Terms of Service

1. Platform Purpose

GROG operates as a professional workspace and milestone payment platform designed specifically for South African freelance editors, colorists, sound designers, visual effect artists and indie studios.

By opening a workspace, booking a creative team, or submitting escrow payments through GROG, both clients and creators agree to be bound by these Terms of Service.

2. 50/50 Upfront Milestone Escrow

To safeguard creative time and prevent payment disputes, all project workspaces adhere to a standard milestone framework:

• 50% Initial Deposit: Work does not begin until the client funds the 50% deposit into escrow via Yoco.
• Protected Review Streaming: Rough cuts, color passes and audio assemblies stream in view-only containers with download controls blocked.
• 50% Completion Milestone: The remaining balance must be cleared in escrow before master high-resolution renders and project files unlock for client delivery.

3. Cancellation Policy

In the event that a client or production house formally cancels a project after assemblies have commenced:

• GROG retains a 25% administrative fee from current escrow to cover processing overhead and platform operations.
• The creative team receives 75% of held funds as compensation for logged assembly days and reserved schedule windows.
• Any unbilled or unfunded remaining balance is voided, and deliverable download links remain permanently locked.

4. Team Splits & South African Banking

Indie studios and collaborative crews can configure split percentages across lead and support roles (such as editors, sound supervisors and colorists).

All payouts are disbursed directly in South African Rand (ZAR) via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). Creators must maintain accurate South African banking details (FNB, Standard Bank, Nedbank, Capitec, ABSA, Investec, Discovery, or TymeBank) under account settings to avoid payout delays.

5. Intellectual Property & Master Deliverables

All draft previews, work-in-progress exports and timecoded feedback remain the intellectual property of the respective creators until the final 50% milestone and all approved add-on invoices are paid in full.

Upon final settlement, full commercial rights to the rendered master files transfer to the client as agreed in the project scope.

6. Verified Reviews & Audit Rights

Client reviews can only be submitted after project completion. Creators maintain the right to dispute any review they believe violates collaboration standards. In disputed cases, GROG administrators audit timecoded feedback chats and scope logs to evaluate the review.