Legal
Terms of Service
These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of the CheckMate payroll service, website, and related applications (collectively, the “Service”) provided by Missing Piece Tech LLC (“CheckMate,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). By creating an account or using the Service, you agree to these Terms. If you are using the Service on behalf of a business, you represent that you are authorized to bind that business, and “you” refers to that business.
1. The Service
CheckMate is a software tool that helps small businesses run payroll. The Service calculates employee and employer payroll taxes, facilitates direct-deposit payments through our third-party payment processor, generates pay stubs and tax documents (such as W-2s, 1099-NECs, and Form 941), and provides reminders and record-keeping.
What CheckMate is not. CheckMate provides calculations and document generation and facilitates payments. CheckMate does not file or remit payroll taxes to the IRS or any state or local tax authority on your behalf, does not act as your tax agent or fiduciary, and does not provide tax, legal, accounting, or financial advice. You remain solely responsible for filing and remitting all taxes and for meeting all payroll-related legal obligations. See Sections 4 and 8.
2. Eligibility and accounts
You must be at least 18 years old and operating a legitimate business in the United States to use the Service. You are responsible for the accuracy of the information you provide, for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials, and for all activity under your account. Notify us promptly of any unauthorized use.
3. Payments and funding
Payments are processed through our third-party payment processor, Stripe. When you run payroll, you authorize us and Stripe to debit your designated bank account for the total amount of net pay plus applicable CheckMate fees, and to disburse funds to your employees and contractors. You must maintain sufficient funds to cover each payroll run. You are responsible for any fees, returns, or reversals resulting from insufficient funds, closed accounts, or incorrect banking information. Your use of Stripe is also subject to Stripe’s applicable terms.
4. Your responsibilities
You are solely responsible for:
- The accuracy and completeness of all information you enter, including employee identity, pay rates, hours, tax elections, and bank details.
- Correctly classifying your workers as employees or independent contractors, and complying with all applicable wage-and-hour and employment laws.
- Filing and remitting all federal, state, and local payroll taxes by their deadlines, and submitting required filings and reports (including new-hire reporting), unless a specific written agreement with us states otherwise.
- Reviewing and approving each payroll run before it is submitted.
- Ensuring sufficient funds are available for each payroll run and its associated fees.
- Providing employees and contractors with required notices and access to their pay records.
Reminders provided by the Service are a convenience only and do not shift responsibility for timely filing and remittance to CheckMate.
5. Fees
CheckMate charges a single Platform Fee per payroll run only — there are no monthly fees or contracts. The Platform Fee passes through the payment-processing costs we incur to run your payroll, at cost, plus a small margin. Current fee rates are shown on our pricing page and in the Service before you approve a run. We may change our fees on a prospective basis with notice. You are responsible for any pass-through exceptions expressly disclosed to you, such as fees for failed bank debits.
6. Third-party services
The Service relies on third parties, including Stripe for payments and identity verification, and infrastructure and communications providers described in our Privacy Policy. We are not responsible for the acts, omissions, or availability of third-party services, and your use of them may be subject to their own terms.
7. Acceptable use
You agree not to:
- Use the Service for any unlawful, fraudulent, or unauthorized purpose.
- Submit false, misleading, or another person’s information without authorization.
- Interfere with, disrupt, probe, or attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Service.
- Reverse engineer, copy, or resell the Service except as permitted by law.
8. No professional advice
The Service and its outputs — including tax calculations, generated forms, and reminders — are provided for informational and administrative convenience and do not constitute tax, legal, accounting, or financial advice. Tax calculations are based on IRS publications and applicable state rules as we understand them, but you are responsible for verifying results and should consult a qualified professional for advice specific to your situation.
9. Intellectual property
The Service, including its software, design, and content, is owned by Missing Piece Tech LLC and protected by intellectual-property laws. We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use the Service in accordance with these Terms. Your data remains yours; you grant us the rights needed to process it to provide the Service.
10. Disclaimer of warranties
The Service is provided “as is” and “as available,” without warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, or statutory, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or that calculations will be free of errors.
11. Limitation of liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, CheckMate and Missing Piece Tech LLC will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for any loss of profits, revenue, data, or goodwill, arising out of or related to your use of the Service. Our total liability for any claim arising out of or relating to the Service will not exceed the total fees you paid to us in the three months preceding the event giving rise to the claim. In particular, we are not liable for tax penalties, interest, or other losses resulting from inaccurate information you provided, insufficient funds, or your failure to file or remit taxes on time.
12. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless CheckMate and Missing Piece Tech LLC and its officers, employees, and agents from any claims, damages, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of your use of the Service, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any law or the rights of a third party, including your employees or contractors.
13. Termination
You may stop using the Service at any time. We may suspend or terminate your access if you violate these Terms, if required by law, or to protect the Service or other users. Upon termination, provisions that by their nature should survive — including payment obligations, disclaimers, limitations of liability, and indemnification — will survive. We will retain payroll and tax records as described in our Privacy Policy and as required by law.
14. Governing law and disputes
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to its conflict-of-law rules. You agree that any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service will be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Texas, and you consent to the jurisdiction of those courts.
15. Changes to these Terms
We may modify these Terms from time to time. When we do, we will update the “Last updated” date above and, where appropriate, provide additional notice. Your continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.
16. Contact us
Questions about these Terms? Contact us at legal@paywithcheckmate.com.