Terms of service

These terms govern the services provided by Recto, Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina (“Recto”, “we”) to journals, institutions, publishers and authors (“the client”, “you”).

They apply to every engagement from the moment a quote is accepted. Where a signed quote, order confirmation or separate contract says something different, that document prevails over these terms, and both prevail over anything said on this website.

Recto provides editorial and technical services for scholarly publishing. Each engagement covers only what the accepted quote lists. In outline:

• Production and editing: copy editing, language and consistency checks, typesetting, and print-ready PDF.
• Metadata and exports: JATS XML, DOI registration and Crossref deposits, and citation and reference exports.
• Indexing support: assessing a journal against the published criteria of an index, an indexing roadmap, and preparation of the application.
• Maintenance: keeping an indexed journal’s record, metadata and technical compliance current after acceptance.
• Publisher matching for authors: preparing a manuscript and identifying suitable publishers or journals for it.

Unless a quote expressly includes them, the services do not include scientific peer review, translation, printing, distribution, or decisions about what a journal publishes. Those remain with the client.

Every engagement starts from a written quote that states the scope, the deliverables, the timeline and the price. A quote is valid for 30 days from the date it is issued.

A quote is accepted when you confirm it in writing, by email or through the client portal. Acceptance forms the contract between you and Recto, on the terms of the quote and of this page.

If the scope changes during a project (more pages, an extra deliverable, a different index), we tell you in writing what the change costs and how it moves the timeline before doing the additional work. Work outside the accepted quote is never charged without your prior written agreement.

By sending material to Recto, you confirm that:

• you hold the rights to the material, or the authority to have it edited, produced and published;
• to the best of your knowledge the content is original and not plagiarised, and the data in it is not fabricated;
• permissions for third-party figures, tables and quotations have been obtained;
• the information you supply for metadata (authors, affiliations, ORCID iDs, funding, licences) is accurate.

You also agree to answer queries and return proofs within the periods agreed in the quote. Recto may pause or decline work on material that appears to breach any of the above, and will tell you why.

Turnaround is agreed per project and stated in the quote. It starts when the complete material and, where the quote requires it, payment have been received.

The clock pauses while we wait on you: for proofs, for answers to author queries, for missing files, or for a decision. The deadline moves by the length of the pause.

If we expect to miss a deadline for reasons on our side, we tell you as soon as we know, with a new date. If the delay is material to you, you may cancel the unfinished part of the work without paying for it.

Prices are stated in euros (EUR) in the quote. Payment is made online through PayPal.

The quote states when payment is due. Unless it says otherwise, each payment request is payable within 15 days. PayPal’s fees on the receiving side are borne by Recto; any currency conversion made by your PayPal account or card issuer is borne by you.

Where tax applies to a service, it is shown on the quote. If a payment is overdue, we may pause further work on that engagement after written notice, and statutory default interest may be charged.

Copyright in the manuscript and in everything published from it stays with the author or the journal, as agreed between them. Recto acquires no rights in your content.

You grant Recto a limited, non-exclusive licence to copy, edit, convert and store the material only as far as needed to perform the engagement. The licence ends when the work and the retention periods in the Confidentiality policy end.

Once paid for, the production files belong to you: the final PDF, the JATS XML, the layout sources and the metadata produced. They are handed over on completion, and again on request at any time while we hold them. Our own templates, scripts and tooling remain ours.

Only with your permission may we show a finished piece of work as a sample. Unpublished material is never used for this.

Indexing decisions are made by the evaluation bodies of each database, for example Scopus, DOAJ or ERIH PLUS. Decisions on publication are made by the editors of each journal or publisher. Recto has no influence over either, and no one can honestly promise them.

What Recto sells is the work: preparing a journal or manuscript to meet every published technical and editorial criterion. No fee is contingent on an indexing decision or on acceptance, and no fee is refundable only because an application or a submission was rejected.

Everything you send us before publication is treated as confidential under the Confidentiality and NDA policy. Our use of automated tools is governed by the AI policy. Both form part of these terms.

We do the work with professional care. If a deliverable does not match what the quote describes, tell us within 30 days of delivery and we will correct it free of charge. That is the first remedy.

Beyond that, Recto’s total liability for an engagement is limited to the fees paid for the affected work. Recto is not liable for indirect or consequential loss, such as lost income, a lost indexing opportunity or reputational harm, or for decisions made by databases, editors or publishers.

Nothing in these terms limits liability for intent or gross negligence, or any liability that cannot be limited under applicable law.

Either party may end an engagement by written notice. For ongoing services such as maintenance, the notice period is 30 days, unless the quote states another.

On termination you pay for work completed up to the date the notice takes effect, in proportion to the quote. Payments already made for work not yet done are refunded.

Whoever ends the engagement, we hand over all material produced so far, in its current state: files, XML and metadata. Where Recto manages DOIs or index records for you, we help transfer them to you or to a new provider.

These terms are governed by the law of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We will first try to resolve any disagreement directly and in good faith; write to info@recto.digital.

If that fails, the competent court in Banja Luka has jurisdiction, without prejudice to any mandatory right a consumer has to bring proceedings where they live. The English version of these terms is authoritative.