The short version. We request read-only access to your QuickBooks. We cannot change, post, or delete anything in your books. We do not sell or share your financial records, sensitive identifiers are encrypted at rest, and you can revoke our access from inside QuickBooks at any time without asking us.
Who we are
Trade Secrets Bookkeeping Co. provides monthly bookkeeping services to Arizona trades contractors. This policy covers both our bookkeeping services and the software we use to deliver them, including our QuickBooks Online integration.
What access we request
Our QuickBooks integration requests a single permission scope:
com.intuit.quickbooks.accounting.readonly.
That scope is read-only. The integration cannot:
- create, edit, or delete any transaction
- change a category, account, or reconciliation
- issue an invoice or receive a payment
- move money, initiate a transfer, or submit any filing
- access payroll processing or make payroll changes
This is enforced at the permission level by Intuit, not by our own policy. Our software additionally refuses to request write access at all — the code path that would ask for it raises an error rather than executing.
What information we access
When you connect QuickBooks and during ongoing service, we read:
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Company profile | Business name, address, fiscal year, entity type |
| Chart of accounts | Account names, types, balances |
| Transactions | Dates, amounts, vendors, memos, categories, attachments |
| Vendors and customers | Names, addresses, 1099 status |
| Jobs and classes | Job names, cost allocations |
| Reports | Profit and loss, balance sheet, aging, cash flow |
| Payroll summaries | Wage and tax totals, for reconciliation only |
For 1099 preparation we also collect and store taxpayer identification numbers from Forms W-9 supplied by you or your subcontractors.
How we use it
Only to deliver the bookkeeping services you engaged us for: categorizing and reconciling transactions, preparing financial statements, job costing, 1099 preparation, Arizona TPT preparation, and year-end files for your CPA.
We do not use your financial data for advertising, we do not sell it, and we do not use it to train machine learning models.
Where your data lives
Your records are stored in a database on a single work computer operated by Trade Secrets Bookkeeping Co. in Benson, Arizona. That database is kept outside any cloud-synchronized folder, so it is not copied to other devices. The application itself is not a hosted or cloud service and has no public server — there is no website or API through which anyone can reach your data.
QuickBooks access tokens and taxpayer identification numbers are encrypted at rest using AES-based encryption, with the encryption key stored separately from the data it protects.
Backups run nightly. Each one is encrypted before it leaves the machine and is then stored offsite; the decryption key is not kept in the backup location. Restores are tested on a schedule rather than assumed to work — the test decrypts an actual backup, verifies database integrity, and confirms the contents match, and the results are logged.
Automated tools and AI
We use automated tools, including AI-assisted software, in preparing your books. Some of these features are native to QuickBooks itself. We additionally use Anthropic's Claude API to draft plain-language written summaries — your monthly narrative, cash flow explanation, and CPA cover letter — and to help identify a vendor's likely business entity type for 1099 purposes.
When we use that service, the information sent is limited to what the summary requires: figures from your financial statements, job names, vendor names, and transaction descriptions.
What is never sent to any AI service: taxpayer identification numbers, Social Security numbers, EINs, bank account numbers, login credentials, or access tokens. Our software scans every request for these patterns before transmission and refuses to send anything matching them.
Anthropic does not train its models on data submitted through its API. All work product is reviewed by a certified professional before it reaches you. No automated output is delivered without human review and sign-off.
Who else sees your information
We share your information only in these circumstances:
- At your direction. For example, sending your year-end package to your CPA, or filing 1099s through a filing provider on your behalf.
- Service providers who help us operate, bound by confidentiality obligations: Intuit (QuickBooks), Anthropic (as described above), Microsoft (encrypted offsite backup storage), our email provider, and our 1099 filing provider.
- When legally required, such as a valid subpoena or court order.
We do not sell your information, and we do not send your financial statements to third parties such as lenders or bonding agents. If a lender requests your statements, we provide them to you and you forward them.
How long we keep it
Financial records are retained for four years after our engagement ends, consistent with standard practice for accounting records. Records connected to a matter requiring documentation are retained for seven years. After the retention period, records are securely deleted. On termination, you receive a complete exit package and QuickBooks administrative access is returned to you; access is removed within five business days and remaining working copies are deleted after ninety days.
Disconnecting
You can revoke our QuickBooks access yourself at any time, without contacting us:
- In QuickBooks Online: Settings → Apps → Disconnect
- Or at appcenter.intuit.com
Revoking access is immediate. See our disconnect page for what happens to your data afterward.
Your rights
You may request a copy of the information we hold about you, ask us to correct inaccurate information, or ask us to delete information we are not required to retain. Email us and we will respond within thirty days. Your financial data belongs to you, and that is true whether or not you are still a client.
Security incidents
If a breach affects your personal information, we will notify you as required by Arizona law (A.R.S. § 18-552), within forty-five days of determining a breach occurred.
Children
Our services are for businesses. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18.
Changes
If we make a material change to this policy, we will notify current clients directly rather than relying on you to notice the date above.
Contact
Questions about this policy, or about your data:
cheyennebennett@outlook.com
Trade Secrets Bookkeeping Co.
3036 W Williams Rd, Benson, AZ 85602