Terms of use

Effective date: on first Store publication

This End User License Agreement ("Agreement") is between you and Arc & Ledger Accounting ("Licensor", "we"), and governs your use of the PrivateBooks application (the "App") distributed through the Microsoft Store, the Mac App Store, or as a signed direct download from us.

By installing or using the App, you agree to this Agreement. If you do not agree, do not install or use the App.

1. License grant

We grant you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to install and use the App on Windows and macOS devices that you own or control, for your personal or internal business bookkeeping, subject to this Agreement. When you obtain the App through an app store, that store's standard license terms (the Microsoft Store Standard Application License Terms or Apple's Licensed Application End User License Agreement) also apply where this Agreement is silent.

This is a one-time purchase: the license does not expire, does not renew, and includes all updates to version 4 of the App that we publish through the channel you obtained the App from, at no additional charge. Future major versions (version 5 and later) may be offered separately.

2. Local bookkeeping and your data

The bookkeeping workflow uses a local data folder on your device for books, transactions, receipts, settings, and recovery data. The App has no PrivateBooks account, cloud bookkeeping service, telemetry, or automatic financial-data upload. Public help, IRS, privacy, support, or release links connect only when you choose to open them. An app store separately handles its own acquisition, installation, update, and optional store analytics services; those services do not receive your books from PrivateBooks.

Because of this design:

• You are responsible for backing up your data. The App provides backup and export features; use them regularly, and before major changes such as device replacement, OS reinstalls, or large imports. If you lose your device or data without a backup, we cannot recover the books from a PrivateBooks cloud service because no such book-storage service exists.
• Deleting the App or its data folder may permanently delete your books unless you have a separate backup.

3. Bookkeeping tool, not tax or legal advice

The App organizes your records and produces bookkeeping summaries, including reports organized around IRS Schedule C categories, to assist you and your tax preparer.

• The App, its categorization rules, its guided setup content, and its deduction explainers are general information, not tax, legal, or accounting advice. Tax law changes and your situation is specific.
• You are responsible for the accuracy of your books and your tax returns. Review the App's output with a qualified tax professional before filing.
• We do not prepare or file tax returns, and the App is not a substitute for a tax preparer.

4. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

• reverse engineer the App except where the law expressly permits it;
• redistribute, resell, rent, or sublicense the App;
• remove or alter notices, disclaimers, or attributions in the App;
• misrepresent the App's output as professional tax preparation.

5. Purchase, refunds, and updates

• When you buy the App through the Microsoft Store or the Mac App Store, that store's operator (Microsoft or Apple) sells and delivers it. Refunds and billing issues for a store purchase are handled by that store under its terms and policies; we do not process store payments. If we sell a signed direct download outside the stores, the refund terms published with that purchase apply.
• Updates are delivered through the channel you obtained the App from: the Microsoft Store, the Mac App Store, or the signed direct download page. Installing updates is recommended; some updates may be required for the App to keep working as documented.
• A frozen, unsupported legacy edition may be offered outside the Store only when its exact historical binary and recorded digest are verified. No legacy availability is promised by this draft, and any verified legacy edition is provided as-is and is not covered by this purchase.

6. Privacy

The App has no PrivateBooks account, cloud bookkeeping service, in-app telemetry, or automatic financial-data upload. Books and receipt attachments remain in its local data folder unless you choose to export, back up, or share them. Owner-activated official IRS/help links may open an external website in the default browser. When you obtain the App through the Microsoft Store or the Mac App Store, purchase, installation, updates, and any optional store analytics are processed by that store's operator (Microsoft or Apple) under its own privacy policy. Our privacy practices are described at our privacy policy.

7. Disclaimer of warranties

To the maximum extent permitted by law, the App is provided "as is" and "as available," with all faults, and we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the App will be error-free or that its output will satisfy any tax authority.

8. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, in no event will we be liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, special, or punitive damages, or for lost profits, lost data, lost tax deductions, penalties, or interest, arising from or related to the App or this Agreement. Our total liability for any claim arising from the App or this Agreement is limited to the amount you paid for the App. Some jurisdictions do not allow these limits; where they do not, they apply to the fullest extent allowed.

9. Changes and termination

We may update this Agreement with notice through the App or the Store listing; continued use after an update means you accept it. You may stop using the App at any time by uninstalling it. Sections 2, 3, 7, and 8 survive termination.

10. General

• Governing law: to be completed before publication, without regard to conflict-of-law rules.
• If part of this Agreement is unenforceable, the rest remains in effect.
• This Agreement is the entire agreement about the App and replaces prior understandings.
• Contact: the verified support channel published at privatebooks.org/support after launch.

Questions

No public support channel is active until delivery, reply handling, and ownership are independently verified. This draft is not yet in force and should not be relied on as a contact promise.