Privacy Policy
Ledgeward keeps your financial information private, uses it only to serve you, and never sells it. This policy explains what we collect, why, who we share it with, and the choices you have.
Ledgeward LLC ("Ledgeward," "we," "us") is a California limited liability company providing bookkeeping, tax planning, and tax preparation services. This policy covers ledgeward.com, our client portal, our communications with you, and the services we deliver. It applies to clients, prospective clients, and visitors to our website.
Information we collect
We collect only what we need to do your books and taxes well.
Information you give us
- Contact and identity details: name, business name, email, phone, mailing address, and job title.
- Tax identifiers: Social Security numbers, Employer Identification Numbers, and similar identifiers for you, your business, owners, and dependents when needed for tax work.
- Financial records: bank and credit card statements, invoices, receipts, payroll records, loan documents, prior tax returns, and other records you share with us.
- Accounting system access: access to your QuickBooks Online company file and, with your permission, connected bank or card feeds.
- Payment information: the bank account or card you use for autopay. Our payment processor stores full account numbers; we see only limited details, such as the last four digits.
- Communications: emails, portal messages, call notes, and questionnaire answers.
Information collected automatically
- Website and portal usage: IP address, browser and device type, pages visited, referring site, and the date and time of visits.
- Cookies and similar tools: see Cookies and analytics below.
Information from others
- Banks, payroll providers, and other parties you authorize us to contact.
- Government agencies, such as the IRS or California Franchise Tax Board, when we act for you.
- People who refer you to us.
How we use information
We use your information to deliver the services you hired us for and to run our firm.
- Keep your books, reconcile accounts, and prepare financial reports.
- Plan, prepare, and file tax returns, and represent you with tax agencies when you ask us to.
- Bill you and process monthly autopay.
- Communicate with you about your account, deadlines, and requests.
- Secure our systems and prevent fraud.
- Improve our website and services, using website data in aggregated form.
- Meet our legal, regulatory, and professional obligations, including record-keeping rules.
We do not sell your personal information. We do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. We do not use your financial records to market third-party products.
Tax return information
Tax return information gets extra protection under federal law, and we follow it.
Section 7216 of the Internal Revenue Code limits how tax preparers may use or disclose information gathered to prepare a return. We use it to prepare your return and for purposes the law allows. Any other use or disclosure happens only with your separate, signed written consent. That consent names exactly what will be shared, with whom, and for what purpose, and you may decline or withdraw it.
When another qualified preparer helps with your return, we may share the information they need, as the law permits.
How we share information
We share your information only with people and services that help us do your work, and only as much as they need.
| Who | Why | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Our team and contracted professionals | Do your bookkeeping and tax work | Employees and independent bookkeepers or accountants under written confidentiality agreements |
| Software and service providers | Run our firm securely | Accounting software (QuickBooks Online), client portal and practice management (TaxDome), email and file storage (Microsoft 365), tax preparation software, payment processing, website hosting |
| Government agencies | File returns and respond on your behalf | IRS, California Franchise Tax Board, other state and local tax agencies |
| Parties you direct us to | Carry out your instructions | Your lender, attorney, financial advisor, or business partners |
| Legal and safety | Follow the law | Subpoenas, court orders, or to protect rights and prevent fraud |
| A successor business | Keep serving you | A merger, sale, or transfer of our practice, subject to this policy and applicable law |
Our service providers may use your information only to provide services to us. Some may store data on servers outside California or the United States, under their own security commitments.
Security and retention
We protect your information with administrative, technical, and physical safeguards under a written information security plan, as federal rules require for tax and accounting firms.
- Encrypted client portal for exchanging documents, instead of plain email attachments.
- Multi-factor authentication on our accounts and systems.
- Access limited to the people who need it for your work.
- Confidentiality agreements and security training for everyone who handles client data.
No system is perfectly secure. If a breach affects your personal information, we will notify you as the law requires.
We keep records as long as needed to serve you and to meet legal, tax, and professional retention requirements, generally at least seven years after the related tax year. After that, we securely delete or destroy them.
Your choices and rights
You can ask us what we hold about you, ask us to fix it, or ask us to delete it, and we will respond within 45 days.
- Access: request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
- Correction: ask us to fix information that is inaccurate.
- Deletion: ask us to delete information, except records we must keep by law or professional rules.
- Marketing emails: unsubscribe using the link in any marketing email. We will still send messages about your account and services.
- Non-discrimination: we will not treat you differently for using these rights.
California residents. California law gives you rights to know, correct, and delete personal information, and to opt out of its sale or sharing. We do not sell or share personal information as California law defines those terms. Much of the financial information we hold is governed by federal financial privacy law instead, and we handle it under the rules in this policy.
To make a request, contact us using the details below. We will verify your identity before acting. You may use an authorized agent, who must show written permission from you.
Cookies and analytics
Our website uses a small number of cookies to work properly and to understand how visitors use it. You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings; some site features may not work without them.
Some browsers send "Do Not Track" signals. There is no common standard for these, so our website does not currently respond to them. We do honor Global Privacy Control signals as an opt-out request where the law requires it.
Children
Our website and services are meant for businesses and adults. We do not knowingly collect information online from children under 13. We handle dependents' information only when a parent or guardian provides it for tax work.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as our services or the law change. We will post the new version here with a new effective date, and tell clients by email about material changes.
Contact us
Questions or requests about your privacy:
Ledgeward LLC
6501 Schirra Ct., Ste 101
Bakersfield, CA 93313
Email: privacy@ledgeward.com
Phone: (661) 490-9659