Bookkeeping engagement letter

This engagement letter is between Hatley Financial Group LLC, a North Carolina limited liability company doing business as Carolina Tax Service (“Carolina Tax Service,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), 217 West Main Street, Suite A, Locust, North Carolina 28097, and the client named in the accepted proposal (the “Client,” “you,” or “your”). The person signing this letter confirms they are authorized to engage us on the Client’s behalf.

1. Services we will provide

Each month, we will: categorize the transactions in the accounting system or records you give us access to; reconcile the bank, credit card, and loan accounts you designate; and deliver a monthly financial package consisting of a profit and loss statement, a balance sheet, and reconciliation reports, through our secure client portal. We will ask you about transactions we cannot classify from the records alone, and we will record them once you respond.

Our monthly reports are prepared for your internal management use only. We do not audit, review, compile, or verify your records, and no assurance of any kind is provided on the reports we deliver. Our work is limited to the records and information you provide; it is not designed to detect errors, fraud, or theft, and should not be relied on to do so.

The following are not included and will be provided, if at all, only under a separate engagement and fee: catch-up or cleanup of periods before this engagement begins (we will assess your books at the start and quote any needed cleanup separately before we begin monthly service); tax return preparation of any kind; payroll processing and payroll tax filings; sales and use tax filings; invoicing your customers, accounts receivable, accounts payable, or bill payment; budgeting, forecasting, or advisory services; Forms 1099; and beneficial ownership information (BOI) filings with FinCEN. Nothing in this engagement constitutes legal, investment, or tax advice.

2. Your responsibilities

You will provide, and keep current, the access we need to perform the services: accounting software access, bank and credit card statements or read-only feeds for the designated accounts, and copies of new loan or financing documents. Statements and documents for a month, and answers to our open questions, should reach us by the 10th day of the following month. When your complete information reaches us by that date, we deliver the monthly package by the 20th day of that same month. Months for which information reaches us late are completed on a catch-up basis, and the 20th day delivery date does not apply to them. You are responsible for the completeness and accuracy of the underlying records, for reviewing the monthly reports when delivered and telling us promptly about errors or omissions, for maintaining your source documents (we recommend at least seven years), and for the cost and terms of your accounting software subscription, which remains yours.

3. Fees and payment

Our monthly bookkeeping fees start at $150 per month and scale with the volume of transactions, the number of accounts reconciled, and the condition of your records. Your fee is stated in the services section of this proposal and is billed monthly by recurring invoice, charged automatically to the payment method you authorize when you accept this proposal. We may adjust the monthly fee on thirty days’ written notice, for example when transaction volume or scope changes; continuing service after the notice period is acceptance of the new fee. If an automatic payment fails and is not cured promptly, we may pause work until the account is current; we are not responsible for consequences of a pause for nonpayment. Work outside the scope above is quoted and billed separately before it is performed.

4. Term and termination

This engagement begins when you accept this proposal and continues month to month until either party ends it with thirty days’ written notice. On termination, fees are due through the end of the notice period, we will deliver the most recent completed monthly package, and your data in your accounting software remains yours. Amounts paid are not refundable for months in which services were performed. We may withdraw immediately if we conclude the records provided are unreliable, a conflict of interest arises, or invoices remain unpaid.

5. Confidentiality, privacy, and data security

We do not disclose your information to any third party except as permitted or required by law or with your written consent. We maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards for your information consistent with the FTC Safeguards Rule and our written information security plan. Our secure client portal is the required channel for exchanging financial documents; please do not send account numbers or statements by unencrypted email, and safeguard your portal and software credentials.

6. Records and retention

We will retain copies of the monthly packages and supporting workpapers we create for seven years, after which they will be securely destroyed without further notice. Our workpapers are our property. Records and access credentials you provided remain yours.

7. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by North Carolina law, our total liability for any claim arising out of or relating to this engagement is limited to the fees you paid us in the twelve months preceding the event giving rise to the claim, and neither party is liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages, including lost profits. Any claim must be brought within one year after the monthly package at issue was delivered, to the extent permitted by law. Nothing in this section limits liability that cannot lawfully be limited.

8. Mediation and arbitration

If a dispute arises out of or relates to this engagement, the parties agree first to try in good faith to settle it by mediation administered by the American Arbitration Association before resorting to arbitration. Any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this engagement letter, or breach thereof, that is not resolved by mediation shall be settled by arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association in accordance with its Accounting and Related Services Arbitration Rules and Mediation Procedures. Judgment on the award may be entered in any court having jurisdiction. Mediation and arbitration will take place in the county of our principal office in North Carolina; each party bears its own costs and shares the neutral’s fees equally.

9. Electronic records and signatures; general terms

You consent to conducting this engagement electronically through our client portal, and electronic signatures are as valid as handwritten signatures. This letter is governed by North Carolina law and is the entire agreement between us regarding bookkeeping services, replacing any earlier discussions. If any provision is found unenforceable, the remainder stays in effect.

10. Acceptance

By signing this proposal electronically through our client portal, the undersigned confirms authority to act for the Client, agrees to these terms, and authorizes the recurring monthly charge described above.

Hatley Financial Group LLC d/b/a Carolina Tax Service, 217 West Main Street, Suite A, Locust, NC 28097 · (704) 888-1234 · samhatley@carolinataxservice.com · carolinataxservice.com