Profit Portal

This Privacy Policy describes how Advanced Accounting and Tax Service LLC ("we," "us," "our," or "the Company"), doing business as Melisa D Accounting / Profit Portal, collects, uses, and protects your personal information when you use our Profit Portal platform, including both the client/member portal ("Ask an Accountant") and the staff operations portal (collectively, the "Service"). By accessing or using the Service, you consent to the practices described in this policy.

1. Information We Collect

Information You Provide Directly

• Account information: Your name, email address, phone number, and password when you register for an account.
• Profile information: Job title, department, role, and bio for staff users; membership tier and status for member users.
• Client and business information: Company name, contact person, email, phone, address, industry, billing details, and notes you or your accountant enter on your behalf.
• Documents and files: Tax documents, receipts, statements, invoices, contracts, and other files you upload to the portal for review or storage.
• Communications: Messages, questions, and attachments exchanged through the member inbox or conversation features.
• Payment information: Billing details processed through Stripe. We do not store your full credit card number — Stripe handles card processing securely.

Information Collected Automatically

• Usage data: Pages visited, features used, timestamps, and activity logs within the Service.
• Device and session data: IP address, browser type, and authentication tokens.

Information Collected from Public Sources

• Lead data: Business names, registered agent information, officer names, formation dates, and business status collected from public state Secretary of State registries and similar public records for prospective client outreach.
• Enriched contact data: Email addresses and phone numbers obtained through third-party enrichment services to facilitate business communication.

Information from Integrations

• QuickBooks: Customer names, contact details, billing addresses, and transaction data synced from your connected QuickBooks account when you or your accountant authorize the integration.
• Stripe: Subscription status, payment history, and customer identifiers related to your membership or service purchases.

2. How We Use Your Information

• To provide, operate, and maintain the Service, including task management, document review, scheduling, and accounting workflows.
• To process payments and manage memberships, subscriptions, and pay-per-question services.
• To communicate with you about your account, questions, appointments, deadlines, and service updates.
• To send marketing and outreach emails to prospective leads, existing clients, and members, including email sequences and newsletters.
• To sync financial data with QuickBooks and other authorized integrations to deliver accurate accounting services.
• To schedule and manage appointments, meetings, and calendar reminders.
• To maintain internal records, activity logs, and audit trails for service quality and security.
• To comply with legal obligations and protect against fraud or unauthorized access.

3. Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal information based on: your consent when you register or provide information; the performance of a contract when we deliver accounting and membership services; our legitimate business interests in operating the Service and communicating with prospective clients; and compliance with applicable legal and tax obligations.

4. How We Share Your Information

Service Providers

We share information with trusted third-party service providers that help us operate the Service:

• Stripe — payment processing and subscription management.
• Intuit QuickBooks — accounting data synchronization when authorized.
• Cloud hosting and database providers — secure data storage and application hosting.
• Email delivery services — sending transactional and marketing emails.
• Data enrichment and lead generation services — obtaining contact information for outreach.

Other Disclosures

• With your accountant or assigned team members who need the information to provide services to you.
• When required by law, court order, or government regulation.
• In connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or part of our business.
• With your explicit consent.

We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

5. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the Service. Tax-related documents and records are retained for the period required by applicable tax law and professional accounting standards. Lead data from public sources is retained until you request deletion or until it is no longer relevant for outreach. You may request deletion of your account and associated data at any time, subject to legal record-keeping obligations.

6. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you.
• Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Request deletion of your personal information, subject to legal exceptions.
• Opt out of marketing and outreach emails at any time using the unsubscribe link in any email or by contacting us.
• Withdraw consent to data processing at any time.
• Object to or restrict certain processing of your information.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the information provided at the bottom of this page.

7. Data Security

We implement reasonable technical, administrative, and physical safeguards designed to protect your personal information, including encrypted data transmission, authenticated access controls, role-based permissions, and secure cloud infrastructure. Documents uploaded to the portal are stored with access restricted to you and your assigned accountant. However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

8. Cookies and Tracking

The Service uses authentication cookies and session tokens to keep you logged in and to remember your preferences. We do not use cookies for third-party advertising tracking. Analytics may be used to understand how the Service is used and to improve its features.

9. Marketing Emails and Unsubscribe

We send marketing and outreach emails to leads, clients, and members. You may opt out of these communications at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in any marketing email, by visiting our unsubscribe page, or by contacting us directly. Opting out of marketing emails does not affect transactional emails related to your account or services.

10. Children's Privacy

The Service is not intended for individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe we have collected information from a child, please contact us so we can delete it.

11. Third-Party Links and Services

The Service may contain links to third-party websites or integrate with third-party services (such as QuickBooks, Stripe, and social media platforms). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these third parties. We encourage you to review their privacy policies.

12. International Users

The Service is operated from the United States. If you access the Service from outside the United States, your information will be transferred to and processed in the United States, where data protection laws may differ from those in your jurisdiction.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the updated version on this page with a revised "Last updated" date. We encourage you to review this page periodically. Material changes will be communicated through the Service or by email when appropriate.

14. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at:

Advanced Accounting and Tax Service LLC
10529 Coral Circle, Gulfport, Mississippi 39503
Attn: Privacy / Data Protection