Terms of service are the written rules of your business. They explain what you sell, who can buy, how payment, delivery and refunds work, what buyers may and may not do with your products, and what happens when something goes wrong. When someone buys from your store, these terms form part of the agreement between you.

They concern every creator, coach and small brand that sells online. A course creator needs to say whether students can share their login. A template seller needs to say whether buyers can resell the designs. A clothing shop needs to explain delivery times and returns. This page gives general information to help you understand what terms of service do. It is not legal advice. Consumer and contract law differ by country, so have your terms checked by a lawyer for your situation.

What are terms of service?

Terms of service, also called terms and conditions, terms of use or terms of sale, are a contract between a business and its customers or users. Different names often cover slightly different documents. Terms of use govern how people use a website or app. Terms of sale govern purchases. Many small sellers combine both in one document.

Terms of service are not the same as a privacy policy. The privacy policy explains what personal data you collect and how you use it, as required by laws such as the GDPR. Terms of service cover the commercial relationship. They are also different from a refund policy, although the refund policy is often a section of the terms or a separate page linked from them.

Your terms cannot override the law. In many countries, consumers have rights you cannot remove, such as a legal guarantee on physical goods or, in the EU, a 14-day right of withdrawal for most online purchases. A clause that tries to remove those rights is usually void.

Related vocabulary: license (what the buyer may do with a digital product), limitation of liability, governing law (which country's law applies), withdrawal right and acceptance (how the customer agrees to the terms, often with a checkbox or a notice at checkout).

Why it matters

Clear terms prevent misunderstandings, reduce disputes and give you something solid to point to when a customer or a payment provider asks questions.

A worked example. A creator sells a 149 dollar online course to 400 buyers a year. Her sales page does not say anything about refunds or access. Twelve buyers ask for refunds after completing most of the course, and when she refuses, five of them open a chargeback with their bank. With nothing written to show, she loses all five: 745 dollars in refunds plus about 15 dollars in dispute fees each, around 820 dollars. The next year, she publishes terms that describe access, a 14-day refund window with clear conditions, and a no-sharing rule, and she shows them at checkout. Refund requests drop to five, she wins most disputes by sending the terms and her order records, and losses fall below 200 dollars.

Good terms also protect your work. A clear license stops buyers from reselling your templates or uploading your course to a sharing site, and gives you a basis to ask for removal.

How it works

Writing terms of service is mostly about describing how your business actually runs.

  • Identify yourself. Give your business name, legal status, address and contact email. Many countries require this for online sellers.
  • Describe what you sell. Explain the types of products (physical items, digital products, courses, coaching) and how each is delivered.
  • Explain prices and payment. State the currency, whether taxes are included, which payment methods you accept and when the customer is charged.
  • Cover delivery. Shipping zones, delivery times, who pays for returns, and for digital products, how and when access is given.
  • Set the refund and withdrawal rules. Describe your refund policy and the legal withdrawal right where it applies. For digital content in the EU, the buyer can lose the withdrawal right once delivery starts, but only if they expressly agreed and acknowledged it before purchase.
  • Define the license. For digital products and courses, say whether use is personal or commercial, whether sharing is allowed, and how long access lasts.
  • Add responsibilities and limits. What you are not responsible for (misuse, results not guaranteed for coaching), and reasonable limits on liability, within what the law allows.
  • Name the law and dispute process. Governing law, how to contact you with a complaint, and consumer mediation details where required.
  • Show them before purchase. Link the terms at checkout and in the footer, and keep a dated copy of every version.

Benchmarks and examples

Most small online sellers have terms between 1,000 and 3,000 words. Length matters less than clarity: a customer should find the refund rule in under a minute. Terms are usually reviewed when you add a new product type, change prices or payment methods, start selling in a new country, or at least once a year.

Typical situations:

  • A template seller grants a personal and commercial use license for designs made for clients, but forbids reselling the templates themselves.
  • A course creator gives lifetime access to the current version of the course, defined as the life of the course on her platform, and forbids sharing logins.
  • A coach sells a package of six sessions, sets a 24-hour cancellation rule and states that sessions expire after four months.
  • A small ceramics shop explains that handmade items vary slightly, gives delivery times per zone and describes how to report breakage within 48 hours.

Common mistakes

  • Copying another store's terms. They describe someone else's products, country and processes. Parts may be wrong or illegal for you.
  • Contradicting the law. "No refunds under any circumstances" is not valid for many consumer purchases. It confuses customers and weakens your position.
  • Hiding the terms. Terms that customers never had a chance to see are hard to rely on in a dispute.
  • Never updating them. Terms written for one ebook do not cover the coaching program and the physical merch you added later.
  • Vague license wording. "For your use" does not tell a buyer whether they can use your template for client work.

Best practices

  • Write in plain language. Short sentences and headings for each topic. Customers read what they can understand.
  • Match your real process. If you ship in five days, do not promise two. If you give refunds within 14 days, say 14.
  • Show a summary at checkout. One line with the key rule, such as refund conditions, plus a link to the full terms.
  • Keep versions. Date every version and keep old ones, so you know which terms applied to which order.
  • Align every page. Product pages, emails and FAQ should say the same thing as your terms.
  • Get a professional review. Have a lawyer check your terms once, then again when your business changes significantly.

In Roctify

Roctify is not a merchant of record: you remain the seller, so your terms of service are your own, and this section is not legal advice. Publish your terms, refund policy and privacy policy and link them from your store and your link-in-bio page, so buyers can read them before they pay. Product descriptions let you state what each course, download or physical product includes, and digital products and courses are delivered automatically after payment, so you can describe access and delivery precisely.

Roctify's multi-currency, multi-language, VAT and tax settings help your prices and checkout match what your terms say for each market. When a customer disputes a payment, your order records in Roctify, together with your published terms, give you the facts to answer the payment provider.

FAQ

Do I legally need terms of service?

It depends on your country and what you sell. Many countries require online sellers to publish certain information, such as identity, prices, delivery and withdrawal rights. Even where it is not strictly required, clear terms protect you in disputes. Check local rules with a professional.

Can I use a template or generator?

A template can be a starting point for structure. Adapt every section to your products, country and process, and have a lawyer review the result. Unchanged templates often contain clauses that do not fit your business.

Where should terms be displayed?

Link them in your site footer and near the payment button at checkout, so customers can read them before they pay. For key rules such as refunds on digital products, show a short line directly at checkout too.