General terms and conditions

§ 1 Scope, provider

(1) These terms and conditions apply to all contracts concerning i4Q+ between Maik Locke, I4Quality, Goethestr. 7, 78467 Konstanz, Germany (“we”) and our customers (“you”). i4Q+ is a service of i4Q.

(2) A consumer is anyone who concludes a contract predominantly for private purposes; a business is anyone acting in the course of a commercial or self-employed professional activity. Deviating terms of customers apply only if we expressly agree to them.

§ 2 Services included in the plans

(1) Basic (subscription): access to the platform with dashboard and learning progress, basic articles in the quality knowledge area, the FMEA tool i4QFMEA as set out in § 7a and 10 % discount on courses.

(2) Single course (one-off purchase): access to one course for 12 months as set out in § 5.

(3) Premium (subscription): all services from Basic, the complete quality knowledge, all premium downloads and templates, i4Q RepGrid as set out in § 7, i4QFMEA as set out in § 7a, the statistics tool i4QSTAT as set out in § 7b and 25 % discount on courses instead of 10 %. Consulting as set out in § 8 can be requested; the annual subscription includes one consulting hour.

(4) Add-ons (subscription extension): for a plan that does not include them (currently Basic), you can book i4Q RepGrid as set out in § 7 and i4QSTAT as set out in § 7b individually. An add-on applies to the same account or the same seats as the plan, runs with its term and billing period and ends with the plan.

(5) Courses are not included in Basic and Premium; they are purchased individually. The service description at the time of your booking is decisive.

§ 3 Account

(1) You need an account to use the services. Your details must be true and up to date; you must be of age or act with the consent of your parents or guardians.

(2) An account may only be used by one person. Access data must be kept secret and must not be passed on. For teams, companies book a corresponding number of seats; seats can be reassigned by the company admin, but ongoing course progress is not transferred.

§ 4 Conclusion of contract

(1) The presentation of the plans and courses does not constitute a binding offer. You choose a plan or course and enter your details – as a new customer, your name and e-mail address. Before ordering you see the price and term and can correct your details. By clicking “Order with obligation to pay” you submit a binding offer; you then pay on the page of our payment service provider Stripe. As a new customer, we create your account after payment and send you an e-mail with which you set your password.

(2) The contract is concluded when we confirm the order by e-mail or activate your access – whichever happens first. We store the text of the contract; you can retrieve and print these terms and conditions here at any time. The language of the contract is German.

§ 5 Courses (self-study courses)

(1) Content: courses consist of modules and chapters with learning texts, graphics, case studies, decision exercises, knowledge checks and templates. Which content and media a course contains, how many modules it has and roughly how long it takes is stated in the respective course description.

(2) Access: you can use a purchased course as often as you like for 12 months from purchase – regardless of whether you have a subscription or cancel it. Access then ends automatically; it can be extended by purchasing again. Your certificate is retained.

(3) Learning at your own pace: courses are self-directed. Your learning progress is saved. Individual chapters may only be unlocked once previous chapters have been completed.

(4) Updates: we keep courses up to date in terms of content. If we change a course during your access, your progress is retained as far as the content is comparable.

(5) Coming soon: courses with this notice have been announced but cannot yet be booked. There is no entitlement to publication by a particular date.

(6) Technology: you need an up-to-date browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari) and a stable internet connection. We are not responsible for faults within your area of responsibility, such as your internet connection, company network or firewall.

(7) Choice and learning success: choosing the right course is up to you; if you have questions about choosing a course before purchase, you can reach us at kontakt@i4quality.de. We impart knowledge carefully and in line with the current state of the art, but do not owe any particular learning success.

(8) Self-study offering without supervision: courses are self-study offerings. Individual supervision, correction or monitoring of your learning success by us or by persons commissioned by us is not part of the contract; there is no entitlement to it. Exercises, knowledge checks and self-tests are evaluated exclusively automatically and serve solely your own assessment of your learning progress.

(9) Support: our support at support@i4qplus.com helps with questions about your account, access, technology and billing. Questions about the content of courses or about your results are not part of the support.

§ 6 Self-test and certificate

(1) Many courses end with a self-test. The time limit, number of attempts and pass mark are shown before you start. The questions may be compiled at random from a question pool.

(2) The self-test must be taken independently and without outside help or unauthorised aids, including AI tools. Copying and pasting are blocked during the test; leaving the test window is logged. If the permitted number is exceeded, the attempt may be rated as failed.

(3) The self-test is evaluated exclusively automatically. There is no individual correction, assessment or feedback by us.

(4) After passing the self-test, you automatically receive a certificate with a verification code whose authenticity can be checked online. If a breach of paragraph 2 is subsequently found, we may revoke the certificate.

(5) The certificate is proof from i4Q that you have passed the self-test. It is not a state qualification and not a personnel certification by an accredited body.

(6) Once all attempts have been used up, we may unlock further attempts on request; there is no entitlement to this.

§ 7 i4Q RepGrid

(1) Service. i4Q RepGrid is a tool for conducting and evaluating repertory grid interviews – in person or as an online interview – with evaluations (including principal components/globe, gap analysis, clusters, distances, correlations, implicative dilemmas, group comparison) and reports as PDF or PowerPoint. It can be used during an active Premium subscription or as an add-on to Basic as set out in § 2 (4).

(2) Storage location and data backup. i4Q RepGrid runs exclusively via i4Q+; no software is installed at the customer's premises. Projects with elicitation set, participants, ratings, statements and notes are working files that you or your company store in a storage location of your choice (e.g. folder or network drive, including a folder synchronised by OneDrive, SharePoint or Google Drive) or only in the device's browser. i4Q+ does not store this content. You are responsible for backing up, retaining and controlling access to your storage location. We cannot recover a forgotten project password.

(3) Online interview. For online interviews, i4Q+ provides an encrypted mailbox: the questionnaire and answers are encrypted in the browser; the keys are contained only in the interview link and in your project file, and i4Q+ cannot read the content. The encrypted answers are stored until you end the interview, at the latest until the chosen expiry date (no more than 12 months), and are then deleted. If the project file is lost, the answers can no longer be decrypted.

(4) Professional responsibility. Applying the method, selecting the respondents, entering the data and interpreting the results as well as the decisions derived from them are solely your responsibility as the user. The evaluations and automatic interpretation texts do not constitute consulting and do not replace a professional assessment. Before every version, we check the calculation engine against published reference cases and cases that can be derived mathematically exactly. We offer professional support with application or interpretation as consulting as set out in § 8.

(5) Respondents. You are responsible for collecting and processing respondents' data lawfully, in particular for informing them and, where necessary, obtaining their consent. For this purpose, the online interview displays a privacy notice that you can adapt.

(6) Licence and offline use. Use requires an active Premium plan or the booked add-on; the licence is checked online regularly when opening and during use, without project content being transmitted. Without an internet connection, i4Q RepGrid can continue to be used for up to 7 days after the last successful check; online interviews can only be reached with a valid licence.

(7) After the end of the contract. If the subscription or add-on ends, or if you switch to a plan without i4Q RepGrid, i4Q RepGrid can no longer be opened and running online interviews no longer accept answers. Your working files remain unchanged in your storage location; export content that is stored only in the browser as a file beforehand. We delete encrypted answers that have not yet been fetched at the latest on the expiry date of the interview.

§ 7a i4QFMEA

(1) Service. i4QFMEA is a tool for creating, rating, maintaining and outputting design and process FMEAs based on the AIAG/VDA methodology. It is included in the Basic and Premium plans for as long as the subscription runs. Rating catalogues and the determination of the action priority have been formulated independently or implemented on a rule basis; i4QFMEA is not an official product of AIAG or VDA and does not replace the respective handbook.

(2) Storage location and data backup. i4QFMEA runs exclusively via i4Q+; no software is installed at the customer's premises. The FMEAs themselves are working files that you or your company store in a storage location of your choice (e.g. folder or network drive, including a folder synchronised by OneDrive, SharePoint or Google Drive) or only in your device's browser. We do not store this content and have no access to it. You or your company are responsible for permissions, backup and retention of the working files; content that is stored only in the browser may be lost if the browser data is deleted or the device is changed. We cannot recover a forgotten password for encrypted storage or a file.

(3) Professional responsibility. i4QFMEA supports the methodology but does not replace professional judgement. Content, ratings (S, O, D), actions, approvals and their use, e.g. towards customers, auditors or authorities, are your responsibility or that of your company. The quality check checks for completeness and plausibility according to fixed rules; a result without findings does not mean that the FMEA is technically correct or complete. We offer professional support as consulting as set out in § 8.

(4) Licence and offline use. Use requires an active plan; the licence is checked online regularly when opening and during use. Without an internet connection, i4QFMEA can continue to be used for up to 7 days after the last successful check.

(5) After the end of the contract. If the subscription ends, i4QFMEA can no longer be opened. Your working files remain unchanged in your storage location; export content that is stored only in the browser as a file, Excel or PDF beforehand.

§ 7b i4QSTAT

(1) Service. i4QSTAT is a tool for statistical evaluations in quality management, including descriptive statistics, charts, distribution fitting, process capability, control charts, hypothesis tests, regression, analysis of variance, measurement system analysis and design of experiments, with reports and Excel export. It is included in the Premium plan for as long as the subscription runs; it can be booked as an add-on to the Basic plan as set out in § 2 (4). Calculation methods and references to standards are described in the application for each result. Before every new version, we check the calculation engine against freely available, published reference data (NIST) and cases that can be derived mathematically exactly; we mark changes to calculation methods with a new calculation engine version. i4QSTAT is not a product of AIAG, VDA, NIST or other standard-setting bodies.

(2) Storage location and data backup. i4QSTAT runs exclusively via i4Q+; no software is installed at the customer's premises. Projects with measurement data, notes, logos and results are working files that you or your company store in a storage location of your choice (e.g. folder or network drive, including a folder synchronised by OneDrive, SharePoint or Google Drive) or only in your device's browser. All calculations run in your browser. We do not store this content and have no access to it. You or your company are responsible for permissions, backup and retention; content that is stored only in the browser may be lost if the browser data is deleted or the device is changed. We cannot recover a forgotten project password.

(3) Collaborative work. Several licensed people can edit a project if they use the same storage location. The roles assigned in i4QSTAT (owner, editor, reader) control operation within the application; access to the files themselves is governed by the permissions of your storage location or a project password. Files already saved or copied by others cannot be deleted or locked retrospectively.

(4) Professional responsibility. i4QSTAT calculates according to the stated methods but does not replace professional judgement. The choice of data and methods, specification limits, interpretation of the results and their use, e.g. for approvals or towards customers, auditors or authorities, are your responsibility or that of your company. Notes and assessments in the application (e.g. “capable”) are based on the limits you have chosen.

(5) Licence and offline use. Use requires an active Premium plan or the booked add-on; the licence is checked online regularly when opening and during use, without project content being transmitted. Without an internet connection, i4QSTAT can continue to be used for up to 7 days after the last successful check.

(6) After the end of the contract. If the subscription or add-on ends, or if you switch to a plan without i4QSTAT, i4QSTAT can no longer be opened. Your working files remain unchanged in your storage location; export content that is stored only in the browser as a file, Excel or PDF beforehand.

§ 8 Consulting

(1) Consulting is a separate service on quality management issues in your company, for example on standards, methods, tools or projects. It is independent of the courses: it is neither part of a course contract nor supervision or monitoring of your learning success in a course.

(2) Consulting is agreed individually on request, online or by phone. You can reschedule agreed appointments free of charge up to 24 hours in advance.

(3) The consulting hour included in the Premium annual subscription can be used during the respective term. It expires at the end of the term and is not paid out.

(4) Consulting that is not included under paragraph 3 is charged according to time spent. We inform you of the price beforehand in a quotation; the consulting only takes place once you accept it.

§ 9 Prices, discounts and payment

(1) The prices shown when ordering apply. They are final prices and apply equally to private individuals and businesses. As a small business pursuant to § 19 UStG (German VAT Act), we do not charge VAT.

(2) The course discount (Basic 10 %, Premium 25 %) applies to purchases during an active subscription. Discounts are not cumulative, are not credited retrospectively to earlier purchases and cannot be combined with other promotions unless expressly stated.

(3) Payment is made via Stripe by card, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay or SEPA direct debit. Subscription fees are due at the beginning of the respective billing period. You receive the invoice by e-mail.

(4) If a payment fails, we will inform you and try the payment again. If it is still outstanding after a reminder, we may block access until it has been settled.

(5) Price changes for subscriptions apply only to future billing periods. We announce them by e-mail at least 6 weeks in advance; you can cancel until they take effect.

§ 10 Term and cancellation

(1) Monthly subscriptions run for one month and are extended by one month at a time unless you cancel beforehand.

(2) Annual subscriptions run for twelve months. Unless cancelled with effect from the end of the term, they are extended for an indefinite period and can then be cancelled at any time with one month's notice.

(3) You cancel in your customer account, via “Cancel contracts here” or in text form to kontakt@i4quality.de. The right to extraordinary termination remains unaffected.

(4) Switching from Basic to Premium is possible at any time; the remaining value is credited. A switch to Basic takes effect at the end of the current billing period.

(5) Single courses are one-off purchases without cancellation; access ends automatically after 12 months.

(6) Add-ons are charged pro rata until the end of the current billing period when booked and are then extended together with the plan. You can cancel them individually with effect from the end of the billing period; they end automatically with the plan. If you switch to a plan that includes a booked add-on, the add-on ends immediately and its remaining value is credited.

§ 11 Right of withdrawal

Consumers have a statutory right of withdrawal, see the cancellation policy. For digital content, it expires early if you expressly agree that we may begin providing the content before the withdrawal period expires and confirm that you thereby lose your right of withdrawal.

§ 12 Rights of use and copyright

(1) All content is protected by copyright. You receive a simple, non-transferable right to use it personally for the term of the contract.

(2) Content may not be reproduced, published, passed on to third parties or used to train AI systems. You may use and adapt downloaded templates within your own company for your own purposes.

§ 13 Users' obligations

You must not misuse the platform; in particular, you must not carry out automated retrievals, circumvent protective measures or download content in bulk. In the event of serious or repeated breaches, we may block access and terminate the contract for good cause.

§ 14 Availability and changes

(1) We strive for availability that is as uninterrupted as possible. Where possible, we carry out maintenance at times of low usage.

(2) We continue to develop i4Q+. We will not remove essential services of a running subscription without replacement. We will notify you of changes to these terms and conditions by e-mail at least 6 weeks in advance; if you do not object, they are deemed accepted. We will point out your right to object in the notification.

§ 15 Liability

(1) We are liable without limitation for intent and gross negligence, for injury to life, body or health and under the Product Liability Act.

(2) In the case of slight negligence, we are only liable for breach of essential contractual obligations, i.e. those whose fulfilment makes the contract possible in the first place and on which you may rely, limited to the foreseeable damage typical of the contract.

(3) The content serves continuing education. You are responsible yourself for applying the knowledge acquired and the RepGrid results in your company; they do not replace an examination of the individual case.

§ 16 Complaints and final provisions

(1) Please send questions and complaints to kontakt@i4quality.de. We are neither willing nor obliged to take part in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board.

(2) German law applies, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods; towards consumers only insofar as this does not conflict with mandatory protective provisions of the state in which they are habitually resident. The place of jurisdiction for merchants is Konstanz.

(3) Should individual provisions be invalid, the remaining provisions remain valid.

As of: November 2026