Fairlane Accounting ("Fairlane," "we," "us") provides outsourced bookkeeping, accounting, and financial planning and analysis services to small and mid-sized businesses. This policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have.
It covers our website at fairlaneaccounting.com and the Fairlane client financial platform (the "Platform"), the secure application where our clients connect their QuickBooks Online company and view financial reporting, key performance indicators (KPIs), and AI-generated analysis of their business.
Information we collect
Information you give us. When you become a client or are invited to the Platform, we collect your name, email address, company name, and role. If you contact us through the website, we collect whatever you include in your message.
Financial and accounting data. In the course of providing accounting services, we access and process our clients' business financial records. This includes general ledger data, profit and loss and balance sheet information, accounts receivable and payable, payroll summaries, and similar business records. This data belongs to our client, not to Fairlane. We access it only to provide the services the client has engaged us for.
Data from connected systems. With a client's authorization, the Platform connects to third-party systems the client already uses — most commonly QuickBooks Online, and in some cases field service management or payroll systems. We retrieve financial reporting data from these systems on a recurring basis. The specific data we retrieve is described in "Third-party connections" below.
Authentication information. When you sign in, we record your email address and the method you used (Google sign-in or an email link), and the time of the sign-in. We do not store passwords for Platform accounts.
Website analytics. Our public website may collect standard technical information such as IP address, browser type, and pages visited. We do not use this information to identify individuals.
How we use information
We use the information we collect to:
- provide bookkeeping, accounting, and FP&A services to our clients
- produce financial reports, KPI dashboards, and analysis within the Platform
- generate AI-written analysis of a client's financial results and KPIs, as described in "AI analysis" below
- authenticate users and control which company's data each user may see
- communicate with clients about their engagement
- maintain, secure, and improve the Platform
- comply with legal, tax, and professional obligations
We do not use client financial data to train machine learning models. We do not sell personal information or client financial data to anyone, and we do not share it with advertisers.
Third-party connections
QuickBooks Online (Intuit)
Where a client authorizes it, the Platform connects to that client's QuickBooks Online company through Intuit's official API. A user with administrative rights on the QuickBooks company must explicitly grant access; Fairlane cannot connect to a QuickBooks company without that authorization.
What we retrieve. Account-level financial reporting data: the chart of accounts, profit and loss and balance sheet reports, and related summary reports such as accounts receivable and accounts payable aging. We retrieve this data on a scheduled basis, typically nightly.
What we do with it. We store it in our database and use it to produce the financial reporting our client has engaged us to provide. It is visible only to Fairlane personnel working on that client's account and to the users that client has authorized.
Disconnecting. A client may ask us to disconnect their QuickBooks company at any time, or may revoke access directly from within QuickBooks Online. On disconnection we delete the stored authorization credentials. Financial data already retrieved is retained in accordance with the "Data retention" section below, or deleted earlier at the client's request.
AI analysis
The Platform uses an AI model to generate written analysis of a client's financial data and KPIs. To do this, we send the relevant financial reporting data for that client, such as account balances, report figures, and calculated KPIs, to our AI model provider (Anthropic or OpenAI), which processes it and returns the analysis.
- We send only the data needed to produce the analysis requested. We do not send sign-in information, QuickBooks authorization credentials, or users' contact details.
- Our AI model providers process this data on our behalf to return the analysis. Under their terms with us, they do not use the data to train their models.
- AI-generated analysis is stored with the client's other Platform data and is visible only to the people who can see that client's financial data.
Other service providers
We use a small number of service providers to operate our website and the Platform. Each processes data only as needed to provide its service to us:
- Supabase — database and authentication hosting
- Netlify and Vercel — website and application hosting
- Google — optional sign-in for users whose organizations use Google accounts
- Resend — transactional email, such as sign-in links
- Anthropic (Claude) and OpenAI (ChatGPT) — AI models used to generate AI analysis, as described above
- Calendly — scheduling for calls booked through our website
How we protect information
- All data is transmitted over encrypted connections (HTTPS/TLS).
- Data is encrypted at rest by our hosting providers.
- Credentials for connected systems, such as QuickBooks authorization tokens, are stored in a dedicated encrypted secrets store and are never exposed to the application's users.
- Access to each client's data is restricted at the database level. A user can only retrieve data for the offices or companies they have been granted. This is enforced by the database itself, not only by the application.
- Changes to user access and to how accounts are classified are recorded in an append-only audit log.
- Access is granted by invitation only. Accounts cannot be self-created.
No system is perfectly secure, but we take these measures seriously and review them regularly.
Data retention
We retain client financial data for the duration of the engagement and afterwards for as long as required by our professional and legal obligations, typically seven years for accounting records.
A client may request deletion of their data at any time by contacting us. We will delete it except where we are required to retain it by law or professional standards, and we will tell you if that applies.
User accounts that are deactivated lose access immediately. We retain a record of the account for audit purposes rather than deleting it outright.
Your choices and rights
You may:
- ask what information we hold about you
- ask us to correct information that is wrong
- ask us to delete information, subject to the retention rules above
- ask us to disconnect a third-party system
- ask for a copy of your data in a portable format
To make a request, email us at the address below. We will respond within 30 days.
Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under laws such as the California Consumer Privacy Act or the EU General Data Protection Regulation. We honor those rights where they apply. We do not sell personal information as those laws define the term.
Children
The Platform is a business tool and is not directed at anyone under 18. We do not knowingly collect information from children.
International users
Fairlane is based in the United States and our service providers store data in the United States. If you access the Platform from elsewhere, your information will be transferred to and processed in the United States.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. We will change the "Last updated" date at the top, and for material changes we will notify clients directly.
Contact
Questions about this policy, or requests about your information:
Fairlane Accounting
Email: privacy@fairlaneaccounting.com
Boca Raton, Florida, United States