Do I get the source code?
Self-Managed: yes, at delivery. Managed: not by default, but you can convert to Self-Managed at any time after the 12-month anniversary by paying the Source Buyout fee (100% of your original setup fee). After that, the code is yours and our service obligations end.
What if you go out of business?
Source code is held in escrow with a third-party agent (Codekeeper). If we shut down, breach the contract, or fail to deliver critical security patches after notice and cure, the escrow releases the code to you. This is standard, and we set it up at the start of every Managed engagement.
Can my franchisees, subsidiaries, or sister companies use it?
Subsidiaries you control today (more than 50% ownership) can use it under your license with written notice to us. Franchisees and entities you acquire after signing are not automatically covered — those need a separate Franchise Use Rider with per-franchisee fees, which we're happy to scope. This protects you (clear rules) and us (no revenue leakage).
What happens if I stop paying for Managed?
After a 30-day notice and cure period, the License Verification Mechanism (a documented kill-switch) limits access. You always retain a 90-day data export window so you can pull your data into another system. We don't do silent disables — everything is disclosed in the contract.
Can I switch from Managed to Self-Managed later?
Yes. After your 12-month anniversary, you can exercise the Source Buyout option for 100% of your original setup fee. You get the source bundle, build instructions, dependency manifest, SBOM, runbooks, and 40 hours of knowledge transfer plus 90 days of post-transfer Q&A.
Do I get future updates?
Managed: yes, security patches and minor releases are included. Major version upgrades are quoted separately. Self-Managed: not by default — you're frozen at the version we delivered. You can purchase a major upgrade later, or take the Annual Update Subscription (20% of your tier fee per year) to stay current.
Who pays for the AI usage?
You do, directly. Cicero runs on Anthropic Claude and OpenAI Whisper. You provision your own accounts; we wire your keys into your environment. AI providers bill you, not us — no markup, no opaque pass-through. Even on Managed, AI cost flows direct from the AI provider to you.
Is there really no user cap?
Correct. Our own SaaS has tiered seat caps because that's how we monetize. Your white-label build doesn't — we strip the seat-cap and tier-gating code entirely. You can run hundreds of users on a single deployment without paying us per seat. (For unusually large deployments — thousands of users with heavy concurrent load — we may recommend a backend conversation, but that's a sizing call, not a license fee.)
Can I bill my own customers through it?
No. This software is for your internal operations, not for processing payments to or from your customers. You bill your customers through your existing invoicing/accounting systems (QuickBooks, Xero, etc. — both of which integrate with the Advanced tier). This is a deliberate design choice and is not available as an add-on.
Is it fully branded as mine?
Absolutely — that's the whole point. Your name, logo, colors, icon, and domain appear throughout. Your team opens it in the browser or installs it to a phone home screen or desktop as a web app, all under your brand. Focused Scopes never appears to your end users.
Can I add or remove features later?
Yes, on a paid SOW basis. Add a feature you didn't take initially? Quoted as custom work. Remove a feature you don't need? Usually a small SOW. Major upgrades follow your tier's upgrade pricing, or are bundled into the Annual Update Subscription.
What's a kill switch and when does it activate?
It's a license-verification mechanism that only exists in Managed mode (Self-Managed has no kill switch — you own the code). It activates only after a 30-day written notice and cure period for non-payment, license expiration, or material breach. We don't trigger it silently or at our discretion. You always get a 90-day data export window before any access changes.