Provider Terms

Last updated: 26 May 2026

These provider terms sit on top of the general Terms of Service and apply to anyone listing a service on Sowo. If anything in here conflicts with the general terms, the provider terms win for provider-specific points.

1. You are self-employed

Sowo is a discovery and booking platform. You are not a Sowo employee, worker or agent. Nothing on Sowo creates a partnership or joint venture between you and SOWO LIMITED. You run your own business: you decide your prices, your hours, which jobs to take, and how you do them.

2. Tax, National Insurance and insurance

Income you earn through Sowo is yours to declare to HMRC. You are responsible for registering as self-employed (or operating through a limited company) and for paying your own Income Tax, National Insurance and any VAT you are required to charge.

Hold whatever public liability or professional indemnity insurance your service needs. We do not provide cover for bookings you fulfil.

3. Categories and what fits

Sowo lists ten categories: hair styling, braiding, nails, makeup artist, barbering, photography, videography, event decor, tailors and caterers. If your work is mostly something else, this is not the right marketplace for you yet. The category check is part of every application review.

4. Verification

Verification (the blue seal) is optional. To get it, submit photo ID, proof of address and any relevant qualifications from your verification page. We review submissions in a private moderator-only storage area and either grant the seal or come back with specific feedback.

We can revoke the seal if information you submitted turns out to be wrong or if your conduct on the platform falls below verified-provider standards. We will tell you why and you can re-apply.

5. Listing accuracy

• Bio and services must reflect what you actually offer.
• Portfolio images must be your own work or work you have permission to show.
• Prices on the listing are what you charge. If a job needs a quote, send it through the messaging quote tool, not as plain text.
• Mark yourself unavailable if you stop taking bookings.

6. Quotes, bookings and cancellations

When you send a quote and the user accepts, that is the booking agreement. The user pays through Stripe; the money is held in escrow until the service is complete.

If you cancel a confirmed booking, the user is refunded in full from escrow. Tell the user as soon as you can. Genuine emergencies (illness, bereavement, transport failure) are not held against you. Repeated late cancellations or no-shows can lead to a hidden listing or suspension. If you cannot reach a user, email join@usesowo.com.

7. Payouts

Payouts go through Stripe Connect. You need to complete Stripe's onboarding before you can receive funds. After the service is marked complete, the escrow releases to your Stripe balance, minus any platform fee shown at booking. Stripe pays out to your bank on its standard schedule. We will give at least 30 days' notice before changing the platform fee.

8. Reviews and vouches

You do not have a right of veto over a review. You can report one if it breaks the Trust & Safety rules and we will look at it.

Asking users to leave a positive review is fine. Offering them a discount or freebie in exchange for one is not.

9. Conduct

Refusing service on the basis of any protected characteristic (race, religion, gender, sexuality, disability and the rest) is a breach of the Equality Act and grounds for immediate suspension.

Soliciting sexual services through Sowo is illegal and grounds for immediate termination plus a report to the relevant authority.

10. Suspension and removal

We may hide your listing, suspend your account, or revoke verification if you breach these terms or the Trust & Safety standards. You can appeal by replying to the email we send when we take the action. See the Terms for the full process.

11. Your data and content

Your portfolio photos, bio and listing text stay yours. By posting them you give us a non-exclusive licence to show them on Sowo and use them for related promotion (search results, social cards). Remove them and the licence ends.

12. Changes

If we change anything material about how providers operate on Sowo (fees, cancellation rules, payouts) we will email providers at least 14 days before the change. The current version lives at this URL.