This privacy policy explains how ARCounsel (“ARCounsel,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, shares, and protects information. It covers our website at arcounsel.com, the ARCounsel dashboard and client portal at app.arcounsel.com (together, the “Service”), and our connection to QuickBooks Online.
ARCounsel provides accounts receivable follow-up for law firms. When a firm engages us, we send courteous payment reminders to the firm’s clients and follow up with them on the firm’s behalf, using the firm’s own billing information. ARCounsel is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. We do not process payments. Clients pay the firm directly, through the payment link or instructions the firm already uses.
Who this policy covers
- Website visitors who browse arcounsel.com or ask about our services.
- Law firms and their staff who use the ARCounsel dashboard or client portal.
- Clients of the law firms we serve, whose billing and contact details we handle for those firms.
Information we collect
When you visit our website
If you send us a consult request, we collect what you enter. That can include your name, firm name, email address, phone number, the billing software your firm uses, an approximate accounts receivable range, and your message. Our website host also records standard technical information, such as IP address, browser type, and the pages requested, to run and secure the site. Our website uses fonts served by Google Fonts, so your browser sends your IP address to Google when the page loads. We do not use advertising cookies or third-party analytics on arcounsel.com.
When your firm uses the dashboard or portal
For each person with an account, we store their name, email address, role (for example, firm administrator or view-only), and a password. We keep passwords only as a one-way hash. We never store them in readable form. When you sign in, we set one session cookie that keeps you signed in. It is secure and HTTP-only, and it is required for the Service to work. We also keep the firm settings your firm gives us, such as the firm’s name, postal address, reply-to email, sender name, payment link, time zone, and follow-up schedule.
Billing information we receive from a firm
To run follow-up, we receive the firm’s billing records. A firm sends these by connecting its QuickBooks Online company (see below) or by uploading an A/R aging export. These records include:
- Client (customer) names, email addresses, and phone numbers
- Invoice numbers, invoice and due dates, amounts, open balances, and currency
- Payments received: amount, date, the related invoice, and the payer’s name
We do not ask for, and do not need, case files, matter details, documents, or notes about the legal work. We do not collect payment card numbers or bank account details.
Follow-up records
We keep a record of the follow-up we do. That record includes the reminder emails we prepare and send, call outcomes (for example, reached, voicemail, promise to pay, or dispute), notes our specialists write, paused accounts, and opt-out requests. The firm can see its own activity history in the portal. Some working notes are visible only to ARCounsel staff.
QuickBooks Online data
If a firm chooses to connect QuickBooks Online, an administrator of the firm’s QuickBooks company authorizes ARCounsel through Intuit’s secure sign-in. Then:
- We only read. ARCounsel reads customer, invoice, payment, and related records so we know what is owed and when something has been paid. ARCounsel never creates, changes, or deletes anything in a firm’s QuickBooks books.
- We use it only for that firm. We use QuickBooks data only to provide our follow-up service to the firm that connected it. We do not sell it, use it for advertising, or combine it with other firms’ data.
- Access tokens are encrypted. The access tokens Intuit issues to us are encrypted at rest. We never show them to anyone or share them.
- You can disconnect at any time. A firm can disconnect ARCounsel from inside QuickBooks Online, or by emailing info@arcounsel.com. After disconnection we can no longer read the firm’s QuickBooks data. A firm can also ask us to delete the connection and the data we copied from QuickBooks.
QuickBooks and Intuit are trademarks of Intuit Inc. Intuit’s own privacy statement governs how Intuit handles your information.
How we use information
- To provide the Service: prepare and send reminders, make follow-up calls, keep each firm’s dashboard and weekly summary up to date, and stop follow-up when an invoice is paid, paused, disputed, or opted out
- To respond to consult requests, questions, and support requests
- To secure the Service, prevent misuse, and troubleshoot problems
- To comply with law and enforce our agreements
We do not sell personal information, and we do not use a firm’s client information for our own marketing.
Information about a firm’s clients
When we contact a firm’s client, we act on the firm’s behalf, follow the firm’s instructions, and operate under our written agreement with that firm. The firm decides which clients and invoices are included, and it can exclude any of them. Every reminder email includes a link to stop further reminder emails. If you are a client of a firm we serve and want us to stop contacting you, use that link, tell the specialist you speak with, or email info@arcounsel.com. We will tell the firm and stop. Questions about the amount you owe, or about your legal matter, should go to your firm.
How we share information
We share information only as described here:
- With the firm it belongs to. Each firm sees only its own clients, invoices, and activity.
- With service providers who help us run the Service, under obligations to protect it. They include our website and application host (Netlify), our database provider (Neon, which hosts in the United States on Amazon Web Services), our email delivery provider, and Intuit, for the QuickBooks connection.
- When required by law, or to protect the rights, safety, or security of ARCounsel, our customers, or others.
- In a business transfer, such as a merger or sale of assets, subject to this policy.
- With your consent.
Where information is stored and how we protect it
We store information in the United States. We encrypt all connections to the Service in transit (HTTPS). QuickBooks access tokens are encrypted at rest, passwords are stored only as one-way hashes, and each firm’s data is kept separate from every other firm’s. Only ARCounsel staff who need it to do their work can access it. No system is perfectly secure, but we work to protect information and to fix issues promptly.
How long we keep information
We keep a firm’s billing and follow-up records while we provide the Service to that firm. After that, we return or delete them as our service agreement with the firm provides, unless the law requires us to keep them longer. We keep consult requests as long as needed to respond and follow up with you. Backup copies may remain for a short time before they are overwritten.
Your choices
You can ask us to access, correct, or delete personal information, or to stop sending you communications, by emailing info@arcounsel.com. If your information came to us from a law firm, we may send your request to that firm and act on its instructions, as our agreement with the firm requires. Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under state law. We will honor them as the law requires.
Children
The Service is meant for businesses and is not directed to children under 16. We do not knowingly collect information from children through our website.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy. The “last updated” date above shows when it last changed. If a change is significant, we will tell firms that use the Service before it takes effect.
Contact
ARCounsel, Chicago, Illinois
Email: info@arcounsel.com