Terms and Conditions

These Terms and Conditions govern the use of the SMEBase business management platform.

Effective Date: 1 January 2026

By accessing or using SMEBase you agree to be legally bound by these Terms and Conditions. If you do not agree with these Terms you should not use the Service.

By creating an account or using SMEBase you agree to these Terms and Conditions. These Terms form a legally binding agreement between you and Diligent Technology Group.

If you do not agree to these Terms you must immediately stop using the Service.

You must be at least 18 years old to use SMEBase.

If you register on behalf of an organisation you confirm that you have authority to bind that organisation.

• You are responsible for maintaining the security of your login credentials.
• You must provide accurate registration information.
• You are responsible for all activity carried out under your account.
• You must immediately notify us of any unauthorised use.

SMEBase offers free and paid subscription plans.

Subscription fees are payable in advance and may change from time to time. Reasonable notice will be provided before any pricing changes.

Free trials are offered at our discretion.

• One trial per organisation unless otherwise agreed.
• Access may be restricted after the trial expires.
• Abuse of free trials may result in account termination.

You agree to use SMEBase only for lawful business purposes.

You must not:

• Use the Service for any illegal activity.
• Upload malicious software, viruses or ransomware.
• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to any account or system.
• Disrupt or interfere with the operation of SMEBase.
• Attempt to reverse engineer or copy the software.
• Use automated software to overload or scrape the platform without permission.
• Upload content that is offensive, defamatory, abusive or infringes the rights of others.

Failure to comply may result in immediate suspension or termination of your account.

You retain ownership of all documents, files, messages, images and business information that you upload to SMEBase.

By uploading content you grant SMEBase a limited licence to store, process and display that content solely for the purpose of providing the Service.

You confirm that:

• You own the content or have permission to upload it.
• The content does not infringe any copyright, trademark or other legal rights.
• The content complies with all applicable laws.
• You remain responsible for maintaining backup copies of important business data.

SMEBase uses commercially reasonable security measures to protect customer information.

These include appropriate authentication, encrypted communications where applicable, regular software updates and secure hosting.

Although we work to protect your data, no internet-based service can guarantee absolute security.

Customers are responsible for maintaining secure passwords and protecting access to their own accounts.

SMEBase includes Artificial Intelligence features that assist users by generating summaries, recommendations, reports and other business insights.

AI responses are generated automatically and may not always be complete, accurate or suitable for your circumstances.

You should always verify AI-generated information before making business, legal, financial, accounting, employment or tax decisions.

SMEBase does not guarantee the accuracy of AI-generated content and accepts no responsibility for decisions made solely on AI recommendations.

• AI responses are provided for guidance only.
• Users remain responsible for all business decisions.
• AI may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information.
• We continually improve AI features but cannot guarantee specific outcomes.

SMEBase provides Business Directory, Networking, Groups, Messaging and Opportunity Board features that allow users to interact with other organisations.

Users are solely responsible for all content they publish.

You agree that you will not post or distribute:

• False or misleading information.
• Spam or unsolicited advertising.
• Offensive or discriminatory material.
• Content that infringes intellectual property rights.
• Content that breaches confidentiality obligations.
• Content that is unlawful or fraudulent.

SMEBase reserves the right to remove any content that breaches these Terms and to suspend or terminate accounts involved in misuse of the platform.

The SMEBase Jobs Module allows organisations to advertise vacancies and receive applications from prospective candidates.

Employers are solely responsible for the accuracy of all job advertisements.

Employers agree that:

• All vacancies are genuine employment opportunities.
• Job advertisements comply with applicable employment legislation.
• Salary and job descriptions are accurate where provided.
• Recruitment activities comply with equality and anti-discrimination laws.

Applicants are responsible for ensuring that all information submitted, including CVs and supporting documents, is accurate.

SMEBase does not guarantee the suitability of employers, applicants or recruitment outcomes.

SMEBase may provide information regarding grants, loans, investment opportunities and other funding programmes.

Funding information is supplied for general information only.

SMEBase does not guarantee:

• Eligibility for funding.
• Availability of funding.
• Approval of any application.
• Funding amounts.
• Application success.

Users should independently verify all funding information with the relevant funding provider before submitting any application.

All software, source code, databases, graphics, logos, trademarks, branding, documentation and other intellectual property associated with SMEBase remain the exclusive property of Diligent Technology Group unless otherwise stated.

Nothing within these Terms transfers ownership of any intellectual property rights.

Users are granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use SMEBase during an active subscription.

You may not copy, modify, distribute, reverse engineer, sell or otherwise exploit any part of SMEBase without our prior written permission.

We aim to provide a reliable and highly available service.

However, uninterrupted availability cannot be guaranteed.

The Service may occasionally be unavailable due to:

• Scheduled maintenance.
• Emergency maintenance.
• Software upgrades.
• Network failures.
• Third-party service interruptions.
• Events beyond our reasonable control.

We shall not be liable for losses arising from temporary service interruptions.

SMEBase integrates with various third-party services which may include:

• Payment providers.
• Email services.
• SMS providers.
• Artificial Intelligence providers.
• Cloud hosting providers.
• Mapping and geolocation services.
• Government services.
• Accounting integrations.

These services operate independently from SMEBase and may be subject to their own terms and conditions.

We are not responsible for the availability, security or performance of third-party services.

Use of any third-party service is entirely at your own risk.

Subscription fees are payable in advance using approved payment methods.

Failure to make payment may result in suspension or termination of your account.

Unless otherwise required by law:

• Subscription fees are non-refundable.
• Invoices must be paid by the due date.
• Taxes and VAT may apply where applicable.
• Late payments may result in suspension of access.

We reserve the right to change subscription prices by providing reasonable notice before the changes take effect.

You may cancel your SMEBase subscription at any time through your account settings or by contacting our support team.

Cancellation will prevent future renewals but will not normally entitle you to a refund for the current billing period unless required by applicable law.

Following cancellation:

• Your account will remain active until the end of the current subscription period.
• Your access may then be downgraded to any available free plan or suspended.
• You remain responsible for downloading any data you wish to retain before your subscription ends.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account immediately where we reasonably believe that:

• You have breached these Terms and Conditions.
• Your account has been used fraudulently.
• Your activities present a security risk.
• Subscription payments remain outstanding.
• You have uploaded unlawful or harmful content.
• You have attempted to compromise the security or integrity of SMEBase.

Where practical, we will notify you before suspension or termination.

Termination does not remove any obligation to pay outstanding charges.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, SMEBase and Diligent Technology Group shall not be liable for:

• Loss of profits.
• Loss of business opportunities.
• Loss of contracts.
• Loss of anticipated savings.
• Loss of goodwill.
• Loss or corruption of data.
• Indirect or consequential losses.
• Business interruption.

Our total liability for any claim arising from the use of SMEBase shall not exceed the total subscription fees paid by the customer during the twelve months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

Nothing within these Terms excludes liability for fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation or any liability that cannot legally be excluded.

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Diligent Technology Group, its directors, employees, contractors and partners from any claims, damages, liabilities, costs and expenses arising from:

• Your breach of these Terms.
• Your misuse of SMEBase.
• Your violation of any applicable law.
• Your infringement of the intellectual property or legal rights of any third party.

SMEBase processes personal information in accordance with applicable data protection legislation, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Your use of SMEBase is also governed by our:

• Privacy Policy
• Cookie Policy
• Data Processing Agreement (where applicable)

You are responsible for ensuring that any personal data uploaded into SMEBase has been collected and processed lawfully.

We continually improve SMEBase.

Accordingly, we may from time to time:

• Add new functionality.
• Modify existing features.
• Improve security.
• Enhance AI capabilities.
• Remove obsolete functionality.
• Perform maintenance or upgrades.

Where reasonably possible we will provide advance notice of significant changes that may affect customers.

Continued use of the Service after such changes constitutes acceptance of the updated functionality.

We may amend these Terms and Conditions from time to time in order to:

• Reflect changes in legislation.
• Introduce new products or services.
• Improve customer protection.
• Enhance security.
• Reflect changes to the SMEBase platform.

Where significant changes are made, we will use reasonable efforts to notify customers through the SMEBase website, email or within the application.

Your continued use of SMEBase following publication of revised Terms constitutes acceptance of those updated Terms.

These Terms and Conditions shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of England and Wales.

Any dispute arising from or relating to these Terms or the use of SMEBase shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of England and Wales.

If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

If you have any questions regarding these Terms and Conditions, please contact us.

These Terms and Conditions constitute the entire agreement between you and Diligent Technology Group regarding the use of SMEBase.

No failure or delay by either party in exercising any right shall constitute a waiver of that right.

If any part of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.

These Terms supersede all previous agreements, understandings and representations relating to the use of SMEBase.