Legal

Terms & Conditions

Effective date: 1 January 2026 · Governs use of thedifference.work

These Terms & Conditions ("Terms") form a binding agreement between you and TheDifference ("TheDifference", "we", "us") governing access to and use of the website thedifference.work, the company portal, engagement ordering, payment processing and receipting (collectively, the "Service"). By creating an account, posting a project, placing an order or using the Service in any way, you accept these Terms. If you accept on behalf of a company, you represent that you have authority to bind that company.

1. The Service in Summary

TheDifference operates an engagement platform under which (a) client companies describe work they need performed, (b) TheDifference formalises each engagement as a documented order with a unique order number and project designation, (c) engagement fees are paid through our third-party payment processor, and (d) an official receipt is generated for every completed payment, recording the client, order, payment and transaction history. Specialists are engaged by TheDifference as independent contractors; the contractual relationship for performance of project work is between TheDifference and the Specialist.

2. Accounts

You must provide accurate, current and complete information when registering and keep it updated.
You are responsible for safeguarding your credentials and for all activity under your account. Notify us immediately of any unauthorised use at hello@thedifference.work.
You must be at least eighteen (18) years old and legally capable of entering into contracts.
We may suspend or close accounts that breach these Terms, that we cannot verify, or where required by law.

3. Posting Projects and Placing Orders

Your content. When you post a project you grant us a non-exclusive licence to store, reproduce and display the title, description and qualifications solely to operate the Service — including within orders and receipts — and to our engagement desk for scoping purposes.
Review before proceeding. A review step shows your posting exactly as it will appear on the order. Once you proceed, the order snapshots that content; subsequent edits to the project do not alter an existing order or its receipt.
Identifiers. Each order receives a unique order number and a two-word project designation generated by the system. These identifiers are authoritative references in all correspondence and records.
Pricing. The order states total hours, hourly rate and total amount. For company-posted projects the total is computed from the hours and rate you enter. Where we structure an order on request, the rate is a whole dollar figure between $15 and $70 per hour with hours derived from the agreed total. Amounts are stated in US dollars unless expressly agreed otherwise.
Client-placed orders. Orders may also be placed by us at a client's request; the secure payment link is issued to the client, and the payer's details captured by the processor identify the client on the receipt.

4. Payment

Payments are processed by our payment processor over its hosted checkout page. We do not receive or store card numbers. You agree to the processor's terms during checkout.
A payment link is issued per order and remains open for the period stated on the link. "Reopen Payment Link" re-opens the same hosted session while it remains valid.
An order is marked paid only upon confirmation from the processor. Upon confirmation, the associated project is marked complete and the official receipt becomes available.
If a checkout expires without payment, or a payment is cancelled, the order reflects that status in the ledger. We may re-issue links on request while the underlying offer stands.
Receipts are the definitive record of amounts invoiced and collected for an engagement. Please retain them for your accounting purposes.

5. Official Receipts

Every successful payment generates an official receipt headed by the order number and project designation and sectioned into Client Details, Order Details, Payment Details and a chronological Transaction Record. Client identity on the receipt derives from the details collected by the payment processor at checkout, not from any account record. Receipts may be exported to PDF through the browser print function. If you believe a receipt contains an error, contact hello@thedifference.work quoting the order number and we will investigate and, where warranted, issue a corrected record.

6. Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

probe, scan or test the vulnerability of the Site, or circumvent any authentication or authorisation measures;
interfere with webhooks, payment notifications or attempt to forge processor events;
submit unlawful, infringing, defamatory, discriminatory or deceptive content in postings, applications or messages;
scrape, harvest or resell data from the Site;
use identifiers such as order numbers or project designations to misrepresent engagements that never occurred; or
upload malicious files, including disguised file types, to any upload endpoint.

7. Intellectual Property

The Site, its design, text, graphics, logos and software are owned by TheDifference or its licensors and are protected by intellectual property laws. You retain all rights to content you submit. Except for the limited licence in section 3, nothing in these Terms transfers rights in either direction beyond what is necessary to use the Service. The TheDifference name and star device may not be used without prior written consent.

8. Confidentiality

Each party may receive confidential information relating to the other's business in connection with the Service. Confidential information must be used only to perform under these Terms and protected with at least reasonable care. This obligation does not cover information that is public through no breach, independently developed, or required to be disclosed by law, provided prompt notice is given where lawful.

9. Warranties and Disclaimers

The Service is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. To the maximum extent permitted by law, TheDifference disclaims all warranties not expressly stated in these Terms, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the Site will be uninterrupted or error-free. Nothing in this section limits rights that cannot be excluded under applicable law, including statutory consumer guarantees.

10. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, neither party is liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or for lost profits, revenue, goodwill or data, arising from the Service. Our aggregate liability for all claims arising out of or relating to a given order is limited to the total amount actually paid for that order; for claims not connected to a specific order, liability is limited to one hundred US dollars ($100). These limits do not apply to liability that cannot lawfully be limited, including wilful misconduct or fraud.

11. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless TheDifference and its personnel against claims, damages and reasonable costs arising from content you submit, your breach of these Terms, or your violation of law or third-party rights, except to the extent caused by us.

12. Term, Suspension and Termination

These Terms apply while you use the Service. You may stop using the Service and close your account at any time. We may suspend the Service immediately where reasonably necessary for security, legal compliance or non-payment of amounts due. Sections concerning receipts, records, confidentiality, limitation of liability and indemnity survive termination, as does retention of evidentiary records per our Privacy Policy.

13. Governing Law and Disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws applicable at our principal place of business, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Before filing suit, the parties agree to attempt good-faith resolution for thirty (30) days after written notice of a dispute sent to hello@thedifference.work. Subject to that process, courts located at our principal place of business have exclusive jurisdiction, except that either party may seek injunctive relief for breach of confidentiality or intellectual property in any competent court.

14. Changes to These Terms

We may amend these Terms. The effective date above identifies the current version, and material changes will be announced on the Site in advance. Continued use after changes take effect constitutes acceptance; if you disagree, discontinue use of the Service.

15. Entire Agreement and Severability

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any order-specific terms presented at checkout, constitute the entire agreement regarding the Service and supersede prior understandings. If a provision is held unenforceable, it will be modified to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions stay in force. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver of it.

16. Contact

Questions about these Terms: hello@thedifference.work, or via the contact page at thedifference.work.