Terms of Service

Last updated: July 01, 2026

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of HandyBid (the "Service"). By creating an account or using the Service you agree to these Terms.

1. The Service

HandyBid is a marketplace that connects homeowners ("Homeowners") with independent service professionals ("Pros") for residential services such as landscaping, painting, repairs, and hauling. HandyBid does not provide the underlying services and is not a party to any agreement between Homeowners and Pros.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old and able to enter binding contracts. Pros must have all licenses and insurance required by their jurisdiction.

3. Accounts

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account and all activity under it. Notify us immediately of unauthorized use.

4. Marketplace conduct

• Listings, bids, messages, and reviews must be accurate and not misleading.
• No off-platform circumvention of fees once a bid has been accepted.
• No harassment, hate speech, or unlawful content.
• No scraping, reverse engineering, or attempting to access other accounts.

5. Payments

• HandyBid does not process payments between Homeowners and Pros for marketplace work. Payment for the work is made directly between the parties per the terms in the accepted Service Agreement. HandyBid does not hold escrow and does not transmit funds between Homeowner and Pro.
• The parties shall agree in writing — through the HandyBid messages thread on the job — on deposit, milestones, payment method, and timing. Default if not otherwise agreed: jobs under $500 paid in full upon completion; larger jobs 50% upon kickoff, 50% upon completion.
• HandyBid has NO per-job take rate. Our revenue comes from optional paid surfaces billed through Stripe:
  • Verified Pro subscription — $20/mo for the blue ✓ badge.
  • Paid Alerts subscription — $20/mo for instant job alerts; free accounts get a weekly digest.
  • Emergency broadcast — $20 one-time to push a job to every matching pro instantly.
  • Posting is free for Homeowners. There is no per-post fee, no monthly cap, and no take rate on what you pay the Pro.
• All fees are clearly disclosed before payment. Subscriptions can be canceled anytime from the Stripe billing portal.
• Disputes between Homeowner and Pro should first be resolved between the parties; HandyBid may, at its sole discretion, mediate via the report tools described in Section 5a but is not obligated to and has no authority to compel a particular outcome.

5a. Reporting off-platform solicitation

If a Pro solicits additional services or payment from a Homeowner outside the HandyBid platform after a bid has been accepted, the Homeowner may file a report through the job page. The Homeowner has three resolution options:

• Terminate — cancel the contract. Available only if no work has begun (no contractor "before/after" media has been uploaded yet).
• Settle for percentage completed — the parties agree on what fraction of the work is done and a corresponding dollar settlement. HandyBid records the agreement; payment is exchanged directly between the parties off-platform.
• Amend the contract — formalize the new scope at an agreed price through HandyBid. Once the counterparty accepts, the amendment is part of the contract record.

HandyBid reviews every report and may suspend or terminate accounts that violate this Section or Section 6c (Non-Circumvention). Reports may also trigger the liquidated damages provided for in Section 6c.

6. Independent contractors and hold harmless

Pros are independent contractors, not employees, agents, partners, or joint venturers of HandyBid. HandyBid provides only a venue to discover, communicate with, and pay one another. Any agreement to perform work forms directly between the Homeowner and the Pro; HandyBid is not a party to that agreement.

You agree that HandyBid is held harmless from, and disclaims all liability for:

• The quality, safety, legality, fitness, or completion of any service performed;
• Property damage, personal injury, theft, or other harm caused by either party;
• Defects, delays, missed appointments, or no-shows;
• Unpaid invoices, withheld payments, or chargebacks between Homeowner and Pro;
• Any additional charges, change orders, materials, or services agreed to outside of this platform;
• Misrepresentation of credentials (license, insurance, bond, certifications) by a Pro;
• Any tax, regulatory, permitting, or compliance obligations of either party;
• Disputes between Homeowner and Pro of any kind.

Disputes are resolved directly between the Homeowner and the Pro. HandyBid may, at its sole discretion, attempt informal mediation but has no obligation to do so and no authority to compel a particular outcome.

6a. No off-platform side agreements

Once a bid has been accepted on the platform, the Homeowner and the Pro agree to keep documentation of the engagement on-platform. Payment for the work itself is direct between the parties (per Section 5), but the agreed-upon payment schedule, any change orders, and any scope amendments should be reflected in messages or formal amendments on the job thread. Off-platform side agreements — including undocumented scope expansions, “cash discounts” intended to circumvent the Service, or any arrangement that materially deviates from the recorded Service Agreement without amendment — are not enforced or supported by HandyBid in any dispute, and may result in account suspension.

6c. Non-circumvention (Pros)

Scope. A "HandyBid Lead" means any Homeowner whose contact information, job posting, or other identifying details the Pro first learned of through the HandyBid platform — whether by viewing the job, exchanging messages, submitting a bid, or having a bid accepted. A Homeowner the Pro can prove they knew independently before the HandyBid introduction is not a HandyBid Lead.

Restricted period. For 18 months from the date the Pro first interacted with a HandyBid Lead on the platform, the Pro shall not:

• Solicit, accept, perform, or invoice for any service for that Lead outside the HandyBid platform;
• Direct the Lead to pay, contact, or contract through any channel other than HandyBid;
• Offer a “cash discount” or otherwise structure the engagement specifically to bypass HandyBid’s platform (including its review, ratings, dispute-reporting, and amendment workflows);
• Refer the Lead to an affiliated business or sub-contractor to accomplish the same purpose.

Casual social contact, repair warranty work on a job that was completed through HandyBid, and unsolicited inbound requests from the Lead that the Pro promptly redirects back to HandyBid are not breaches of this clause.

Liquidated damages. Because actual damages from circumvention are difficult to quantify, the Pro and HandyBid agree that any breach of this Section 6c entitles HandyBid to liquidated damages equal to the greater of (a) USD $500, or (b) 2× the dollar value of the off-platform transaction, per off-platform transaction. The parties stipulate that this is a reasonable estimate of HandyBid’s loss (including lost subscription revenue, customer-acquisition cost, and platform-trust harm) and is not a penalty. Liquidated damages do not preclude HandyBid from also pursuing injunctive relief, attorneys’ fees, or other equitable remedies.

Right to terminate. HandyBid may, at its sole discretion, suspend or permanently terminate the Pro’s account for a breach of this Section 6c without refund of any subscription fees (including Verified Pro and paid Alerts) or one-time fees.

Audit rights. If HandyBid reasonably suspects circumvention, the Pro shall, within 14 days of a written request, provide records sufficient to confirm or refute the suspicion. Acceptable records include: invoices issued to the Lead, payment-processor statements (Stripe, Square, Venmo, PayPal, etc.), bank deposit records, and contemporaneous communications. Records may be redacted to remove unrelated client information. Refusal to provide records on request creates a rebuttable presumption that circumvention occurred.

Survival. This Section 6c survives termination of the Pro's account for the duration of the restricted period.

6b. Self-reported credentials

Pros may self-report licensing, insurance, bonding, and certification information on their profile. HandyBid does not verify these claims. Homeowners are responsible for independently confirming any credential with the issuing authority before hiring. Pros affirm that any credentials they list are true, current, and accurate at the time of attestation, and accept full liability for any misrepresentation.

6d. Data and privacy

Your use of the Service is also governed by our Privacy Policy, which explains exactly what information we collect, how we use it, the third-party processors we share it with (Stripe for billing, SendGrid for email, Render for hosting, Cloudflare for DNS, Google for search indexing), and what we never share. By using HandyBid you acknowledge and accept the disclosures in that policy, including:

• Inter-user disclosure rules: contractors see only your first name and last initial pre-acceptance; full contact info appears in the Service Agreement PDF only after a bid is accepted. Budget ranges and clarification-question authors are never shared with the counterparty.
• Public visibility: open job postings (without your last name / contact info / budget) and contractor profiles (including average rating and review history) are public and may be indexed by search engines.
• Sale of personal information: HandyBid does not sell your personal information and does not engage in cross-context behavioral advertising as defined by CPRA.
• Your rights: access, correction, deletion, GDPR/CCPA rights, and how to exercise them — full details in the Privacy Policy.

If the Terms and the Privacy Policy ever conflict on a data-handling matter, the Privacy Policy controls.

7. Reviews

Reviews must reflect actual experience. HandyBid may remove reviews that violate these Terms.

8. Termination

You may delete your account at any time from Account → Delete. We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms.

9. Disclaimers

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND. HandyBid DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

10. Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, HandyBid'S TOTAL LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE PLATFORM FEES YOU PAID OR EARNED IN THE 12 MONTHS PRIOR TO THE CLAIM, OR (B) USD $100.

11. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless HandyBid from any claim arising out of your use of the Service, violation of these Terms, or violation of any third-party right.

12. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, USA, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles. Disputes will be resolved in the state or federal courts located in that jurisdiction.

13. Changes

We may modify these Terms. Material changes will be communicated by email and announced in-app at least 7 days before they take effect.

14. Contact

support@handy.bid

This template is a starting point and is not legal advice. Have it reviewed by a lawyer before launch.