Terms of Service

Agreement

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of financial services provided by HQ CFO, a trade name of HQ Business Services LLC ("HQ CFO," "we," "our"). By engaging HQ CFO for services, you agree to these Terms. These Terms supplement, and do not replace, any signed engagement agreement between you and HQ CFO.

Services

HQ CFO provides outsourced accounting, tax planning, and fractional CFO services to owner-led professional service firms. The specific scope of services is defined in your engagement agreement.

As part of service delivery, we may access your accounting platform (such as QuickBooks Online) through authorized API connections to perform bookkeeping, reporting, and advisory work on your behalf.

Data ownership

You own your financial data. Our access to your accounting platform is limited to the scope and duration of the engagement. We do not claim any ownership rights over your data, records, or reports. Upon termination, we will disconnect all API access and securely delete any stored credentials.

Work product and intellectual property

Deliverables prepared specifically for you — such as financial reports, analyses, and recommendations — are yours upon payment. You may use them for any lawful purpose.

HQ CFO retains ownership of its proprietary methodologies, templates, tools, and processes used in the course of delivering services. Nothing in these Terms transfers ownership of our underlying intellectual property to you.

AI-assisted tools

HQ CFO uses AI-assisted tools to support financial analysis, categorization, and reporting. These tools operate under direct human supervision. No changes are made to your financial records without explicit confirmation from our team.

Your data is processed by AI services under commercial terms that prohibit the use of your data for model training. We obtain written consent before using AI tools on your financial data, as documented in your engagement agreement. For details on how your data is handled, see our Privacy Policy.

Authorization and access

By connecting your accounting platform to HQ CFO, you authorize us to:

• Read financial data including transactions, accounts, customers, and vendors
• Create and modify records as necessary to perform agreed-upon services
• Generate financial reports on your behalf

You may revoke this access at any time by disconnecting HQ CFO from your accounting platform or by notifying us in writing.

Disclaimer of warranties

HQ CFO provides services with reasonable care and in accordance with professional standards. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim all implied warranties, including warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.

Nothing in these Terms guarantees any particular financial outcome. Our services are advisory and operational in nature — final business decisions remain yours.

Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law:

• We are not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from the use of our services or integrations
• Our total liability for any claim related to services shall not exceed the fees paid by you in the twelve months preceding the claim
• We are not liable for errors or issues caused by third-party platform outages, API changes, or data corruption originating outside our control

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless HQ CFO from claims, losses, or expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from:

• Inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading information you provide to us
• Your misrepresentation of authority to grant access to financial systems or data
• Your breach of these Terms or your engagement agreement

HQ CFO agrees to indemnify you from claims arising from our professional negligence or unauthorized disclosure of your confidential information.

Confidentiality

We treat all client financial data as confidential. We do not disclose your information to third parties except as required to deliver services (as described in our Privacy Policy) or as required by law.

Service availability

Our services depend on the availability of third-party platforms including QuickBooks Online and other integrated tools. We do not guarantee uninterrupted access and are not responsible for downtime, data issues, or service changes made by third-party providers.

Force majeure

Neither party is liable for delays or failure to perform obligations due to events beyond reasonable control, including natural disasters, pandemics, government actions, utility or internet failures, or third-party platform outages. The affected party will provide prompt notice and resume performance as soon as reasonably practicable.

Termination

Either party may terminate the engagement by providing written notice as specified in the engagement agreement. Upon termination:

• All API connections to your accounting platform will be disconnected
• Stored authentication credentials will be securely deleted
• Any outstanding fees remain due per the engagement agreement

Dispute resolution

Any dispute arising from these Terms or the services provided shall first be submitted to good-faith mediation. If mediation does not resolve the dispute within 30 days, either party may pursue resolution in the courts of New Hampshire. These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of New Hampshire.

General provisions

Severability. If any provision of these Terms is held unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in full force and effect.

Entire agreement. These Terms, together with your engagement agreement and our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and HQ CFO regarding the subject matter herein.

Assignment. You may not assign your rights or obligations under these Terms without our prior written consent. We may assign our rights and obligations in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of substantially all of our assets.

Notices. Written notices under these Terms should be sent to hello@hq-cfo.com or to the address in your engagement agreement.

Changes to these terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be reflected in the effective date at the top of this page. Continued use of services after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

Contact

Questions about these Terms can be directed to hello@hq-cfo.com or (603) 420-9750.