Privacy Policy

APC Bookkeeping LLC (“APC”, “we”, “us” or “our”) is a limited liability company based in Issaquah, Washington, owned and operated by Paul Aleksic. APC is responsible for the personal information described in this policy.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store and share personal information when you:

• visit apcbookkeeping.com (the “Website”);
• send our consult questionnaire, book a call, or email, call or text us; or
• otherwise deal with us as a prospective client, referral partner or business contact.

What it does not cover. If you become a client, the records and financial information you give us to do the work, such as bank statements, accounting files and access to your accounting software, are governed by your written engagement agreement with APC. Where that agreement and this policy differ, the agreement controls. This policy also does not cover other companies’ websites and services, including those linked from ours, which have their own privacy policies.

By using the Website or sending us information, you acknowledge that you have read this policy. Your use of the Website is also governed by our Terms of Use.

Information you give us

The consult questionnaire. When you send the questionnaire on our Contact page, we collect:

• About you: your full name, company name, email address, phone number and preferred way to be contacted.
• About your business: your trade, crew size, annual revenue range (optional) and years in business.
• About your books: the services you are interested in, how current your books are, the software you use, and how many bank and credit card accounts you have.
• Anything else you add: your message and how you heard about APC.

Booking a call. Our “Book a 30-minute call” links open a booking page provided by Google Calendar. Google collects the details you enter there, such as your name and email address, and passes them to us so we can hold the call.

Emails, calls, texts and meetings. When you contact us or speak with us, we collect what you choose to share, your contact details and our notes of the conversation.

Information collected automatically

• With the questionnaire: our form software records the IP address, browser, device type and web page from which the questionnaire was sent, and the date and time.
• Analytics: we use Google Analytics to understand how the Website is used. Using cookies, it collects information such as the pages you view, how you arrived, how long you stay, your browser and device type, and your approximate location based on your IP address. It also records that a questionnaire was sent, but not your answers.
• Fonts: the Website loads its typefaces from Google Fonts, so your browser sends your IP address and browser details to Google when a page loads.
• Server logs: our hosting provider automatically records technical details of each request to the Website, such as the IP address, browser, page requested and time, to run, secure and troubleshoot it.

Information from other sources

• Referrals: a CPA, tax preparer, payroll provider, client or other contact who refers you to us may give us your name, contact details and a description of what you need.
• Public sources: we may collect business contact and licensing details from public sources, such as the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries contractor register, the Washington Secretary of State, business websites and online directories, to identify and contact businesses that may benefit from our services.

Information we ask you not to send

Please do not send Social Security numbers, full bank or card account numbers, passwords, tax returns, health information or similar sensitive information through the questionnaire, by email or by text. If an engagement requires any of it, we will arrange a secure way to receive it.

Cookies are small files a website stores in your browser. The Website uses:

• _ga, and _ga_ followed by an identifier (Google Analytics): tell visits and visitors apart so we can measure how the Website is used. They last up to two years unless you delete them.
• wpEmojiSettingsSupports (WordPress): a setting kept in your browser’s session storage that records whether your browser can display emoji. It contains no personal information and is cleared when you close the tab.

We do not use advertising cookies, social media pixels or session-recording tools.

Your choices. You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings, and you can stop Google Analytics from collecting data about your visits with Google’s opt-out browser add-on. The Website works without cookies. Google explains here how it uses information from sites that use its services.

Do Not Track. Some browsers can send a “Do Not Track” signal. There is no common standard for responding to it, so the Website does not currently change its behaviour when it receives one. Apart from the service providers described in this policy, we do not allow third parties to collect information about your activity on the Website.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for targeted advertising. We share it only as follows:

• Service providers that help us run APC and the Website and handle information on our behalf, under their own terms. They currently include Hostinger (website hosting, including the database that stores questionnaire answers); Google (business email and file storage through Google Workspace, Calendar booking, Analytics and Fonts); the AI and automation providers described in section 6; and the customer relationship management (CRM), accounting, document-sharing and communication tools we use to manage enquiries and client work.
• Referral partners, when you ask us to introduce you to a CPA, tax preparer, payroll provider or other professional. We share your contact details and a summary of what you need, and they handle it under their own privacy policies.
• For legal and safety reasons, when we believe in good faith that disclosure is required by law, court order or other legal process, or is needed to protect the rights, property or safety of APC, our clients or others, or to investigate fraud or security issues.
• Business changes, such as a reorganisation, merger, sale or transfer of all or part of the business. Personal information may pass to the new entity or owner, which may use it only as this policy describes.
• With your consent, or at your direction.

We use software tools, including tools powered by artificial intelligence (AI), to run APC efficiently. Information you give us, including questionnaire answers, emails, texts, call and meeting notes and documents you send, may be entered into or processed by AI tools provided by third parties. We use these tools, for example, to:

• read, summarise and organise enquiries and correspondence;
• draft replies, notes, proposals and follow-ups;
• pull out details and enter them into our CRM system, calendar, task lists and other business records;
• automate routine steps, such as reminders and scheduling; and
• build, maintain and analyse the Website, which can include AI tools that access information stored in it, such as questionnaire answers.

If we add a chat feature to the Website, messages you send through it may be answered or processed by AI.

Who provides these tools. AI and automation companies, such as providers of AI assistants, chatbots and workflow automation, and our CRM provider. They process information on our behalf under their own terms and privacy policies, and may store it on servers in the United States or other countries. Depending on the service, a provider may keep information for a period, for example to monitor for abuse, and some services may use it to improve their models. Where a tool gives us the choice, we aim to turn off the use of our information for model training.

People make the decisions. AI output can be inaccurate, and we do not rely on AI alone to make decisions that significantly affect you. A person decides whether to take on an engagement and sets its scope and quote.

Your choice. If you would rather we did not put your information into AI tools, tell us before you send it, or as soon as you can afterwards, and we will tell you whether we can accommodate that. Information a provider has already processed may not be retrievable from it.

We use reasonable administrative, technical and physical safeguards suited to a business of our size, including an encrypted (HTTPS) connection to the Website, access controls on our accounts, and established service providers.

No method of sending or storing information is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee the security of information you send us. You send it at your own risk. If a security breach affects your personal information, we will notify you and the authorities as the law requires.

• Marketing messages. You can opt out of marketing emails with the unsubscribe link or by replying to tell us, and out of text messages by replying STOP. We may still contact you about an enquiry you made or services we provide to you.
• Access, correction and deletion. You can ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you, or ask us to correct or delete it. We may need to verify your identity first, and we may keep information where the law requires or allows us to, such as records of client engagements or information needed to resolve a dispute.
• Cookies and analytics. See section 4.
• State privacy laws. Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under state law. Where those laws apply to APC, we will honour them, including requests made through an authorised agent where the law allows. We will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights.

To make a request, email paulaleksic@apcbookkeeping.com. We will respond within a reasonable time and within any period the law requires.

The Website and our services are intended for businesses and adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has sent us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

We may update this policy from time to time. We will post the updated version on this page and change the “Last updated” date at the top. If we make a material change to how we use personal information we have already collected, we will post a prominent notice on the Website or contact you directly, and we will ask for your consent where the law requires it. Your continued use of the Website after an update means you acknowledge the updated policy.

For questions, requests or complaints about this policy or your information:

• Email: paulaleksic@apcbookkeeping.com
• Phone or text: (425) 610-8032
• Location: APC Bookkeeping LLC, Issaquah, Washington