Terms of Service

1. What GroundBid Is

GroundBid is a marketplace that connects homeowners and businesses ("Posters") with independent landscaping providers ("Providers") through a sealed, time-boxed bidding system. GroundBid is not a landscaping contractor and does not perform landscaping work itself.

2. Accounts

You must provide accurate information when creating a Poster or Provider account. Providers are responsible for maintaining valid licenses, insurance, and any permits required in their jurisdiction.

3. Bidding & Escrow

Bidding windows are fixed at 24 hours from job publication. A bid submitted by a Provider is a binding offer to perform the described work at the stated price for the duration of the bidding window; a Provider may not withdraw a submitted bid once the Poster has accepted it. Upon a Poster accepting a bid, GroundBid charges the full bid amount and holds those funds in escrow until the job is confirmed complete. GroundBid retains a 10% commission on the accepted bid amount, deducted from the funds released to the Provider upon completion.

No off-platform payment. Posters and Providers agree not to solicit, arrange, or accept payment for a GroundBid job outside of GroundBid's escrow system — whether before, during, or instead of using the bidding and escrow process — for the purpose of avoiding GroundBid's commission. Doing so removes the Poster's escrow protection and is a material breach of these Terms, in addition to being a violation of platform policy under the Trust & Safety guidelines. See Trust & Safety for the full policy and the range of enforcement actions this can result in, from a warning up to permanent account removal.

4. Provider Non-Performance

Once a Poster's payment is collected and held in escrow, the awarded Provider must (a) formally agree to the accepted bid's terms within 48 hours of escrow being funded, and (b) submit completion within the bid's own quoted duration plus a 7-day grace period, capped at 30 days total from when escrow was funded. Failure to meet either deadline is treated as non-performance, regardless of whether a formal dispute is opened.

The Poster's payment is not refunded on a first or second such failure. Instead, the job is reassigned: bidding reopens at the same escrowed amount to a different Provider, and the Provider who failed is barred from bidding on that specific job again (their account otherwise remains eligible to bid elsewhere, subject to the strikes below). Only if three different Providers in a row fail to complete the same job does GroundBid refund the Poster's payment in full and close out the job.

Independent of whether the job is reassigned or ultimately refunded, each individual failure results in both of the following against the failing Provider: a fee — covering a share of GroundBid's non-refundable card-processing cost on the original charge plus a flat administrative fee — charged to the Provider's account and deducted from that Provider's next completed-job payout; and a strike recorded against the Provider's account. A second strike (on any job, not necessarily the same one) results in a 30-day account suspension; a third strike results in permanent account removal. Providers agree that this fee and these consequences are a reasonable estimate of, and remedy for, the costs GroundBid actually incurs from non-performance, and not a penalty. Full detail is in Trust & Safety.

5. Cancellations & Disputes

Once a bid is accepted and escrow is funded, a Poster may not unilaterally cancel the job to obtain a refund outside of the dispute process described below — the funds are being held for the Provider's benefit in exchange for the binding commitment described in Section 3, not held at the Poster's discretion to withdraw. A Poster who wishes to end a job before it's complete must raise it as a dispute.

Disputes over completed work — including a Provider failing to show up or perform, or a Poster disputing genuinely completed work — are handled through GroundBid's staged resolution process: direct resolution between parties, followed by platform mediation, followed by a final platform decision if unresolved. Funds remain in escrow for the duration of any dispute. Depending on the outcome, escrow funds may be released to the Provider, refunded to the Poster, or split between both, at GroundBid's determination following that process.

6. Provider & Poster Conduct

Providers agree to perform work as described in their accepted bid, to hold any required licenses and insurance for their trade and jurisdiction, and to provide accurate completion documentation (including required completion photos). Providers and Posters both agree not to engage in bid collusion (coordinating with other Providers, directly or through shared ownership or duplicate accounts, to keep bids artificially high or divide up jobs rather than compete honestly), not to file false disputes against genuinely completed, photo-verified work in order to avoid releasing escrow, and not to misrepresent license, insurance, or certification status. Violations are addressed under the enforcement ladder described in Trust & Safety.

7. Limitation of Liability

GroundBid is not a party to the landscaping contract between Poster and Provider and is not liable for the quality, timeliness, or safety of work performed. GroundBid's role is limited to facilitating bidding, payment holding, and dispute mediation.

8. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Florida, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles.

9. Changes to These Terms

GroundBid may update these Terms from time to time. Continued use of the platform after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

10. Contact

Questions about these Terms can be directed to legal@groundbid.app.