Legal

Terms of service

Last updated November 1, 2026

These terms are an agreement between Clovernest ("we", "us") and the childcare centre or organization that signs up for Clovernest ("you", "your centre"). By starting a trial, creating an account or using Clovernest, you agree to them on your centre's behalf, and you confirm you're allowed to.

1. The service

Clovernest is online software for childcare centres: attendance, daily reports, forms and e-signatures, licensing records, enrolment, messaging, billing and a family portal, as described on clovernest.ca. We may improve, change or add to it over time. If we remove a feature you rely on, we'll tell you in advance where we reasonably can.

2. Your account and your people

• You choose who at your centre has an account and what role they have. Each person needs their own login; logins can't be shared.
• Every staff account uses two-step login. You're responsible for what's done under your centre's accounts, and for removing access when someone leaves.
• Parents and guardians you invite to the family portal see only their own family's information.
• Tell us straight away at [email protected] if you think an account has been misused.

3. Free trial

New centres can try Clovernest free for 30 days from when we set it up, with every feature and no card needed. If you'd like to keep going, add a card before the trial ends; if you don't, your account pauses and nothing is charged.

4. Plans, prices and payment

• Prices are on our pricing page, in Canadian dollars, per location, per month, before applicable taxes. Multi-location prices are quoted.
• Your plan is based on how many children are enrolled. If your centre grows past your plan, we'll let you know and move you to the right plan from your next month.
• You pay monthly in advance by card through Stripe, our payment processor. Applicable sales taxes (GST, HST, PST, QST) are added based on your centre's province.
• Each plan includes a monthly allowance of text messages. Email to families is unlimited. If texts run out, they pause until next month or you can buy more.
• If a payment fails, we'll email you and you'll have 7 days to update your card before your account is paused. Nothing is deleted while paused, and paying reopens it straight away.
• We may change our prices with at least 30 days' notice by email. The new price applies from your next month after that.
• Payments already made aren't refunded, except where the law requires or we agree otherwise.

5. Cancelling

There's no contract. You can cancel anytime from Settings → Clovernest plan or by emailing us; your plan runs to the end of the month you've paid for. We can end this agreement with 30 days' notice, or straight away if you seriously breach these terms (for example, misuse that puts others' information at risk).

6. Your centre's information

• It's yours. Your centre owns the information it puts into Clovernest about children, families and staff. You decide what to collect and keep, and you're responsible for it under the privacy law that applies to your centre (PIPA in British Columbia and Alberta; usually PIPEDA elsewhere; Québec's private-sector law in Québec).
• We act for you. We store and process that information only to provide Clovernest to you, as described in our privacy policy. We don't sell it, share it with other centres, or use it for advertising.
• In Canada. It's stored on servers in Canada and protected as described in our privacy policy.
• Consent. You're responsible for having the consent you need from families and staff, for example for photos, texts and emails, and for keeping it up to date in Clovernest.
• Support access. Our team only opens your centre's records when you ask for help or to keep the service running safely. Each time is logged with a reason.
• If you leave. On request, we'll help you take a copy of your records. After your account ends we delete your centre's information within a reasonable time, except what we must keep by law (for example, our own billing records) or in backups that are overwritten on their normal schedule.
• Breaches. If we learn of a security breach affecting your centre's information, we'll tell you without unreasonable delay and help you meet your own notification duties.

7. Your responsibilities

• Clovernest is a tool to help you run your centre. You remain responsible for your licence, your ratios, your records and reporting, and for decisions about the children in your care. Check what Clovernest shows against your province's rules and your licensing officer's guidance; province details in Clovernest are a help, not legal advice.
• Use Clovernest lawfully, and only for running your childcare program. Don't try to access other centres' information, disrupt the service, or upload anything harmful or that you don't have the right to use.
• Messages and texts sent through Clovernest must follow Canada's anti-spam law (CASL) and families' choices about how they're contacted. Clovernest honours unsubscribes and STOP replies for you.

8. Payments from families (Stripe)

• If you turn on card payments or automatic payments, you connect your own Stripe account. Families' payments go to that account, and Stripe's fees are yours. Clovernest doesn't charge a fee on them.
• Your Stripe account is governed by Stripe's own terms, including the Stripe Connected Account Agreement, which includes the Stripe Services Agreement. You agree to those terms when you connect.
• You're the merchant: refunds, disputes, returned bank debits and any payment questions from families are yours to handle, in Stripe. Clovernest keeps your families' balances in step with what Stripe tells us.
• For pre-authorized debits, Stripe collects the families' PAD agreements and sends the notices Payments Canada requires. Debit families only as their agreement allows.

9. Other services

Custom websites and other work we quote for separately are covered by that quote. Free daycare pages are covered by the free page terms.

10. Availability and support

We work hard to keep Clovernest available and secure, and monitor it around the clock, but we can't promise it will never be interrupted. We'll schedule maintenance outside centre hours where we can. Support is by our help centre, support requests in Clovernest and email; we aim to reply within one business day.

11. Our software and your feedback

Clovernest, including its software, design and guides, belongs to us, and these terms give you the right to use it for your centre while you have an account. If you send us ideas or feedback, we may use them to improve Clovernest without owing you anything.

12. Warranties and liability

• Apart from what these terms say, Clovernest is provided "as is", to the extent the law allows.
• To the extent the law allows, neither of us is liable to the other for indirect or consequential losses, such as lost profits or lost business, and our total liability to you for any claim related to Clovernest is limited to what you paid us in the 12 months before the claim.
• Nothing in these terms limits liability that can't be limited by law, including for fraud or for our breach of our privacy obligations caused by our gross negligence or wilful misconduct.
• You'll be responsible for claims made against us because of your centre's information, your use of Clovernest in breach of these terms, or your payments with families.

13. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. For changes that matter, we'll email your centre's admins at least 30 days before they apply. If you don't agree, you can cancel before then. The date at the top shows when they last changed.

14. General

• These terms are governed by the laws of British Columbia and the federal laws of Canada that apply there, and the courts of British Columbia have jurisdiction.
• Neither of us is responsible for delays caused by events outside our reasonable control.
• You can't transfer your account to someone else without our agreement; we may transfer this agreement if Clovernest's business is transferred, and we'll tell you if that happens.
• If any part of these terms can't be enforced, the rest still applies. These terms, our privacy policy and any quote we've given you are the whole agreement between us about Clovernest.

Contact

Questions about these terms: [email protected].