Founding-phase draft · Corporate customers
Terms of Service
Translation. The German version of these terms is the authoritative one (section 12). This English text is provided for information; where the two differ, the German text prevails.
Draft. sur.plus is in its founding phase. These terms describe how the platform works today and are pending review by external counsel. Where they are silent or unclear, the more customer-favourable reading applies.
1. Who this is between
These terms govern use of the sur.plus product application (app.surpluspurpose.com) by a company (“you”) and Florian Lechner, Landsberger Straße 57, 82266 Inning am Ammersee-Stegen, Germany (“sur.plus”).
The paid subscription is offered to businesses only (§ 14 BGB). Consumers cannot take out a subscription. Who may receive surplus is governed by the separate recipient terms, which also cover small businesses and private individuals. For paid transfers to consumers, section 6 applies in addition.
2. What sur.plus does, and does not do
sur.plus is an intermediation platform. We match surplus goods you no longer need with verified recipients, coordinate the handover, and generate the documentation for it.
We never take ownership of your goods. The transfer is direct between you and the recipient. sur.plus is not a party to it, does not buy, sell, store or transport the goods, and does not act as your agent. Title, risk and any warranty pass directly between you and the recipient.
Donation receipt. Only the receiving tax-privileged organisation can issue it, on its own responsibility. We prepare it: from the details you and the recipient recorded for the match, meaning type and quantity of goods, the value applied, condition, handover date and recipient data, we generate a pre-filled draft that the recipient reviews, corrects where needed and signs digitally. Responsibility for accuracy and valuation stays with you and the recipient. The same applies to the impact and CO2 figures we calculate from your input.
We do not give tax or legal advice. The assessment of deductibility, VAT treatment (§ 3(1b) UStG) and reportability remains yours and your advisors’.
3. Access and plans
Registration is free and opens the platform: you can browse what verified recipients currently need, including which organisation posted each need. Contact details and a coordinated match require a paid plan.
Pulse is free and covers the assessment only: impact potential score, potential report as a PDF, and an ESRS relevance overview. No account needed, no network access.
Seed covers up to 12 matches per calendar year, access to the verified recipient network, the donation overview in the dashboard, the automatically generated donation receipt digitally signed by the recipient, the AI copilot for listings and impact copy, 2 user seats, an onboarding call, and support responding within 48 hours.
Tree covers everything in Seed, plus unlimited matches with curated priority matching, CSRD documentation per match with goods value, recipient and CO2e in audit-grade form (ISAE 3000, audit trail), logistics coordination on demand, access to the network of social service partners, extended copilot features, the weekly impact and needs newsletter, the marketing dashboard, 5 user seats and priority support.
Audit-grade CSRD documentation is part of Tree. Seed gives you the donation overview and the per-match donation receipt, not the full reporting set.
Separately we offer clearance and logistics as a fixed-price one-off project without a subscription, priced before the project starts. Not to be confused with the discounted transfer under section 6, which shares the word but concerns the receiving side.
Current prices are shown at surpluspurpose.com/#pricing. For companies above roughly 500 employees or with multiple sites we agree Scale and Enterprise terms separately.
Matching is human-coordinated during the founding phase. We do not owe a match: it depends on whether a verified recipient needs what you have.
4. Connections stay on the platform
Recipient contact details are disclosed to you for the purpose of completing a specific match. You agree not to use them to arrange comparable transfers with that recipient outside sur.plus for the duration of your plan and 12 months after, and not to pass them to third parties. This is what keeps the network free for non-profits: they are not the product, and they are not a lead list.
Nothing here restricts a relationship you already had with a recipient before sur.plus introduced you, or contact the recipient initiates for other purposes.
5. What we ask of you
Only list goods you own and are entitled to dispose of, that are usable for their purpose, and that are lawful to transfer. Do not list recalled, unsafe, expired or sanctioned items, and do not list devices that still hold personal data. Wiping IT hardware is your responsibility. Describe condition accurately: a recipient plans around it, and the donation receipt is based on it.
6. Discounted transfer to small businesses and private individuals
Recipients are usually tax-privileged organisations and public or church-run bodies. Small businesses and private individuals running a public-benefit project may also receive surplus. The usual route is a discounted transfer for a symbolic price against an invoice, because an outright gift to these groups is not a deductible donation and may count as taxable income for the recipient. An outright gift remains possible if you expressly want that; it then carries no donation effect. You choose the route in the offer.
For a paid transfer, the sale is concluded directly between you and the recipient. sur.plus intermediates, is not the seller and does not become a party to the sale. You are the seller, with the obligations that follow.
Towards consumers (§ 13 BGB) this means in particular: statutory liability for defects applies. For used goods it may be shortened to one year but, under § 476(2) BGB, not excluded. As the contract is concluded at a distance, the information duties under Art. 246a EGBGB and the duty to instruct on the right of withdrawal also apply to you. sur.plus provides a model instruction and model withdrawal form for this (see withdrawal) and flags it in the flow once the recipient is a consumer. Correct provision remains your responsibility.
Product safety. Making used goods available for payment to consumers may trigger duties under Regulation (EU) 2023/988 (GPSR). Do not offer goods subject to a recall or safety warning, and tell us about known safety defects without delay. We maintain a product safety contact point at service@surpluspurpose.com and forward reports to you.
Electrical equipment. Transferring used electrical and electronic equipment to private individuals may trigger duties under ElektroG and battery law. Check this before listing; sur.plus does not assume registration or take-back duties on your behalf.
7. Payment, term and price changes
Plans run monthly or annually as chosen at sign-up and renew for the same period unless cancelled before the end of the current one. Annual plans are invoiced in advance. Prices are net, plus VAT where applicable.
We announce price changes in text form at least 60 days before they take effect. You may cancel to the effective date if you do not accept the change. The period is one we set ourselves, not a statutory requirement; it is meant to leave you enough time to decide.
Unused matches. In Seed you carry up to six unused matches into the following year on renewal. Anything beyond that expires. In Tree the question does not arise, as the number of matches is not capped.
8. Availability
We do not offer an uptime guarantee during the founding phase, and we say so rather than promise one we cannot yet keep. We aim for continuous availability and will announce planned maintenance.
9. Liability
sur.plus is liable without limit for intent and gross negligence, and for injury to life, body or health. For slight negligence we are liable only for breach of an obligation essential to the purpose of this contract, and then limited to foreseeable, contract-typical damage. We are not liable for the condition, fitness or lawful use of the goods themselves, nor for what the recipient does with them, as we are not a party to that transfer (sections 2 and 6). Liability under the Produkthaftungsgesetz is unaffected.
The impact and CO2 figures we generate are based on the information you and the recipient provide and on recognised methodologies (GHG Protocol, GIIN IRIS+). We prepare them with care but do not owe audit-grade accuracy for your reporting; that responsibility remains yours.
10. Your data and your content
You keep all rights to the data you enter. We process it to run the platform and to produce your documentation, see the privacy policy. We do not sell it and do not use your surplus data for anything outside the platform. Your workspace is exportable before closure and deleted 30 days after, subject to statutory retention duties.
Exporting match communication. Some companies may not conduct business communication solely on an external platform. You can therefore export the full message history for a match at any time as a file, with timestamps and participants, and move it into your own records or archiving system. On request we set up an automatic copy to an address you nominate. Tell us if your compliance rules require a particular format.
We may reference your company by name only with your prior consent. Anonymised or aggregated impact figures may be used without it.
11. Termination
Either party may terminate to the end of the current billing period. We may suspend an account immediately for a material breach, in particular listing goods you do not own, or circumventing section 4. Matches already confirmed are completed.
12. Law, venue and authoritative language
German law applies, excluding the CISG. Where you are a merchant, the venue is Munich. We try good-faith negotiation first, write to service@surpluspurpose.com.
The German version of these terms is authoritative. This English version is a translation for information; in case of discrepancy the German text prevails.
Version 2026-08 · founding-phase draft, pending review by external counsel. Questions: service@surpluspurpose.com