1. About these Terms
These Terms & Conditions and Software Licence Agreement (“Terms”) govern access to and use of TopTill POS, the TopTill licensing platform, customer account services, software downloads and related services.
TopTill POS (“TopTill”, “we”, “us” or “our”) is an independently developed point-of-sale and retail management software product operated in South Africa.
By creating a TopTill account, starting a trial, purchasing or activating a licence, downloading or installing TopTill POS, or continuing to use the software, you agree to these Terms.
If you do not agree to these Terms, you should not install, activate or use TopTill POS.
2. Contact
3. TopTill POS
TopTill POS is retail point-of-sale and management software designed for businesses such as supermarkets, wholesalers, cash-and-carry stores, spaza shops and other retailers.
Features may include point-of-sale transactions, inventory management, employees and till operations, purchasing, suppliers, customer and membership features, lay-buys, returns and refunds, reports, backups and other retail-management functionality.
Available functionality may differ between software versions, licence types or future editions.
4. Account registration
Certain TopTill services may require a customer account.
You agree to provide information that is reasonably accurate and current when registering or managing an account.
You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account credentials and should notify TopTill if you reasonably believe your account or licence has been compromised.
5. Free trial
TopTill may offer a 14-day free trial to allow a prospective customer to evaluate TopTill before purchasing a licence.
- The trial normally lasts for 14 days.
- A trial does not create ownership of the software.
- A trial may be limited to authorised installations.
- Account registration and device activation may be required.
- Continued use after the trial requires a valid paid licence.
TopTill may prevent repeated or abusive creation of trial accounts or installations intended to avoid purchasing a licence.
6. Software licence
Subject to payment of applicable fees and compliance with these Terms, TopTill grants the customer a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to install and use TopTill POS for the customer's legitimate retail business operations.
The software is licensed, not sold.
Purchasing a licence does not transfer ownership of TopTill's software, source code, design, branding, intellectual property or licensing technology to the customer.
7. Licence types
Monthly licence
A monthly licence permits use of TopTill for the applicable paid subscription period.
The licence remains active while required subscription payments are current, subject to these Terms.
Where automatic recurring billing is used, renewal conditions and the applicable price will be shown before the customer commits to the recurring arrangement.
Lifetime licence
Where TopTill expressly sells a licence as a Lifetime Licence, it provides a continuing right to use the licensed version of TopTill POS on the authorised installation, subject to these Terms.
A Lifetime Licence does not automatically mean that every future product, major edition, optional cloud service, paid add-on or service introduced by TopTill must be provided free of charge forever.
TopTill will not arbitrarily convert a valid Lifetime Licence into a monthly subscription for continued use of software rights that were included in that Lifetime Licence.
8. Device activation
A TopTill licence may be associated with an authorised computer or installation.
TopTill may use licence and device identifiers to activate authorised installations, prevent unauthorised licence sharing, enforce device limits, assist with legitimate licence transfers and protect the licensing service against abuse.
A customer must not deliberately manipulate device-identification information or licensing mechanisms to bypass licence restrictions.
9. Replacement computers and device changes
A customer may need to replace a computer because of failure, theft, upgrade or legitimate business requirements.
TopTill may provide a process for deactivating, transferring or resetting an authorised device and may require reasonable verification before completing a transfer.
10. Internet connection and offline use
TopTill POS is primarily desktop software and may continue to perform local functions without a permanent internet connection where those functions do not require an online service.
Internet access may be required from time to time for registration, email verification, licence activation or validation, software downloads, updates and other online services.
Temporary inability to contact the licensing service does not necessarily mean that local retailer data has been lost.
11. Permitted use
A valid customer may use TopTill POS for legitimate business operations within the limits of the licence purchased.
The customer may permit authorised employees to use the installed TopTill POS system for the customer's business.
12. Prohibited use
Except where applicable law expressly permits it, you may not:
- Copy or distribute TopTill outside the rights granted by your licence.
- Sell, rent, sublicense or commercially redistribute TopTill without written authorisation.
- Share a licence between unauthorised businesses or devices.
- Bypass, disable or manipulate licensing or security controls.
- Use stolen, fraudulent or unauthorised licence credentials.
- Attempt to gain unauthorised access to TopTill systems or other customer accounts.
- Intentionally interfere with TopTill services.
- Use TopTill to conduct unlawful activities.
- Falsely represent yourself as TopTill or an authorised TopTill reseller.
13. Intellectual property
TopTill POS, its software code, user interface, documentation, branding, designs, licensing systems and related intellectual property remain the property of the TopTill developer or applicable rights holders.
Customer business information entered into TopTill POS remains the customer's information.
14. Customer data
TopTill POS primarily stores the retailer's operational data in the retailer's own POS database.
The retailer is responsible for deciding what information it enters into TopTill, ensuring it has lawful authority to process that information, controlling employee access, maintaining appropriate security and maintaining suitable backups.
TopTill's handling of information processed through its online services is governed by the TopTill Privacy Policy.
15. Backups
TopTill contains backup and recovery functionality intended to help protect retailer data.
No backup system can guarantee recovery in every possible circumstance.
Customers remain responsible for maintaining appropriate backups and should keep secure copies separate from the primary POS computer where reasonably practicable.
16. Software updates
TopTill may release updates to improve functionality, security, compatibility or reliability.
Updates may include bug fixes, security changes, interface improvements or new features.
Certain updates may be strongly recommended or required where continued use of an older version would create a significant security, compatibility or licensing problem.
17. Hardware compatibility
TopTill may specify supported operating systems and hardware requirements.
Customers are responsible for ensuring that their equipment reasonably meets published requirements.
Compatibility with every computer, printer, barcode scanner, cash drawer, payment terminal or third-party device cannot be guaranteed unless the hardware has specifically been confirmed as supported.
18. Third-party services
TopTill may rely on third-party infrastructure or services for hosting, email delivery, downloads and other online functions.
Temporary interruption of a third-party service may affect certain TopTill online functions.
19. Prices and payment
Prices will be communicated before the customer purchases a licence or paid service.
Customers are responsible for paying the price agreed for the selected licence or service.
TopTill will not charge a recurring subscription merely because a customer previously purchased a product unless the customer has agreed to a recurring arrangement.
20. Subscription renewal and cancellation
Where TopTill offers a recurring subscription, the applicable price, billing period and renewal conditions will be disclosed before purchase.
A customer may request cancellation in accordance with the applicable subscription arrangement and rights provided by South African law.
Where mandatory cancellation or renewal rights apply under the Consumer Protection Act, those rights prevail over any inconsistent provision of these Terms.
21. Refunds
Refund requests will be considered according to the licence or service purchased, whether the software or service was defective or materially failed to perform as represented, the extent to which the service has already been supplied or used, the circumstances of the transaction and any applicable South African consumer rights.
A customer is not automatically entitled to a refund merely because they changed their mind after fully receiving and activating a digital product where applicable law does not provide such a right.
Nothing in this section removes or reduces any mandatory refund, cancellation, quality or other consumer right provided by applicable South African law.
22. Software problems and support
Customers experiencing problems with TopTill should contact:
Customers should provide information reasonably necessary to investigate an issue while avoiding unnecessary personal or sensitive information.
23. No accounting, tax or legal advice
TopTill provides retail-management tools and does not provide professional accounting, tax or legal advice.
VAT, reports, sales, inventory and business-record features assist business operations but do not replace professional advice or the retailer's responsibility to comply with applicable legal obligations.
24. Availability
TopTill aims to provide reliable software and online services but cannot guarantee that every service will operate without interruption or error at all times.
Planned maintenance, internet failure, cloud-provider failure, equipment failure, security incidents or circumstances outside reasonable control may temporarily affect online services.
25. Warranty and statutory rights
TopTill is provided with the features and functionality described for the applicable version and licence.
We will take reasonable steps to address genuine defects reported to us.
Except where applicable law provides otherwise, TopTill does not guarantee that the software will meet every customer's unique business requirement or that software can be entirely free from faults.
Nothing in these Terms excludes, restricts or modifies a warranty, guarantee, right or remedy that may not legally be excluded under applicable South African law.
26. Limitation of liability
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, TopTill will not be responsible for indirect or consequential losses that could not reasonably have been anticipated when the licence or service was supplied.
Customers are responsible for reasonable measures to protect their business against preventable loss, including maintaining backups, controlling employee access, protecting the POS computer and verifying important business information.
TopTill does not attempt through these Terms to exclude liability where such an exclusion would be unlawful.
27. Suspension or termination for misuse
TopTill may suspend an account, licence or online service where there are reasonable grounds to believe that a licence was obtained fraudulently, payment legitimately due has not been made, a licence is deliberately being shared outside its permitted scope, licensing or security protections are being bypassed, TopTill infrastructure is being attacked or abused, or continued access would create a serious security or legal risk.
Where reasonably possible, TopTill will provide an opportunity to resolve an ordinary account or licensing problem before permanent termination.
28. Ending use of TopTill
A customer may stop using TopTill and uninstall the software.
Ending use does not automatically entitle the customer to reimbursement of licence fees already legitimately earned, except where a refund or cancellation right applies under these Terms or applicable law.
Retailers should preserve any business records or backups they are legally or operationally required to retain before removing TopTill.
29. Privacy
Use of TopTill online services is also subject to the TopTill Privacy Policy .
30. Electronic agreement
These Terms may be accepted electronically.
Electronic acceptance, account registration, software activation, purchase or another electronic action capable of demonstrating agreement may form part of the transaction record as permitted by applicable law.
31. Changes to these Terms
TopTill may update these Terms where reasonably necessary because of changes to software, services, licensing arrangements, security requirements or applicable law.
The current Terms will display their effective date.
A change will not retrospectively remove licence rights already purchased unless required by law or reasonably necessary to address serious fraud, security or unlawful use.
32. Governing law
These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa.
Nothing in this section prevents a consumer from exercising rights or using dispute-resolution mechanisms available under applicable South African law.
33. Resolving disputes
We encourage customers to contact TopTill first so that a complaint or licensing dispute can be investigated directly.
Nothing in these Terms prevents a customer from approaching a regulator, ombud, tribunal or court where the customer has a lawful right to do so.
34. Entire agreement
These Terms, together with the applicable licence offer, Privacy Policy and any specific written terms agreed for a particular service, form the agreement governing the customer's use of TopTill.
If a specific written licence offer gives the customer additional rights, those additional rights will apply to that purchase.