Terms of Business

We provide the services described in your engagement letter. We do not undertake any work outside that scope unless agreed in writing through a Change of Service request.

We work on fixed-fee agreements wherever possible so you know the cost in advance. Where the scope cannot be defined, we may estimate on a time basis and confirm before invoicing. Fees are exclusive of VAT and third-party disbursements.

Invoices are payable within 14 days of issue. Monthly fixed-fee retainers are collected by Direct Debit or standing order on the 1st of each month. We reserve the right to charge statutory interest and reasonable recovery costs on overdue sums under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, and to suspend work where fees remain unpaid after 30 days.

We are required by UK anti-money laundering law to verify the identity of every client and beneficial owner before starting work. We may use electronic verification and will retain records for the period required by law.

You agree to provide complete, accurate and timely information, to give us access to relevant people and records, and to review documents we prepare for you. We rely on the information you supply.

We use email, secure portals and video calls. While we take reasonable steps to protect communications, we cannot guarantee that email is secure or virus-free.

We treat your information as confidential and disclose it only with your consent, where required by law or regulation, or to our professional advisers under equivalent obligations.

Our aggregate liability to you for any single engagement, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty or otherwise, is capped at the limit set out in your engagement letter, or where none is specified, at three (3) times the annual fee for that engagement, subject to an absolute maximum of £250,000. We are not liable for indirect, consequential or economic loss, loss of profit, goodwill or anticipated savings, or for losses caused by information that is incomplete, inaccurate or supplied late. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot lawfully be excluded, including for fraud or death or personal injury caused by negligence.

Working papers, models, templates and dashboards we create remain our property. You receive a non-exclusive licence to use deliverables for the internal purposes of your business.

Either party may end the engagement by giving 30 days' written notice. We may terminate immediately if you fail to provide information required by AML law, become insolvent, materially breach these terms, or if continuing the engagement would put us in breach of our professional or legal obligations. Fees for work performed up to termination remain payable, and we will hand over your records once outstanding fees are settled, subject to any lien permitted by law.

If something is wrong, please contact the engagement partner first. Unresolved complaints can be escalated to our professional body, the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT). We are committed to handling concerns fairly and quickly and will acknowledge written complaints within 5 working days.

Each party will comply with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. Where we process personal data on your behalf, we do so in accordance with our Privacy Noticeand any data processing terms set out in your engagement letter.

Neither party is liable for failure or delay in performance caused by events outside its reasonable control, including acts of government, industrial action, cyber incidents, pandemics or failure of utilities or telecommunications. The affected party will use reasonable efforts to mitigate the impact.

You may not assign or transfer your rights under the engagement without our written consent. Our advice is for your sole use and benefit; no third party may rely on it, and the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 does not apply.

The parties agree that engagement letters, change requests and other documents may be signed electronically and will be treated as originals. Notices may be served by email to the most recent address used between the parties.

These terms are governed by the law of England & Wales, and the courts of England & Wales have exclusive jurisdiction.