Terms & Conditions

Eligibility & Account Registration

To use CPA Connections, you must:

• Be at least 18 years of age.
• Have the legal capacity to enter into a binding agreement.
• Provide accurate, current, and complete information when creating your account.
• Verify your email address before accessing platform features.
• Not have been previously suspended or removed from the platform by CPA Connections.

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials and for all activities that occur under your account. You must notify us immediately at support@cpaconnections.com if you suspect unauthorized access.

Platform Overview & User Roles

CPA Connections is a two-sided marketplace that connects:

• Clients — businesses and individuals seeking accounting, tax, bookkeeping, payroll, CFO advisory, and related financial services.
• Experts — verified CPA professionals, accountants, bookkeepers, and financial advisors who offer services through the platform.
• Team Members — individuals invited by a client or Expert to collaborate within a shared workspace on the platform.
• Administrators — CPA Connections staff who manage the platform, resolve disputes, process withdrawals, and configure system settings.

Expert Responsibilities

By registering as an Expert on CPA Connections, you represent and agree that:

• You hold all required professional credentials, licenses, and certifications applicable to the services you offer.
• Your profile information — including your headline, bio, specializations, and credentials — is accurate and not misleading.
• You will fulfill service engagements you accept in a professional, timely, and competent manner.
• You will not solicit clients to conduct transactions or communicate outside the platform to circumvent our fee structure.
• You are solely responsible for the quality of work delivered and for complying with all applicable professional and regulatory standards.
• You understand that subscription plan limits (active client limits, platform fee percentages) vary by tier and are subject to the current plan you hold.
• All earnings are subject to the platform fee deducted at the time of payment as defined by your subscription plan.

Client Responsibilities

By registering as a Client on CPA Connections, you agree that:

• You will provide accurate information about your business and service requirements.
• You will pay all fees associated with services hired or consultations booked through the platform promptly and in full.
• You will review and respond to Expert deliverables within a reasonable timeframe.
• You will not attempt to contact Experts outside the platform for the purpose of circumventing platform fees.
• You will submit disputes through the platform's formal dispute process rather than initiating chargebacks without first contacting CPA Connections.
• Reviews and ratings submitted must be honest, accurate, and based on your genuine experience with the Expert.

Payments, Fees & Subscription Plans

Client payments: All payments for service hires and consultation bookings are processed through Stripe. Payments are held by the platform until the engagement is completed and approved, at which point the Expert's share is credited to their platform balance.

Platform fees: CPA Connections deducts a platform fee from each transaction. The fee percentage depends on the Expert's active subscription plan:

• Free Plan — higher platform fee percentage; limited to a set number of active clients.
• Professional Plan — reduced platform fee; higher active client limit.
• Premium Plan — lowest platform fee; highest active client limit and additional platform features.

Current plan pricing and fee percentages are displayed on the Subscription page within the Expert dashboard and are subject to change with 30 days' notice.

Subscription billing: Expert subscription plans are billed monthly through Stripe. Subscriptions auto-renew unless cancelled before the renewal date. Cancellation of a subscription downgrades the account to the Free tier at the end of the current billing period.

Withdrawals & Payouts

Experts may request withdrawal of their available platform balance at any time by submitting a withdrawal request through the Expert dashboard. The following conditions apply:

• Withdrawal requests are reviewed and approved by CPA Connections administrators.
• Approved withdrawals are transferred to the payment method on file (bank transfer or card), subject to processing times of the respective financial institution.
• CPA Connections reserves the right to delay or withhold a withdrawal if there is an active dispute associated with the relevant funds, a suspected policy violation, or a compliance concern.
• Experts may dispute an administrator decision regarding a withdrawal through the withdrawal messaging system within the platform.
• Minimum withdrawal amounts and any applicable processing fees will be disclosed at the time of the withdrawal request.

Disputes & Refunds

CPA Connections provides a formal dispute resolution process for disagreements arising from service engagements:

• Disputes must be initiated within 14 days of the relevant event (e.g., deliverable submission, payment, or engagement completion).
• Both parties will have the opportunity to present their case through the platform's dispute messaging system.
• A CPA Connections administrator will review the dispute and issue a resolution. Administrator decisions are final and binding.
• Refunds to clients, where granted, are issued to the original payment method used for the transaction.
• Initiating a credit card chargeback without first using the platform's dispute process may result in account suspension.

Prohibited Conduct

You agree not to use the CPA Connections platform to:

• Post false, misleading, or fraudulent information in your profile, service listings, or communications.
• Solicit other users to conduct transactions outside the platform to avoid platform fees.
• Harass, threaten, or abuse other users, including through the messaging system.
• Submit fake, inflated, or retaliatory reviews or ratings.
• Use the platform for any purpose that violates applicable laws or regulations, including money laundering or tax evasion.
• Attempt to access, modify, or interfere with the platform's systems, code, or other users' data without authorization.
• Create multiple accounts to circumvent a suspension or account limitation.
• Use automated bots, scrapers, or other non-human tools to interact with the platform.
• Impersonate any person, business, or professional credential you do not hold.

Violation of these prohibitions may result in immediate account suspension and/or termination, forfeiture of platform balance, and referral to appropriate law enforcement authorities.

Intellectual Property

All content, design, software, trademarks, logos, and other materials on the CPA Connections platform are the property of CPA Connections or its licensors and are protected by applicable intellectual property laws.

By submitting content to the platform (including profile information, service descriptions, messages, and deliverables), you grant CPA Connections a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to display and use that content solely for the purpose of operating the platform and providing services to you.

You retain ownership of original work you create and deliver to clients through the platform. Clients receive usage rights to deliverables as agreed between the parties. CPA Connections is not a party to any intellectual property transfer between clients and Experts.

Disclaimers & Limitation of Liability

THE CPA CONNECTIONS PLATFORM IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.

CPA Connections does not guarantee the accuracy of Expert credentials, the quality of services delivered, or the outcomes of any engagement. We are a marketplace platform and are not responsible for the professional conduct or advice of any Expert.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, CPA CONNECTIONS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, OR DATA, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THE PLATFORM, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING FROM THESE TERMS OR YOUR USE OF THE PLATFORM SHALL NOT EXCEED THE TOTAL FEES PAID BY YOU TO CPA CONNECTIONS IN THE 12 MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM.

Team Features

CPA Connections provides team workspace functionality allowing clients and Experts to invite team members to collaborate on projects. By using team features:

• The team owner (the client or Expert who creates the team) is responsible for all activities of their team members within the platform.
• Team members accept limited access — they may participate in conversations, view assigned projects, and download shared files, but cannot make payments or withdraw funds.
• Invitations to team members are sent via email. The inviting party is responsible for ensuring they have permission to share platform-related communications with the invited individual.
• Team members must comply with these Terms upon accepting an invitation and using the platform.
• The team owner may remove team members at any time. CPA Connections administrators may also remove team members for policy violations.

Account Suspension & Termination

CPA Connections reserves the right to suspend, restrict, or permanently terminate any account at any time, with or without notice, for reasons including but not limited to:

• Violation of these Terms or our posted policies.
• Fraudulent, deceptive, or illegal activity.
• Persistent negative feedback or unresolved disputes.
• Non-payment of fees or chargebacks made in bad faith.
• Inactivity for an extended period (12+ months).

You may close your own account at any time by contacting us. Closing your account does not relieve you of any outstanding financial obligations. Transaction records will be retained as required by law.

Upon termination, your access to the platform will be revoked. Any platform balance may be forfeited if the account is terminated for policy violations.

Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Texas, United States, without regard to its conflict of law provisions. Any dispute arising under or in connection with these Terms that cannot be resolved through our internal dispute process shall be submitted to binding arbitration in Texas, unless you are located in a jurisdiction where arbitration clauses are prohibited.

You agree that any legal action or proceeding relating to your use of the platform shall be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Texas, and you consent to the personal jurisdiction of such courts.

Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page and notify registered users by email at least 14 days before the changes take effect.

Your continued use of the platform after the effective date of updated Terms constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not agree to the updated Terms, you must stop using the platform and close your account.

Contact Us

If you have questions about these Terms or need clarification on any policy, please contact us:

• Email: support@cpaconnections.com
• Phone: (817) 650-6198
• Address: CPA Connections, United States

You can also view our Privacy Policy to understand how we handle your personal data.