Legal
Plain language terms for using Ridgeline Budget — what you're getting, what we're committing to, and what to expect.
These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of Ridgeline Budget, operated by an individual developer ("we," "us," or "the developer") based in Minnesota, United States. By using the Ridgeline Budget application at app.ridgelinebudget.com or any associated service, you agree to be bound by these Terms.
If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use the service. Use of the service by a minor must be supervised by a parent or legal guardian who accepts these Terms on their behalf.
These Terms should be read alongside our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated by reference.
Ridgeline Budget is a personal and household financial budgeting application. It provides tools for tracking income, planning expenses, managing budget envelopes, and closing monthly budgets. The application is a web-based tool that runs in your browser, with optional cloud sync across devices.
Ridgeline Budget is not a financial advisor, accountant, tax advisor, or investment service. Nothing in the application or on this website constitutes financial, legal, or tax advice. Decisions made based on information in the application are your own responsibility.
Ridgeline Budget is available in three tiers:
No account required. Data is stored locally on your device only. Limited to 5 budgets, 2 income sources, and 20 expenses. No sync across devices. Guest mode may be used for as long as the service is available at no charge.
Access to all current features and all future feature additions for as long as the subscription remains active. Cancel at any time; access continues through the end of the paid period.
Access to the application in its current form for as long as the service remains online. Includes most future feature additions. Significant new functionality may require a separate, nominal purchase. See Lifetime License Terms below.
Payment processing is handled by a third-party payment provider. We do not store payment card information. Subscription billing recurs monthly on the date of initial purchase unless cancelled. All prices are in US dollars.
Monthly subscriptions: You may cancel at any time. No partial-month refunds are issued; access continues through the current billing period.
Lifetime license: Refund requests submitted within 14 days of purchase and before any sync or collaboration features have been used will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Contact us at the address below. After 14 days, the lifetime license fee is non-refundable.
The one-time $35 fee purchases a license to use the application as it exists at the time of purchase, plus access to the service for as long as it remains online. This section defines exactly what that means.
We reserve the right to offer new, significant functionality as a separate optional purchase for lifetime license holders. "Significant" means a major new capability that represents substantial additional development — not a refinement or extension of existing features. Examples that would likely be free: improvements to reporting, additional budget types, new import formats. Examples that might require a separate purchase: a fully integrated mobile app, tax reporting tools, or multi-currency support built from the ground up.
We commit to being reasonable and transparent about this distinction. When we introduce something that requires an additional fee for lifetime holders, we will communicate clearly what it is, why we've made this determination, and what the cost will be. Lifetime holders will never be required to purchase anything to continue using features they already have.
You may use Ridgeline Budget for personal, household, or commercial purposes. This includes use by financial advisors, coaches, or other professionals to manage their own finances or to demonstrate budgeting concepts — provided that client financial data entered into the service is done with the client's knowledge and consent, and in compliance with any applicable professional regulations.
Violation of these terms may result in suspension or termination of your account without refund.
You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account credentials, your encryption key, and any devices through which you access the service. You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account.
You must provide an accurate email address when creating an account. You may not create accounts on behalf of others without their consent, except through the partner account creation feature provided within the application.
If you create a partner sub-account for another person via Settings → Partner Account, you are responsible for ensuring that person's consent and their compliance with these Terms. The partner account holder is bound by these Terms upon their first login.
You may delete your account at any time via Settings → Account → Delete Account. We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms, with or without prior notice depending on the severity of the violation.
You own your data. We claim no intellectual property rights over the financial information, budgets, notes, or other content you enter into Ridgeline Budget.
By using the service with sync enabled, you grant us the limited, technical right to store and transmit your data (in encrypted form, where encryption is enabled) solely for the purpose of providing the sync service. This grant is non-exclusive, revocable upon account deletion, and does not permit us to use your data for any other purpose.
Because your financial data is encrypted client-side before transmission, we cannot access, read, analyze, or act on it in any meaningful way. Encryption details are described in our Privacy Policy.
We make reasonable efforts to keep the service available and operational. However, we do not guarantee any specific uptime percentage, and we are not liable for interruptions caused by maintenance, infrastructure failures, third-party services (including Supabase), natural disasters, or circumstances outside our control.
The application is designed to function offline. Your data is cached locally and all changes are queued for sync when connectivity is restored. An internet outage does not prevent you from accessing or updating your budget.
Planned maintenance periods may occasionally take the sync service offline. Where practical, we will provide advance notice.
We intend to run Ridgeline Budget for as long as it is practically feasible. However, we acknowledge the reality that circumstances can change — hosting costs, personal capacity, or other factors may eventually make it impossible to continue the service.
Monthly subscribers will not be charged beyond the notice date. Any unused days in the final billing period will be credited or the charge reversed.
Lifetime license holders are not entitled to a refund upon service sunset. The lifetime license fee was charged for access to the service in its then-current form for as long as it remained available — not as a perpetual guarantee. We will make the source code available so that you retain the ability to self-host the application if you choose.
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the developer shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of — or inability to use — the service. This includes but is not limited to loss of data, loss of revenue, loss of profits, or financial decisions made based on information in the application.
In no event shall our total liability to you for all claims related to the service exceed the greater of: (a) the total amount you paid us in the 12 months preceding the claim, or (b) $35 USD.
Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain damages. In those jurisdictions, our liability is limited to the maximum extent permitted by law.
The service is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, either express or implied. We disclaim all implied warranties, including but not limited to merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.
We do not warrant that the service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free of viruses or other harmful components. We do not warrant the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any calculations, projections, or information produced by the application.
Financial decisions are your responsibility. The application is a tool for organizing information you provide — it does not verify the accuracy of that information or the soundness of the financial decisions you make with it.
We may update these Terms from time to time. If the changes are material — meaning they meaningfully reduce your rights, increase your obligations, or alter the pricing or refund terms — we will notify registered users by email at least 30 days before the changes take effect.
For non-material changes (corrections, clarifications, formatting), we will update the effective date at the top of this page without individual notification.
Continued use of the service after updated Terms take effect constitutes acceptance of the new Terms. If you do not agree with updated Terms, you may delete your account before the effective date.
The version of Terms in effect at the time of your one-time $35 purchase governs the core commitments of that purchase — specifically, the definition of what the lifetime license includes and what may require additional purchase. We will not retroactively change those terms in ways that disadvantage lifetime license holders.
These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Minnesota, United States, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.
If you are located outside the United States, you agree that any dispute will be subject to Minnesota law, and you consent to jurisdiction in Minnesota courts for any matter not resolved informally.
We'd much rather fix a problem than fight about one. If you have a concern, please contact us first — the vast majority of issues can be resolved with a direct conversation.
Before initiating any formal proceeding, you agree to give us at least 30 days to try to resolve the dispute informally. Send a description of your concern to the contact address below. We will respond within 14 days with a proposed resolution or a clear explanation of our position.
If informal resolution fails, any dispute arising from or relating to these Terms or the service shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Minnesota. You and we each consent to personal jurisdiction in Minnesota for this purpose.
Nothing in these Terms prevents either party from seeking emergency injunctive relief from a court of competent jurisdiction where necessary to prevent irreparable harm.
For questions about these Terms, billing, account issues, or dispute resolution:
Ridgeline Budget
Operated by an individual developer — Minnesota, United States
General inquiries: hello@ridgelinebudget.com
Privacy matters: privacy@ridgelinebudget.com
We aim to respond to all inquiries within 14 days. For billing issues, please include your account email and a description of the charge in question. For dispute resolution, see the informal resolution process above.
These Terms were last updated on March 23, 2026. The previous version is available upon request. By using Ridgeline Budget, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms.