Terms of Service

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of echelonledger.com and its content (the “Site”), operated by Echelon Ledger LLC, a Florida limited liability company (“Echelon Ledger,” “we,” “us,” or “our”).

By using the Site, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Site.

Section 12 contains a binding arbitration provision and a class action waiver that affect how disputes are resolved. Read it.

1. About Echelon Ledger

Echelon Ledger provides bookkeeping services to businesses, with a focus on SaaS companies, technology startups, and software businesses. The Site exists to explain those services and to publish educational material about bookkeeping for technology companies.

Echelon Ledger is not a CPA firm. We do not provide tax preparation, audit, review, assurance, legal, or investment services.

2. The Engagement Agreement Controls

Nothing on the Site creates a service relationship, and nothing on the Site defines the scope of one.

Bookkeeping services are provided only under a written engagement agreement signed by Echelon Ledger and the client. That agreement identifies the services included, the entities and periods covered, deliverables and deadlines, client responsibilities, fees, and the effective start date.

Where these Terms and a signed engagement agreement conflict as to services, scope, fees, deliverables, confidentiality, liability, or termination, the engagement agreement controls for the client that signed it. These Terms continue to govern use of the Site itself.

Descriptions of services, pricing guidance, process steps, and turnaround expectations published on the Site are illustrative. They do not constitute an offer, a quote, or a commitment, and they are superseded by the terms of an executed engagement agreement.

3. No Professional Advice; No Relationship Created

Content on the Site, including articles, comparisons, guides, checklists, and FAQs, is general information published for a broad audience. It is not bookkeeping, accounting, tax, legal, financial, or investment advice, and it is not a substitute for advice from a qualified professional who knows your specific circumstances.

Reading the Site, downloading material from it, subscribing to updates, or submitting a contact or consultation request does not create a bookkeeping, accounting, fiduciary, advisory, or professional relationship between you and Echelon Ledger.

Do not act or refrain from acting on the basis of Site content without consulting a qualified professional. Tax law, accounting standards, software behavior, and third-party platform rules change, and content may become outdated after publication.

4. AI-Assisted Content

Echelon Ledger uses AI tooling in its research, drafting, and production workflow. Published content is reviewed by a human before it goes live, and any factual claim, framework, or recommendation reflects our editorial judgment rather than unsupervised model output.

We use AI aggressively, trust it cautiously, and verify what matters. That said, AI-assisted content can contain errors, and human review does not make it infallible. Treat Site content as a starting point for your own diligence, not as a verified statement of fact about your specific situation.

This disclosure applies to the Site. Our use of AI in client engagements is addressed in the engagement agreement and the Privacy Policy.

5. Permitted Use

You may read, print, and share Site content for your own business or personal reference.

You may not:

• Copy, republish, or redistribute substantial portions of Site content as your own
• Scrape, crawl, or harvest content or contact information except as permitted by our robots directives
• Use Site content to train a machine learning model without written permission
• Interfere with, probe, or attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Site or its infrastructure
• Use the Site to transmit malware, spam, or unlawful material
• Misrepresent your identity or affiliation when contacting us
• Use the Site in violation of any applicable law

We may suspend or block access to anyone who violates these terms.

6. Intellectual Property

The Site and its content, including text, structure, graphics, logos, the Echelon Ledger name and marks, article frameworks, and code, are owned by Echelon Ledger LLC or its licensors and are protected by copyright, trademark, and other laws.

Limited quotation with attribution and a link to the source page is permitted. Republishing full articles, creating derivative works, or using Echelon Ledger marks without written permission is not.

Third-party names and marks referenced on the Site, including software products and platforms, belong to their respective owners. Reference to a third-party product does not imply endorsement, affiliation, or partnership in either direction.

7. Submissions and Communications

Information you submit through a contact form, consultation request, or email is handled as described in our Privacy Policy.

Do not send confidential financial records, credentials, account numbers, or sensitive personal information through the Site’s contact form or by unencrypted email. Use the secure document channel we provide once an engagement begins.

If you send us an unsolicited idea, suggestion, or feedback about our services or content, you grant us a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual license to use it without obligation or compensation. Do not send us anything you consider confidential or proprietary before an engagement and appropriate confidentiality terms are in place.

8. Third-Party Links, Tools, and Platforms

The Site links to third-party websites, software vendors, and reference material for convenience. We do not control them, we do not endorse them by linking, and we are not responsible for their content, availability, security, pricing, or terms.

Where we describe a third-party platform’s behavior, features, or pricing, that description reflects our understanding at the time of writing. Third-party products change without notice. Verify current details with the vendor.

9. Availability

We make no commitment that the Site will be available without interruption or error. We may modify, suspend, remove, or discontinue any part of the Site, including published content, at any time and without notice.

10. Disclaimer of Warranties

THE SITE AND ITS CONTENT ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE,” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, ECHELON LEDGER DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, ACCURACY, AND ANY WARRANTY ARISING FROM COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE OF TRADE.

WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, OR THAT CONTENT IS CURRENT, COMPLETE, OR ACCURATE.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties, so parts of this section may not apply to you.

11. Limitation of Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, ECHELON LEDGER LLC AND ITS MEMBERS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTORS, AND AGENTS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR LOST PROFITS, LOST REVENUE, LOST DATA, TAX PENALTIES, INTEREST, OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THE SITE OR RELIANCE ON ITS CONTENT, WHETHER BASED IN CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR ANY OTHER THEORY, AND WHETHER OR NOT WE WERE ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

OUR TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THE SITE WILL NOT EXCEED ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100.00).

This section applies to use of the Site. Liability arising from bookkeeping services is governed by the applicable engagement agreement.

Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations of liability, so parts of this section may not apply to you.

12. Dispute Resolution and Binding Arbitration

Please read this section carefully. It affects your legal rights.

12.1 Informal Resolution First

Before starting arbitration or any legal proceeding, you agree to contact us at legal@echelonledger.com with a written description of the dispute and the relief you seek. We will do the same. Both parties agree to attempt in good faith to resolve the dispute informally for at least 30 days from the date of that notice.

12.2 Agreement to Arbitrate

If informal resolution fails, any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or your use of the Site, including its formation, interpretation, breach, or termination, will be resolved by binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Consumer Arbitration Rules or Commercial Arbitration Rules, as applicable, rather than in court.

The arbitration will be conducted by a single arbitrator. The seat of arbitration is Hillsborough County, Florida. Proceedings may be conducted remotely by agreement of the parties or at the arbitrator’s direction. The arbitrator’s award may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction.

This arbitration agreement is governed by the Federal Arbitration Act.

12.3 Class Action Waiver

Disputes will be arbitrated only on an individual basis. You and Echelon Ledger each waive any right to bring or participate in a class action, collective action, consolidated action, or representative proceeding. The arbitrator may not consolidate claims of more than one person and may not preside over any form of representative proceeding.

If this class action waiver is found unenforceable as to a particular claim or request for relief, that claim or request will be severed and heard in court under Section 13, and the remainder of the arbitration agreement stays in force.

12.4 Exceptions

Either party may bring an individual claim in small claims court if it qualifies. Either party may seek injunctive or equitable relief in court to protect intellectual property rights or to address unauthorized access to systems, without first proceeding through arbitration.

12.5 Opt-Out

You may opt out of this arbitration agreement by sending written notice to legal@echelonledger.com within 30 days of first accepting these Terms. The notice must include your name, the email address used, and a clear statement that you are opting out of arbitration. Opting out does not affect any other part of these Terms.

12.6 Time Limit

Any claim arising out of or related to these Terms or the Site must be filed within one year after the claim arises, or it is permanently barred, except where a longer period is required by law.

13. Governing Law and Venue

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Florida, without regard to its conflict of laws rules.

For any dispute not subject to arbitration under Section 12, and for any action to enforce an arbitration award, the parties consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the state and federal courts located in Hillsborough County, Florida, and waive any objection to that venue on grounds of inconvenient forum.

14. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Echelon Ledger LLC and its members, officers, employees, contractors, and agents from any claim, demand, loss, liability, or expense, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, arising out of your use of the Site, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any law or third-party right.

15. Changes to These Terms

We may revise these Terms at any time. The revised version takes effect when posted, and the “Last updated” date will change. Your continued use of the Site after a revision constitutes acceptance.

For material changes, we will make reasonable efforts to provide notice. If you do not agree to a revision, stop using the Site.

16. Termination

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Site at any time, for any reason, without notice. Sections that by their nature should survive termination will survive, including Sections 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 17.

17. General

Severability. If any provision of these Terms is held unenforceable, that provision will be limited or severed to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions stay in full force.

No waiver. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver of our right to enforce it later.

Assignment. You may not assign these Terms without our written consent. We may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.

Entire agreement. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Echelon Ledger regarding the Site, and supersede prior understandings on that subject. They do not supersede a signed engagement agreement, which governs services.

Force majeure. Neither party is liable for delay or failure to perform caused by events beyond its reasonable control.

Headings. Section headings are for convenience and do not affect interpretation.

18. Contact