Terms & Conditions (Practices)

Last Updated: April 21, 2026

1. Introduction

These Terms & Conditions ("Terms") govern your use of the Cliara platform ("Platform") as a dental practice, operated by Cliara Technologies Ltd ("we," "our," or "Cliara").

Our Details:

• Company Name: Cliara Technologies Ltd
• Company Number: 17148521
• Registered Address: 6 Pagett Close, Hucknall, NG15 7US, United Kingdom
• Contact Email: hello@cliara.co.uk

By registering your dental practice on Cliara, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the Platform.

2. Definitions

• Practice: Your dental practice business registered on the Platform
• Subscription: Your paid service tier (Free, Listed, Bookable, or Connected)
• Billing Period: The recurring period for which you are charged (monthly or annually)
• Patient: An individual who uses Cliara to search for or book appointments with dental practices
• Booking: An appointment request made by a patient through the Platform

3. Eligibility

3.1 Valid GDC Registration

To use Cliara as a practice, you must:

• Be a registered dental practice in the United Kingdom
• Hold a valid registration with the General Dental Council (GDC)
• Comply with all GDC standards and regulations

You must notify us immediately at hello@cliara.co.uk if your GDC registration lapses, is suspended, or is revoked.

3.2 Authority to Bind

By registering on Cliara, you confirm that you have the authority to bind your practice to these Terms (e.g., you are the practice owner, manager, or authorized representative).

4. Account Registration

4.1 Creating an Account

To register your practice, you must provide:

• Practice name and registered address
• Contact email and phone number
• GDC registration number(s) for your practice and registered dentists
• Business details (opening hours, services offered, pricing)

4.2 Account Security

You are responsible for:

• Maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials
• All activity that occurs under your account
• Notifying us immediately of any unauthorized access

Do not share your account login with unauthorized individuals.

4.3 Accuracy of Information

You must ensure that all information provided on your profile is:

• Accurate and truthful (no false claims about qualifications, services, or pricing)
• Up to date (you must update your profile promptly if details change)
• Compliant with advertising regulations (Advertising Standards Authority, GDC guidance)

Misrepresenting your practice or services is grounds for immediate account termination.

5. Subscription Tiers

Cliara offers four subscription tiers:

5.1 Free Tier

• Cost: £0/month
• Features:
  • Basic listing in the Cliara directory
  • Practice name and address visible
  • No contact details shown to patients
  • Cannot receive bookings

Purpose: Claim your practice listing to prevent others from creating a duplicate.

5.2 Listed Tier

• Cost: £49/month (or £490/year, 2 months free)
• Features:
  • Full profile with contact details, opening hours, services, pricing
  • Phone number and website visible to patients
  • Email inquiries enabled
  • Cannot receive online bookings

Purpose: Marketing and visibility without online booking functionality.

5.3 Bookable Tier

• Cost: £99/month (or £990/year, 2 months free)
• Features:
  • All Listed tier features
  • Online booking system
  • Receive appointment requests through Cliara
  • Booking confirmations sent automatically (email and SMS)
  • Dashboard to manage bookings

Purpose: Full online booking capability.

5.4 Connected Tier

• Cost: £149/month (or £1,490/year, 2 months free)
• Features:
  • All Bookable tier features
  • Priority placement in search results
  • Enhanced analytics (patient demographics, booking trends)
  • Featured practice badge
  • Dedicated account support

Purpose: Maximum visibility and advanced features for growing practices.

Note: Pricing is subject to change. If we change subscription pricing, existing subscribers will be notified 30 days in advance and can choose to continue at the new rate or cancel.

6. Free Trial

6.1 Trial Period

Practices upgrading from Free to any paid tier (Listed, Bookable, or Connected) receive a 14-day free trial.

The trial period starts from the date you receive your first booking (for Bookable and Connected tiers) or from the date you upgrade (for Listed tier, since it has no booking functionality).

6.2 Trial Terms

• No payment is required during the trial period
• You have full access to your chosen tier's features
• You can cancel at any time during the trial with no charge
• If you do not cancel before the trial ends, your subscription automatically begins and you will be charged

6.3 One Trial Per Practice

The free trial is available once per practice. If you cancel and later re-subscribe, you will be charged immediately.

7. Billing and Payment

7.1 Payment Method

All payments are processed securely through Stripe. We accept:

• Credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express)
• Debit cards

We do not store your payment card details. Stripe handles all payment processing.

7.2 Billing Cycle

Monthly Subscriptions:

• Billed on the same day each month (e.g., if you subscribe on the 15th, you'll be billed on the 15th of each subsequent month)
• Automatically renew unless cancelled

Annual Subscriptions:

• Billed once per year
• Save 2 months' cost (equivalent to 10 months for the price of 12)
• Automatically renew unless cancelled

7.3 Automatic Renewal

Your subscription renews automatically at the end of each billing period unless you cancel before the renewal date.

You will receive a receipt via email after each successful payment.

7.4 Failed Payments

If a payment fails (e.g., expired card, insufficient funds):

1. We will attempt to charge your card again after 3 days
2. If payment still fails, we will email you to update your payment method
3. You have a 7-day grace period to resolve the issue
4. If payment is not received within 7 days, your subscription will be downgraded to the Free tier

During the grace period:

• Your account remains active with full features
• Patients can still book appointments
• You can update your payment method in your account settings

After grace period expires:

• Account downgraded to Free tier
• You lose access to paid features (online booking, contact details, etc.)
• Existing bookings are honored, but no new bookings are accepted

7.5 Prorated Charges

Upgrading:

• If you upgrade mid-billing period (e.g., Listed → Bookable), you will be charged immediately for the prorated difference
• Your billing date remains the same

Downgrading:

• If you downgrade mid-billing period (e.g., Bookable → Listed), you receive credit for the unused portion
• The credit is applied at the end of your current billing period
• Your subscription changes to the lower tier at the start of the next billing period (you keep your current tier features until then)

Example: You subscribe to Bookable (£99/month) on January 1st. On January 15th, you upgrade to Connected (£149/month). You are charged £25 immediately (£50 difference ÷ 2 for half the month). Your next full charge of £149 occurs on February 1st.

7.6 Refund Policy

14-Day Money-Back Guarantee:

• If you are not satisfied with your subscription, you can request a full refund within 14 days of your first payment
• Refunds are issued to the original payment method
• Email hello@cliara.co.uk with your refund request

After 14 days:

• Subscriptions are non-refundable
• You can cancel to avoid future charges, but no refunds are issued for the current billing period
• Exception: If we terminate your account for our convenience (not for violations), we will refund the unused portion of your subscription

7.7 Taxes

VAT (Value Added Tax):

• All prices displayed exclude VAT
• If your practice is VAT-registered, please provide your VAT number in your account settings
• VAT will be added to your invoice as required by UK tax law

You are responsible for any applicable taxes in your jurisdiction.

8. Cancellation and Termination

8.1 Cancelling Your Subscription (By You)

You may cancel your subscription at any time via your account settings or by emailing hello@cliara.co.uk.

Effective Date:

• Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing period
• You retain access to paid features until the billing period ends
• After that, your account is downgraded to the Free tier (unless you delete your account entirely)

No Refunds:

• You are not entitled to a refund for the current billing period (except within the 14-day money-back guarantee period)

Annual Subscriptions:

• If you cancel an annual subscription mid-year, you keep access until the annual period ends
• No partial refunds for unused months

8.2 Termination by Cliara (For Violations)

We may immediately suspend or terminate your account if you:

• Violate these Terms
• Provide false or misleading information about your practice
• Allow your GDC registration to lapse
• Engage in fraudulent, illegal, or unethical conduct
• Fail to honor bookings made through Cliara without valid reason
• Harass or discriminate against patients
• Post fake reviews or pay patients to leave positive reviews
• Use patient contact details for marketing without consent
• Repeatedly fail to pay subscription fees after the grace period

Consequences:

• Immediate loss of access to the Platform
• Your practice is removed from the directory
• Patients with upcoming bookings are notified
• No refund for the current billing period

We may also report serious violations (e.g., GDC registration issues, patient safety concerns) to the General Dental Council.

8.3 Termination by Cliara (For Convenience)

We reserve the right to terminate your account with 30 days written notice for any reason, including:

• Discontinuing the Platform or certain features
• Ceasing operations in your geographic area
• Business or strategic reasons

If we terminate for convenience:

• You receive a prorated refund for the unused portion of your subscription
• We will assist in exporting your data if requested
• Patients with upcoming bookings are notified

8.4 Effect of Termination

Upon termination (by you or us):

• Your access to the Platform is revoked
• Your practice listing is removed from the directory
• Patient contact details you received through bookings remain subject to your independent data protection obligations (see Section 10)
• You must immediately cease using Cliara branding and materials

Data Retention:

• Your account data is deleted 30 days after termination (grace period in case you wish to reactivate)
• Booking history and payment records are retained for 7 years (HMRC requirement)

9. Using the Platform

9.1 Managing Bookings

For Bookable and Connected tiers, you must:

• Monitor your booking dashboard regularly (at least once daily)
• Respond to booking requests within 24 hours (confirm, reschedule, or decline)
• Honor confirmed bookings unless you have a valid reason to cancel (e.g., dentist illness, emergency)

Failure to honor bookings may result in account suspension.

9.2 Cancellation Policy

Platform Recommendation: We recommend requiring patients to cancel at least 24 hours in advance.

Your Cancellation Policy:

• You can set your own cancellation policy in your account settings (12 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours, anytime, or custom)
• This policy is displayed to patients when they book and in their booking confirmation email/SMS
• You cannot enforce financial penalties through Cliara (we do not process patient payments)

If You Need to Cancel:

• Contact the patient directly as soon as possible (phone or email)
• Offer alternative appointment times
• Update the booking status in your dashboard
• Repeated practice-initiated cancellations may harm your reputation and search ranking

9.3 Profile Content

You are responsible for all content on your practice profile:

• Photos must accurately represent your practice (no stock photos claiming to be your premises)
• Services and pricing must be truthful and up to date
• You must not make misleading claims (e.g., "Best dentist in Birmingham" without evidence)
• Compliance with ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) and GDC advertising guidance

We reserve the right to remove or edit content that violates these Terms or advertising regulations.

9.4 Patient Reviews

Patients may leave reviews of your practice on Cliara. You cannot:

• Delete or edit reviews (only Cliara can remove reviews that violate our Terms)
• Pay patients for positive reviews
• Threaten or harass patients who leave negative reviews
• Post fake reviews pretending to be patients

You CAN:

• Respond publicly to reviews (we encourage professional, constructive responses)
• Flag reviews as inappropriate or defamatory (we will manually review flagged reviews)

Review Moderation Process:

• If you believe a review is defamatory or violates our Terms, click "Flag Review"
• Provide a reason (e.g., "Contains false accusations," "Patient was never a client")
• Our team reviews flagged reviews within 48 hours
• We remove reviews that clearly violate our Terms (false claims, harassment, unrelated content)
• We do NOT remove reviews simply because they are negative or critical

Platform Liability:

• Cliara is not liable for the content of user reviews (Section 5, Defamation Act 2013)
• Reviews represent patients' opinions, not Cliara's endorsement

10. Data Protection Obligations

10.1 Data Controller Relationship

For Practice Data (Your Profile Information):

• Cliara is the data controller for your practice profile, subscription, and billing data
• We process this data to provide the Platform to you

For Patient Data (Booking Contact Details):

• You become an independent data controller when you receive patient contact details (name, email, phone) through a booking
• Cliara acts as a data processor by facilitating the transmission of this data to you

10.2 Your Data Protection Responsibilities

When you receive patient contact details through Cliara bookings, you must:

1. Use data only for the appointment: Do not use patient data for marketing, mailing lists, or other purposes without obtaining separate, explicit consent from the patient

2. Comply with UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018:

   • Process patient data lawfully, fairly, and transparently
   • Keep data secure (encrypted storage, access controls, etc.)
   • Retain data only as long as necessary (delete after appointment or as per your practice's retention policy)
   • Honor patient rights (access, deletion, rectification, etc.)

3. Maintain appropriate security measures:

   • Do not store patient details in unencrypted spreadsheets or emails
   • Use secure practice management software
   • Train staff on data protection

4. Notify patients of your privacy practices:

   • Have a Privacy Policy on your website or displayed in your practice
   • Explain how you use their data and their rights

Breach of these obligations may result in:

• ICO enforcement action against your practice
• Immediate termination of your Cliara account
• Liability for any damages caused to patients

10.3 ICO Registration

As a data controller processing patient data, you must be registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and pay the annual data protection fee (currently £52/year for most dental practices).

If you are not ICO-registered, you must register at: ico.org.uk/for-organisations/data-protection-fee

10.4 Data Sharing Consent

By using Cliara, you acknowledge and agree that:

• Cliara will share patient contact details (name, email, phone) with you when a patient books an appointment
• This data sharing is necessary to fulfill the booking contract between the patient and your practice
• You will handle this data in accordance with UK GDPR as described above

11. Intellectual Property

11.1 Platform Ownership

All content, design, software, and trademarks on the Cliara Platform are owned by Cliara or our licensors and are protected by UK and international copyright and trademark laws.

You may not:

• Copy, modify, or reverse-engineer the Platform
• Use Cliara branding or logos without written permission (except as necessary to display "Powered by Cliara" on booking confirmations, which you may remove)

11.2 Your Content

Photos and Content You Upload:

• You retain ownership of photos and text you upload to your practice profile
• You grant Cliara a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to display this content on the Platform and use it for marketing purposes (e.g., featuring your practice in promotional materials, case studies)

You warrant that:

• You own or have permission to use all content you upload
• Your content does not infringe third-party copyrights, trademarks, or other rights
• Photos of people (staff, patients) are uploaded with their consent

If you upload infringing content, you indemnify Cliara against any claims or damages.

12. Disclaimer of Warranties

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, CLIARA PROVIDES THE PLATFORM "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND.

We do not warrant that:

• The Platform will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free
• Booking requests will always be delivered successfully (email/SMS delivery depends on third-party services)
• The Platform will generate any specific number of bookings or revenue for your practice

You use the Platform at your own risk.

13. Limitation of Liability

13.1 Liability Cap

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, CLIARA'S TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING FROM THESE TERMS OR YOUR USE OF THE PLATFORM IS LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT YOU PAID TO CLIARA IN THE 12 MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM.

For example, if you pay £99/month and have been subscribed for 6 months (total £594), our maximum liability is £594.

This limitation applies to all claims, whether based on contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise.

13.2 Exclusions

We are NOT liable for:

• Loss of profits, revenue, or business opportunities
• Loss of data or corruption of data
• Indirect, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages
• Damages arising from third-party actions (e.g., patient no-shows, negative reviews, competitor interference)

13.3 Exceptions

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits our liability for:

• Death or personal injury caused by our negligence
• Fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation
• Any liability that cannot be excluded under UK law

14. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Cliara, its directors, employees, and affiliates from any claims, damages, or expenses (including legal fees) arising from:

• Your use of the Platform
• Your violation of these Terms
• Your violation of UK GDPR or other data protection laws
• Content you upload to your practice profile
• Your treatment of patients (Cliara is not liable for clinical negligence or malpractice)
• Any disputes between you and a patient

15. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time to reflect changes in our services, pricing, or legal requirements.

How We Notify You:

• The "Last Updated" date at the top of this page will change
• For significant changes (e.g., price increases, new restrictions), we will email you at least 30 days in advance

Your Options:

• If you do not agree to the updated Terms, you may cancel your subscription before they take effect
• Your continued use of the Platform after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms

16. Governing Law and Disputes

16.1 Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales.

16.2 Jurisdiction

Any disputes arising from these Terms or your use of the Platform will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

However, if you are located in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you may have the right to bring proceedings in the courts of those jurisdictions.

16.3 Dispute Resolution

Before initiating legal proceedings, we encourage you to contact us at hello@cliara.co.uk to attempt to resolve disputes amicably.

17. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be unlawful or unenforceable, that provision will be severed from these Terms without affecting the validity of the remaining provisions.

18. Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Cliara regarding your use of the Platform as a practice.

19. Contact Us

If you have questions about these Terms, please contact us:

Email: hello@cliara.co.uk

Mail:
Cliara Technologies Ltd
6 Pagett Close
Hucknall
NG15 7US
United Kingdom

End of Practice Terms & Conditions

For Patients, see: Patient Terms & Conditions
Privacy Policy: Privacy Policy