Terms of Use
Effective Date: May 2026
Important: These Terms of Use govern your access to and use of the Ardent SMS platform. By using our services, you agree to these terms. Please read them carefully.
1. Acceptance of Terms
By accessing or using the Ardent SMS platform ("Service"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. If you are using the Service on behalf of a School or other legal entity, you represent that you have the authority to bind such entity to these terms.
2. Use of the Service
Ardent SMS provides a cloud-based school management system. You agree to use the Service only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activities that occur under your account.
You agree not to:
- Use the Service in any way that violates any applicable local or international law.
- Engage in any conduct that restricts or inhibits anyone's use or enjoyment of the Service.
- Attempt to gain unauthorized access to, interfere with, or disrupt any parts of the Service or the server on which the Service is stored.
- Use the Service to transmit any "junk mail", "chain letter", "spam", or any other similar solicitation.
3. Intellectual Property Rights
The Service and its entire contents, features, and functionality (including but not limited to all information, software, text, displays, images, video, and audio) are owned by Ardent Africa Technology LTD and are protected by international copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws.
4. Fees and Payment
Access to certain features of the Service requires the payment of fees as outlined in your School's Master Service Agreement (MSA). All payments are non-refundable unless otherwise stated in the MSA. Failure to pay fees may result in the suspension or termination of your access to the Service.
5. Limitation of Liability
In no event will Ardent, its affiliates, or their licensors, service providers, employees, agents, officers, or directors be liable for damages of any kind, under any legal theory, arising out of or in connection with your use, or inability to use, the Service.
6. Governing Law
All matters relating to the Service and these Terms, and any dispute or claim arising therefrom or related thereto, shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the Republic of Ghana.
7. Changes to Terms
We may revise and update these Terms of Use from time to time in our sole discretion. All changes are effective immediately when we post them. Your continued use of the Service following the posting of revised Terms of Use means that you accept and agree to the changes.
7. Service Availability and Support
We strive to provide reliable, uninterrupted service, but we cannot guarantee 100% uptime:
- Target Uptime: 99.9% availability (excluding scheduled maintenance)
- Scheduled Maintenance: Announced at least 48 hours in advance via email and in-app notifications
- Support Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM GMT (Ghana Time)
- Emergency Support: Available 24/7 for critical issues affecting school operations
8. Data Backup and Recovery
We implement comprehensive backup procedures to protect your data:
- Automated daily backups with 30-day retention
- Point-in-time recovery capability for the past 7 days
- Geo-redundant storage across multiple data centers
- Regular backup restoration testing
Schools are responsible for maintaining their own additional backups of critical data if required by their internal policies.
9. User Responsibilities
As a user of the Service, you agree to:
- Provide accurate and complete information when creating accounts
- Maintain the security and confidentiality of your login credentials
- Notify us immediately of any unauthorized access to your account
- Use the Service in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations
- Respect the intellectual property rights of Ardent and third parties
- Not attempt to reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble any part of the Service
- Not use the Service to store or transmit malicious code or harmful content
10. Termination
Either party may terminate the Service agreement under the following conditions:
- By School: 30 days written notice, with data export provided upon request
- By Ardent: Immediate termination for material breach, non-payment, or illegal use
- Data Retention: Upon termination, data will be retained for 90 days to allow for recovery, then permanently deleted
- Refunds: Pro-rated refunds may be provided at Ardent's discretion for annual subscriptions
11. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Ardent, its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, and agents from any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, and expenses (including legal fees) arising from:
- Your use or misuse of the Service
- Your violation of these Terms
- Your violation of any rights of another party
- Any content you submit or transmit through the Service
12. Dispute Resolution
In the event of any dispute arising from these Terms or the Service:
- Negotiation: Parties agree to first attempt to resolve disputes through good-faith negotiation
- Mediation: If negotiation fails, disputes will be submitted to mediation in Accra, Ghana
- Arbitration: Unresolved disputes will be settled by binding arbitration under Ghana Arbitration Act
- Jurisdiction: Courts of Ghana shall have exclusive jurisdiction for any legal proceedings
13. Severability
If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable or invalid, that provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that these Terms will otherwise remain in full force and effect.
Questions About These Terms?
If you have any questions or concerns about these Terms of Use, please contact our legal team:
Email: legal@ardentsms.com
Phone: +233 (0) 30 123 4567