Terms.

Who we are

TomHow is a trading name of HOWCROFTS CONSULTING LTD, a private limited company registered in England and Wales. Registered office filed at Companies House. Director: Thomas Howcroft.

What we sell

• Paid audit, GBP 2,250 one-off. A two UK working day diagnostic after complete intake and usable evidence, delivered as a signed report with linked evidence rows. Scope defined at /audit.
• Citation Engine retainer, GBP 5,000 per month, 6-month minimum.
• AEO Stack retainer, GBP 8,500 per month, 6-month minimum.
• Search Lab Retainer, GBP 12,000 per month, 12-month minimum.

All pricing is in pounds sterling (GBP). HOWCROFTS CONSULTING LTD is not currently VAT registered, so no VAT is charged.

Invoicing and payment

Retainers are invoiced monthly in advance, payable within 14 days of invoice date. The paid audit is invoiced on order and the audit clock starts when funds clear. Late payments incur statutory interest at Bank of England base rate plus 8% per annum under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.

The credit-back on the paid audit

If you sign a 6-month or 12-month retainer within 30 days of receiving the audit PDF, the GBP 2,250 audit fee is credited in full against your first month's retainer invoice. The credit applies once per buyer.

Cancellation

Citation Engine and AEO Stack: 6-month minimum, then cancel any month with 30 days written notice (email to lab@tomhow.co.uk is sufficient). Search Lab Retainer: 12-month minimum, then same. No auto-renewal traps. No exit fees.

Pause

One month pause per 6-month minimum is permitted for genuine business reasons (acquisition prep, leadership change, seasonal flatline). The minimum term extends by the pause duration. Subsequent pauses require mutual agreement.

Intellectual property

Content shipped under a retainer (articles, technical AEO changes, schema, llms.txt, internal link changes) becomes the client's property on publish. Tooling that produces it (the workflow system, the citation tracker, the report renderer) remains the property of HOWCROFTS CONSULTING LTD. Custom tools built under the Search Lab Retainer belong to the client per the bespoke Schedule signed at that engagement.

Confidentiality

Each side keeps the other's commercial information confidential. Only approved public-safe learnings may appear in TomHow notes or case studies. Named case studies require written permission from the client.

Liability

Subject to UK statutory minimums, TomHow's total liability under any engagement is capped at the fees paid by the client in the preceding 12 months. We do not exclude liability for death, personal injury, or fraud as required by UK law.

Sub-processors and tools

TomHow uses Anthropic Claude, OpenAI, Google (Search Console, Analytics, Gemini), Perplexity, Ahrefs, SEMrush, Cloudflare (website hosting and delivery), SiteGround (form service, enquiry storage and email forwarding), Microsoft Clarity, and Stripe. Full list available on request. The Master Service Agreement signed at retainer onset includes the formal sub-processor list as a Schedule.

Governing law

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales. The courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute.

Changes to these terms

We may update these terms when the underlying systems change. The "Last updated" date at the top reflects the most recent revision. Active clients are notified by email of any material change at least 30 days in advance.