Legal

Terms of Service

Effective September 4, 2026 · Last updated September 4, 2026

1. Agreement

These Terms are a contract between Beacon (“Beacon,” “we,” “us”) and the organization that creates a Beacon account (“Customer,” “you”). By creating an organization, clicking “I agree,” or using the Service, the person doing so confirms they are authorized to bind the Customer. Public schools and government entities may have procurement requirements; a signed order form or district agreement takes precedence over these Terms where they conflict. Our Privacy Policy is part of this agreement.

2. The Service and plans

Beacon provides help desk ticketing, asset management, facilities and HR requests, a knowledge base, automation, reporting, AI assistance, and mobile apps. Plans and limits are published at beaconhelpdesk.com/#pricing:

• Starter is free for as long as you like, with the published limits on sites, agents, and assets. We may change Starter’s limits with 30 days’ notice, and we will never delete a Starter organization for inactivity without 60 days’ email notice.
• District pilot gives a school district the full District plan free for 90 days. At the end of the pilot your organization moves to Starter with all data intact unless you choose a paid plan. We never charge for a pilot automatically.
• Pro, District, and Enterprise are paid subscriptions described in your order form or checkout.

3. Accounts and acceptable use

You are responsible for the people you invite, for keeping credentials confidential, and for configuring roles and single sign‑on appropriately. You agree not to: use the Service to break the law or infringe others’ rights; upload malware or content you have no right to share; attempt to access other organizations’ data or probe our security except under our published responsible disclosure process; resell the Service without our written consent; or use automated means to create accounts or send bulk messages through the Service. We may suspend an organization that materially violates these rules, and we will tell you why and how to fix it when we can.

4. Your data

• Ownership. You own all data you and your Users put into Beacon (“Customer Data”). You grant us only the rights needed to host, process, back up, and display it to provide the Service, and to protect the Service.
• Privacy. We handle Customer Data as described in the Privacy Policy. We do not sell it, use it for advertising, or use it to train AI models. Student data is handled under Section 8 of the Privacy Policy, and we will sign a student data privacy agreement on request.
• Export. You can export all of your data in open formats at any time from Settings or the API.
• Deletion. You can delete records or your whole organization at any time. Deleted attachments are removed from storage; a deleted organization is permanently erased within 30 days.
• Your responsibilities. You are responsible for having the rights and consents needed for the data you upload, including obtaining any parental consent your school requires, and for your Users’ compliance with these Terms.

5. Fees, billing, and renewal

• Prices are those published on our website or in your order form. District plan prices are locked for three years from your start date. Taxes are additional where they apply; tax‑exempt organizations may provide a certificate.
• Billing. Monthly plans are billed monthly in advance. Annual plans are billed annually in advance by invoice or card with net‑30 terms for public entities. Student counts on District plans are trued up once a year at renewal.
• Automatic renewal with reminders. Paid subscriptions renew automatically for the same term so your service is not interrupted. We send a reminder email to your billing contact at least 30 days before any renewal charge, and 90 days before an annual District or Enterprise term renews, stating the renewal date and the exact amount. If we ever raise the price for your plan, the reminder will say so and you may cancel before the renewal at no cost.
• Refunds. Monthly fees are not refunded for partial months. If an annual plan renews and you cancel within 30 days of the renewal date, we refund the renewal in full. If we materially reduce the Service during a term, you may cancel and receive a pro‑rated refund.
• Non‑payment. If an invoice is 30 days overdue we will email you; after 60 days we may downgrade the organization to Starter limits. We never delete your data for non‑payment without 60 days’ notice.

6. Cancellation

You may cancel at any time, and cancelling takes no more effort than signing up:

• An owner or administrator can cancel in Admin › Settings › Plan with one click and a confirmation, or
• email billing@beaconhelpdesk.com from an administrator address. We confirm within one business day.

Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period; you keep access until then. There are no cancellation fees, no minimum notice for monthly plans, and 30 days’ notice for annual plans. After cancellation your organization moves to Starter with your data intact, or, if you ask, we delete it. Data export remains available for 90 days.

7. Availability and support

We aim for 99.9% monthly availability for the Service, measured at our API, excluding scheduled maintenance announced at least 48 hours in advance and events outside our control. District and Enterprise plans include a written service level agreement with service credits. All plans include email support; District and Enterprise plans include priority support and a named customer success manager as published. We publish incidents and their resolution.

8. AI features

AI features generate suggestions from ticket content using a third‑party model provider, as described in the Privacy Policy. You acknowledge that AI output can be inaccurate, incomplete, or inappropriate, that it must be reviewed by a person before being relied on, and that you are responsible for decisions made using it. Beacon’s safety features, including flagging content that may indicate a risk of self‑harm and showing crisis resources, are aids and not a substitute for your organization’s own emergency procedures or for professional care. You may disable AI features at any time in Settings.

9. Security and privacy commitments

We will maintain administrative, technical, and physical safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of Customer Data, as described in the Privacy Policy and our security documentation, including tenant isolation, encryption in transit and at rest, access controls, logging, and vulnerability management. We will notify you of a security breach affecting your Customer Data without undue delay and within 72 hours of confirming it, and cooperate with your investigation and notifications.

10. Honest marketing

We publish our prices, and every testimonial, customer name, or statistic we use in marketing is real and used with permission. If you ever see a claim about Beacon you believe is inaccurate, tell us at hello@beaconhelpdesk.com and we will correct it.

11. Intellectual property

Beacon and its software, design, and documentation belong to us and our licensors. You receive a non‑exclusive, non‑transferable right to use the Service for your organization during your subscription. Feedback you give us may be used to improve the Service without obligation. Nothing in these Terms transfers ownership of Customer Data to us.

12. Warranties and liability

We warrant that the Service will perform materially as described in our documentation. Otherwise the Service is provided “as is,” and we disclaim implied warranties to the extent the law allows. Except for a party’s indemnification obligations, breach of confidentiality, or misuse of the other party’s intellectual property, neither party is liable for indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages, and each party’s total liability under these Terms is limited to the fees the Customer paid to Beacon in the 12 months before the claim (or $1,000 for free plans). Some jurisdictions do not allow these limits, in which case they apply to the fullest extent permitted.

13. Indemnification

We will defend you against third‑party claims that the Service infringes their intellectual property and pay resulting damages, provided you notify us promptly and let us control the defense. You will defend us against third‑party claims arising from Customer Data or your Users’ violation of these Terms. Public entities’ indemnification obligations apply only to the extent permitted by applicable law.

14. Term, suspension, and termination

These Terms apply while you have an organization. Either party may terminate for the other’s material breach that is not cured within 30 days of written notice. We may suspend access immediately to prevent harm to the Service or others, and we will restore it once the issue is resolved. On termination, Section 4 (export and deletion), Section 12, and any payment obligations survive.

15. Changes

We may update these Terms. For material changes we will email organization administrators at least 30 days before they take effect, and changes will not reduce the protections for data you have already stored during a paid term. Continued use after the effective date means you accept the change; if you do not, you may cancel before it takes effect and receive a pro‑rated refund of any prepaid fees.

16. General

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Illinois and applicable United States federal law, without regard to conflict‑of‑law rules, and any legal proceeding will be brought in the state or federal courts located in Illinois, except that public schools and government entities may require the law and courts of their own state, which we accept in a signed order form. Before starting any legal proceeding, the parties will try in good faith to resolve the dispute through discussion for 30 days. If any part of these Terms is unenforceable, the rest remains in effect. These Terms, the Privacy Policy, and any order form are the entire agreement between us. Notices to Beacon go to legal@beaconhelpdesk.com; notices to you go to your organization’s owner and billing contact email.

17. Contact

Questions about these Terms: legal@beaconhelpdesk.com. Billing and cancellation: billing@beaconhelpdesk.com.