At Accuchex we share your concerns about privacy and confidentiality. Our clients have trusted us with their payroll needs since 1990, and we understand that it is important for us to maintain a high level of both system and personnel integrity. We want you to understand how we protect your privacy.
Information Collection
With few exceptions, the information that we collect from you and that we manage for your benefit is information that you deliver to us so that we can provide the services you desire from Accuchex (i.e., employee, payroll and other data). In addition, certain services that Accuchex provides for you may require Accuchex to request a standard credit report on your business from a credit reporting agency or from specific credit references. In some instances you may contact Accuchex or our Web site, or Accuchex may contact you, as a result of a referral from a co-branded business partner who may supply us with limited contact information as part of a national program offering special benefits to you. In other cases, we may obtain your publicly available contact information from sources such as the Internet, professional or business organizations, the Yellow Pages, as a result of a personal referral from your accounting professionals, from another Accuchex client, or from any other person. Finally, our Web site may retain certain personally identifiable or non-personal information from visitors to the site for internal maintenance and research purposes, which is discussed more fully below.
General Privacy Policy
Virtually all of the services that Accuchex provides to you involve the handling or processing of your contact information, employee compensation information, withholding and benefits data, and in many cases your company, and your employees’ individual, banking information. It is also possible that, during the course of performing our services, talking to you, visiting your offices, or receiving information or communications from you, both directly and over the Internet, Accuchex may encounter other information relating to your business that is proprietary or confidential to you. For purposes of this Statement we will refer to all of this information as your “Client Information.” We understand how sensitive your Client Information is to you, and we are committed to protecting your Client Information and safeguarding your privacy. Subject to the exceptions listed below, Accuchex will safeguard your Client Information with the same level of care and diligence with which we safeguard our own confidential information. All Accuchex employees are subject to a strict Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Policy and all understand that it can and will be strictly enforced. Accuchex is committed to handling your Client Information with all reasonable standards of information security and we will employ reasonable technical, physical and operational precautions to protect your data and your Client Information. If you would like further information concerning our technological safeguards, please contact an Accuchex representative or write to us at the following address:
Accuchex Corporation
365 Bel Marin Keys Blvd
Novato, CA 94949
Accuchex does not and will not sell or rent any of your Client Information to third parties.
Client Information – Confidentiality Conditions
- Accuchex’s undertaking to keep all of your Client Information confidential is subject to the following standard legal and common sense exceptions:
- Accuchex may disclose Client Information to our own employees, affiliates, or service providers who have a need to know in order for Accuchex to provide the services you have requested that we provide to you. Each of these parties will be subject to confidentiality restrictions comparable to those in effect with our own employees.
- Accuchex will disclose Client Information when, and to whom, you explicitly authorize and/or direct us to do so. For example: in order to provide you with our tax filing and payment service, you will have to provide us with a Power of Attorney authorizing us to sign your employment tax returns and speak to the taxing authorities on your behalf if the need arises.
- Accuchex will disclose Client Information when your consent to disclosure is implied by the nature of your request for services from us. For example: if you ask us to get you a quote on your worker’s compensation insurance, we will have to share relevant Client Information with the insurance company and possibly with a licensed insurance broker.
- While not a standard business practice, Accuchex legally:
- may disclose any information already lawfully in its possession without any obligation of confidentiality;
- may disclose any information that is developed independently by Accuchex or procured from sources other than you without obligation of confidentiality;
- may disclose any information that is publicly available when received by Accuchex, or which becomes publicly available through no fault of Accuchex;
- may disclose any information that you disclose to another without obligation of confidentiality;
- Accuchex may disclose Client Information in limited circumstances when we in good faith believe that disclosure is required under the law. For example: Accuchex may be required to disclose Client Information to cooperate with regulators or law enforcement authorities, to comply with a specific legal process such as a court order, subpoena, or search warrant, or to comply with a law enforcement request.
Third Party Relationships
Accuchex has limited relationships with third parties to assist us in servicing you. For example, by making certain specialized knowledge bases available to our clients. In each instance, however, these service providers are contractually required to maintain the confidentiality of the information we provide to them.
Additionally, Accuchex has business partners that provide services, some of which are co-branded. In each instance, we clearly identify partner services and sites. When you request any of these products or services from Accuchex, you are permitting us to provide your contact or limited, relevant Client Information necessary to the partner to fulfill your request or to verify your participation in the partner’s special or other program involving Accuchex. Other than those instances in which an Accuchex client has a preexisting relationship with Accuchex’s business partner, Accuchex does not sell, rent, share or disclose its clients’ identities to other parties for marketing or promotional purposes.
Web Technologies
Accuchex uses, or it may in the future use, a variety of technologies on our Web site. Hits to our Accuchex.com, or other Accuchex landing sites are tracked on our Web server, solely for purposes of managing our traffic and bandwidth usage, but are not linked to any name or personally identifiable login information.
On the other hand, if you choose to submit your sensitive payroll data via our Accuchex Internet Web interface, such data is only accepted on a secure, data-encrypted Web page behind a firewall, and your identity will necessarily be established both by secure login procedures as well as through cookies which identify your computer. Cookies are pieces of information that our Web site provides to your browser. Cookies allow us to track overall site usage and determine areas users prefer. Cookies also allow us to customize your visit to our Web site by recognizing you when you return. You can choose to decline cookies while at our Web site, however, this may limit your ability to access certain areas of the Web site. Most browsers accept and maintain cookies by default. Check the “Help” menu of your browser to learn how to change your cookie preference.
When Accuchex tracks activity on any Accuchex Web site, we collect information such as your IP address, browser type and version, and the pages that you view. Accuchex may also keep track of how you get to our sites and any links you click on to leave our sites. Accuchex does not track non-Accuchex URLs that you type into your browser – Accuchex does not track you across the Internet once you leave our sites, and Accuchex does not disclose your URL to other parties – this information is used by Accuchex for internal purposes only. Accuchex only uses your Web site activity to assist you by, aiding security, reducing the need to re-enter your data and/or to help us resolve technical support issues. Accuchex may also use this information to offer you a personalized Web experience or to tailor our offerings to you.
You control whether you receive Accuchex promotional materials and may always opt out by clicking on the icon or checkbox that indicates you do not want to receive any promotional materials.
To provide you with a seamless experience, Accuchex may occasionally use framing or provide links to non-Accuchex Web sites. Though your browser may indicate you are at an Accuchex site, you may be on the site of an Accuchex partner.
When visiting a partner’s Web site or any non-Accuchex linked Web site, you will be subject to the privacy policies in effect with respect to that site. Accuchex has no control over that Web site’s security or privacy policies. If you have questions about a Web site’s practices, please review that Web site’s privacy policy.
Changes to this Policy
This privacy policy may be changed, refined or updated from time to time without prior notice, so feel free to check periodically to make sure you are aware of Accuchex’s most up to date privacy policies.