Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of the CHERI School Management System platform, website, and related services (collectively, the "Service") provided by CHERI SMS ("we", "us", or "our").

By accessing or using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service. If you are using the Service on behalf of a school or organisation, you represent that you have the authority to bind that entity to these Terms.

2. Description of Services

CHERI SMS provides a cloud-based school management platform that includes:

• Student information management (admissions, profiles, grades, attendance)
• Teacher and staff management
• Fee collection and financial management
• Online classes and virtual classroom tools
• AI-powered insights and automation
• Parent portal and communication tools
• Mobile application for students, teachers, and parents
• Reports, analytics, and academic progress tracking

We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue any feature of the Service at any time with reasonable notice.

3. Account & Access

3.1 School Administrator Responsibility

The school administrator ("Account Owner") is responsible for:

• Maintaining the confidentiality of login credentials
• All activities that occur under the school's account
• Ensuring only authorised staff and students access the platform
• Promptly notifying us of any unauthorised access

3.2 User Accounts

Student, teacher, and parent accounts are created and managed by the school administrator. Each user is responsible for keeping their own credentials secure.

3.3 Account Security

You must use strong passwords and enable multi-factor authentication where available. CHERI SMS is not liable for losses resulting from compromised accounts due to inadequate security practices on your end.

4. Acceptable Use

You agree to use the Service only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms. You must not:

• Use the Service to transmit, store, or share unlawful, harmful, or offensive content
• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to the platform, other accounts, or systems
• Reverse engineer, copy, or reproduce any part of the Service
• Use automated tools to scrape, crawl, or harvest data from the platform
• Introduce malware, viruses, or any malicious code
• Misrepresent your identity or affiliation
• Share student data with unauthorised third parties
• Use the platform for commercial purposes not authorised by your subscription plan

5. Data Ownership

5.1 Your Data

All data you enter into CHERI SMS — including student records, academic data, and school information — remains your property. You retain full ownership of your data.

5.2 Our Role

CHERI SMS acts as a data processor on your behalf. We do not claim ownership of your data and do not use it for any purpose beyond providing the Service.

5.3 Data Export

You may export your data at any time using the platform's export tools. Upon account closure, we will provide a data export and then delete your data per our retention policy (see Privacy Policy).

5.4 Aggregated Analytics

We may use anonymised, aggregated data (with all identifying information removed) to improve the platform and publish general education insights. This data cannot be traced back to any individual or school.

6. Payment & Subscription

6.1 Subscription Plans

CHERI SMS is offered on a subscription basis. Pricing is based on the plan selected (Cloud or On-Premises) and number of students. Current pricing is available at cheriedu.com/#pricing.

6.2 Billing

• Subscriptions are billed annually or as agreed in the service agreement
• All fees are non-refundable except as required by law or as specified in your service agreement
• Prices are subject to change with 30 days' advance notice

6.3 Non-Payment

We reserve the right to suspend access if payment is not received. Schools will be given 14 days' notice before suspension. During suspension, data remains accessible for export but features are restricted.

6.4 Free Trial

If a free trial is offered, it is subject to the terms specified at the time of trial signup. No payment information is required during the trial period unless explicitly stated.

7. Intellectual Property

The CHERI SMS platform, including its software, design, logos, trademarks, and content ("CHERI IP"), is owned by or licensed to CHERI SMS and is protected by applicable intellectual property laws.

Your subscription grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use the Service for your school's internal purposes only.

You must not:

• Copy, modify, or create derivative works of the platform
• Use CHERI trademarks or branding without written permission
• Sublicense or resell access to the platform

8. Limitation of Liability

8.1 Service Availability

We aim for 99.9% uptime but do not guarantee uninterrupted service. Scheduled maintenance will be communicated in advance. We are not liable for losses caused by service outages, provided we have taken reasonable steps to minimise downtime.

8.2 Limitation

To the maximum extent permitted by law, CHERI SMS shall not be liable for:

• Indirect, incidental, or consequential damages
• Loss of data caused by user error or third-party actions
• Losses resulting from use of data exported from the platform
• Actions taken by third-party integrations

Our total liability to you in any month shall not exceed the fees paid by you for that month's service.

8.3 Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold CHERI SMS harmless from any claims arising from your violation of these Terms or misuse of the Service.

9. Termination

9.1 Termination by You

You may terminate your subscription at any time by contacting us. Termination takes effect at the end of the current billing period.

9.2 Termination by Us

We may terminate or suspend your account:

• With 30 days' notice for any reason
• Immediately for material breach of these Terms (e.g., non-payment, illegal use)

9.3 Effect of Termination

Upon termination, your access to the Service ends. You should export all data before termination. We will retain your data for 90 days after termination to allow for data retrieval, after which it is permanently deleted.

10. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of India. Any disputes arising from these Terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in Hyderabad, Telangana, India.

For schools in the EU or UK, we additionally comply with applicable GDPR requirements. In the event of a conflict between these Terms and GDPR requirements, GDPR requirements shall prevail for EU/UK users.

These Terms were last updated in February 2026 and supersede all prior versions.

11. Contact Us

For any questions about these Terms of Service:

We reserve the right to update these Terms at any time. Material changes will be communicated via email to school administrators at least 30 days before taking effect.