These Terms of Service (the “Terms”) govern use of the ARCounsel website at arcounsel.com and the ARCounsel dashboard and client portal at app.arcounsel.com, including the connection to QuickBooks Online (together, the “Service”). The Service is provided by ARCounsel (“ARCounsel,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). The Terms also serve as the end-user license agreement for the ARCounsel application. By accessing or using the Service, you agree to these Terms. If you use the Service for a law firm, you confirm that you have authority to accept these Terms for that firm. In these Terms, the firm is called the “Firm” and its authorized users are called “you.”
A Firm that engages ARCounsel also signs a written service agreement. If that agreement conflicts with these Terms, the service agreement controls.
What ARCounsel does
ARCounsel provides accounts receivable follow-up for law firms. Working from the Firm’s billing records, we send courteous payment reminders in the Firm’s name and follow up with the Firm’s clients for the Firm. We give the Firm a dashboard that shows outstanding balances, activity, and a weekly summary.
- Not a law firm. ARCounsel is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Using the Service does not create an attorney–client relationship with ARCounsel.
- No payment processing. ARCounsel does not accept, hold, or transmit money for anyone. Clients pay the Firm directly, through the payment link or instructions the Firm provides.
- What we don’t do. We don’t file lawsuits, report to credit bureaus, buy accounts, or negotiate disputes. If a client disputes a bill, we pause follow-up on that account and tell the Firm.
- No guaranteed results. We do not promise that any invoice will be paid.
License to use the Service
While the Firm’s engagement is in effect, ARCounsel grants the Firm and its authorized users a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use the Service for the Firm’s internal business purposes, as these Terms and the service agreement allow. ARCounsel keeps all rights not expressly granted.
Accounts and security
Firm accounts are created by ARCounsel or by a Firm administrator. Keep your password confidential. Don’t share your account, and tell us at info@arcounsel.com right away if you think someone has used it without permission. The Firm is responsible for activity under its users’ accounts, and for removing users who should no longer have access.
The Firm’s responsibilities
- Have the right to share its billing information with ARCounsel, and to have ARCounsel contact its clients about their invoices.
- Keep that information accurate. Tell us promptly about payments, disputes, bankruptcies, representation by other counsel, do-not-contact requests, and any account that should be left alone.
- Review and approve the reminder templates, scripts, schedule, and any payment-plan terms before follow-up begins.
- Decide how the professional-conduct, confidentiality, and other rules that apply to its practice affect the Service, and tell us about any limits we must follow.
QuickBooks Online connection
A Firm can connect its QuickBooks Online company, and only an administrator of that company can authorize the connection. ARCounsel’s access is read-only. We read customer, invoice, and payment records to keep follow-up accurate, and we never create, change, or delete anything in the Firm’s books. The Firm can disconnect at any time from inside QuickBooks Online, or by emailing us. Once it does, we can no longer read the Firm’s QuickBooks data. The Firm’s use of QuickBooks Online is governed by its agreement with Intuit. ARCounsel is not affiliated with or endorsed by Intuit. QuickBooks is a trademark of Intuit Inc.
The Firm’s data
The Firm owns the billing information and other data it provides or connects (“Firm Data”). The Firm gives ARCounsel permission to use Firm Data only to provide, secure, and support the Service for the Firm. We keep Firm Data confidential. We don’t sell it, and we don’t use it for anyone else. Our privacy policy describes how we handle information. When the engagement ends, we return or delete Firm Data as the service agreement provides.
Acceptable use
You agree not to:
- use the Service for anything unlawful, deceptive, or harassing
- try to access another firm’s data, or any part of the Service you are not authorized to use
- probe, scan, or test the Service’s security, or interfere with how it operates
- copy, modify, reverse engineer, resell, or build a competing product from the Service
- upload malicious code or information you have no right to share
Fees
Fees, the plan term, and renewal are set out in the Firm’s service agreement. Browsing the website is free.
Intellectual property
The Service, including its software, design, content, and the ARCounsel name and logo, belongs to ARCounsel. If you send us suggestions, we may use them without any obligation to you. Third-party names such as Clio, MyCase, Smokeball, LeanLaw, and QuickBooks are trademarks of their owners. We use them only to describe compatibility.
Third-party services
The Service relies on third-party providers, such as hosting, database, email delivery, and Intuit for QuickBooks. It may also link to other websites. Those services and sites have their own terms, and we are not responsible for them.
Suspension and termination
We may suspend access to protect the Service, its users, or the Firm’s clients, or if these Terms are breached. Where reasonable, we will give notice first. Ending the engagement is governed by the service agreement. Sections that by their nature should survive termination will survive it.
Disclaimers
Except as expressly stated in the service agreement, the Service is provided “as is” and “as available,” without warranties of any kind, express or implied. That includes warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We don’t warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted or error-free, or that data from third-party systems will always be current.
Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent the law permits, ARCounsel will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for lost profits, revenue, or data. ARCounsel’s total liability for any claim relating to the Service will not exceed the fees the Firm paid ARCounsel in the 12 months before the claim arose.
Indemnity
The Firm will defend and indemnify ARCounsel against third-party claims that arise from Firm Data, from the Firm’s instructions to us, or from the Firm’s breach of these Terms.
Governing law
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Illinois, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. Any dispute will be brought in the state or federal courts located in Cook County, Illinois.
Changes to these Terms
We may update these Terms. The “last updated” date above shows when they last changed. If a change is significant, we will tell firms that use the Service before it takes effect. If you keep using the Service after a change takes effect, you accept the updated Terms.
Contact
ARCounsel, Chicago, Illinois
Email: info@arcounsel.com