Studio operates with transparent terms, professional-grade agreements, and respect for data privacy. These policies summarize what clients can expect before, during, and after an engagement.

Scope & change management

  • Each engagement is governed by a written statement of work (SOW) or service agreement referencing these policies.
  • Scope is frozen after the blueprint phase. Any change requests are documented, priced, and approved via written change order before work begins.
  • Work paused due to missing inputs or approvals may impact timeline; we’ll communicate impacts within one business day.

Payments & invoicing

  • Invoices are issued via Stripe or Routable. ACH is preferred; credit card payments incur a 3% processing fee.
  • Deposits: 30% (Start), 40% (Growth), 50% (Scale). Remaining balance due at midpoint and handoff milestones.
  • Late payments accrue 1.5% monthly interest. Work may pause if invoices are more than 10 days overdue.
  • Clients are responsible for third-party software fees unless otherwise agreed.

Guarantees & refunds

  • Every engagement includes a stabilization window (7 days for Start/Growth, 14 days for Scale) covering defect fixes at no charge.
  • Discovery sprint fees are credited toward any package booked within 45 days.
  • Refunds are available if the project is canceled before the build phase; completed phases are billed at the package’s prorated rate.

Communication & availability

  • Primary communication channel is chosen during onboarding (Slack Connect or email). Response SLA is same business day.
  • Weekly live demos and Loom recaps are default; cadence can be adjusted for retainers.
  • Office hours are available Thursdays 1–3pm ET for ad-hoc questions.

Confidentiality & data

  • Mutual NDA is available upon request; many clients use our standard template or provide their own.
  • All access is managed via secure password sharing (1Password or similar). Least privilege access is default.
  • Client data is never shared with third parties outside of contracted partner specialists who sign subcontractor agreements.
  • AI projects: proprietary data remains client property; prompts and outputs are stored in secure, access-controlled workspaces.

Intellectual property

  • Upon full payment, clients own the final deliverables including design files, code, documentation, and analysis.
  • Northwind Studio retains rights to underlying frameworks, processes, and anonymized learnings used across clients.
  • Case studies or testimonials require written approval; sensitive data is never shared publicly.

Compliance & insurance

  • General liability and professional liability insurance certificates available upon request.
  • SOC2, HIPAA, and GDPR compliance support is available via partner specialists for larger engagements.
  • We complete vendor security questionnaires within 5 business days when provided.