Privacy Policy

Pear Accountants ("Pear," "we," "us," or "our") respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, retain, and protect personal information when you visit www.pearaccountants.com, use our forms, request a consultation, subscribe to updates, or otherwise interact with our marketing site and related online services (the "Site").

This Policy is designed to align with major data protection and consumer privacy frameworks that may apply to our visitors and clients, including the EU/UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR/UK GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CCPA/CPRA), and similar US state laws such as the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA), Colorado Privacy Act (CPA), Connecticut Data Privacy Act (CTDPA), Utah Consumer Privacy Act (UCPA), and other applicable state privacy statutes. It also reflects COPPA expectations for children's data and common US professional confidentiality standards for accounting practices.

This Policy applies to the Site and marketing communications. If you become a client, a signed engagement letter, engagement terms, and professional confidentiality rules may provide additional or different protections for client workpapers and tax data.

We may collect the following categories of information:

• Identifiers and contact data: name, email, phone, company name, mailing address, and similar details you submit.
• Commercial and inquiry data: service interests, formation state preferences, messages, and consultation requests.
• Financial context you choose to share in forms or calls (for example entity type or approximate stage). We do not ask for full card numbers on this marketing Site.
• Internet and device data: IP address, browser type, device identifiers, pages viewed, referring URLs, and approximate location derived from IP.
• Cookies and similar technologies: necessary, analytics, and marketing cookies as described in Cookies and tracking.
• Communications data: emails, call notes, and support messages related to your inquiry.
• Professional or employment data if you apply for a role (resume, LinkedIn URL, work history) when careers features are enabled.

We collect information directly from you, automatically from your device when you use the Site, and from service providers that help us operate hosting, analytics, email, scheduling, and security tools.

We use personal information to:

• Respond to consultation requests and route inquiries to the right Pear team.
• Provide, maintain, and improve the Site, including security, debugging, and load performance.
• Send service-related messages and, where permitted, newsletters or educational content.
• Personalize content and measure campaign effectiveness when analytics or marketing cookies are enabled.
• Comply with law, enforce our Terms of Use, and protect Pear, our clients, and the public.
• Support professional onboarding if you become a client (subject to separate engagement terms).

Where GDPR/UK GDPR applies, we rely on one or more lawful bases: contract or pre-contract steps, legitimate interests (for example Site security and B2B inquiries), consent (for optional cookies and some marketing), and legal obligation.

We do not sell personal information for money. Under CCPA/CPRA, some sharing for cross-context behavioral advertising can be treated as a "sale" or "sharing." You can opt out through Cookie Preferences and by contacting us.

We may disclose information to:

• Service providers and processors (hosting, CRM, email delivery, analytics, security, scheduling) under contractual limits.
• Professional advisors (legal, insurance, auditors) under confidentiality duties.
• Authorities when required by law, court order, or to protect rights and safety.
• A successor entity in a merger, acquisition, or asset transfer, subject to this Policy or equivalent protections.

We do not authorize service providers to use Site inquiry data for their own unrelated marketing.

Pear primarily operates in the United States. If you access the Site from the EEA, UK, Switzerland, or another region, your information may be processed in the United States or other countries that may not provide the same legal protections as your home country.

Where required, we use appropriate transfer safeguards such as Standard Contractual Clauses, vendor Data Processing Agreements, and transfer impact assessments for processors that handle EU/UK personal data.

We use administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information, including access controls, encryption in transit where appropriate, least-privilege practices, and vendor diligence. No method of transmission or storage is fully secure. If we believe a breach creates a legal notification duty, we will notify affected individuals and regulators as required by applicable law (including state breach statutes and GDPR Articles 33 to 34 where they apply).

We keep personal information only as long as needed for the purposes described in this Policy, including to meet legal, accounting, tax, dispute, and professional recordkeeping requirements. Marketing contacts can unsubscribe at any time. Cookie identifiers follow the retention periods of each tool and your preference settings.

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or receive a portable copy of personal information; opt out of targeted advertising, sale, or certain profiling; limit use of sensitive personal information; appeal a denial; and withdraw consent where processing is consent-based.

California residents may also have rights under CCPA/CPRA, including knowledge, deletion, correction, and opt-out of sale/sharing, and non-discrimination for exercising rights. Residents of Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, and other states with comprehensive privacy laws may have similar rights subject to statutory thresholds and exemptions.

EU/UK individuals may also object to processing based on legitimate interests, restrict processing in certain cases, and lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority.

To exercise rights, email privacy@pearaccountants.com with enough detail for us to verify your request. We may need additional information to confirm identity. Authorized agents may submit requests where state law allows, subject to verification.

We use cookies and similar technologies. Necessary cookies support core functions such as security and remembering your cookie choice. Analytics cookies help us understand Site performance. Marketing cookies help measure campaigns and may support remarketing.

You can manage optional cookies through our Cookie Preferences panel (footer link or first-visit banner). You can also control cookies in your browser. Blocking some cookies may affect Site features.

Where consent is required (for example under ePrivacy guidance in the EU/UK), we request consent before enabling non-essential cookies.

Please do not submit Social Security numbers, full bank account numbers, taxpayer ID numbers, medical details, or other highly sensitive data through general marketing forms. Share that information only through approved client channels after engagement, under professional confidentiality rules and IRS Circular 230 / applicable professional standards where relevant.

The Site is not directed to children under 16 (or under 13 where COPPA applies). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child provided information, contact us and we will delete it as required.

The Site may link to third-party websites or embeds. Their privacy practices are governed by their own policies. We are not responsible for third-party content or practices.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date shows the latest revision. Material changes will be posted on this page and, where required, communicated by additional notice or renewed consent.

Privacy requests and questions: privacy@pearaccountants.com

General inquiries: hello@pearaccountants.com

Pear Accountants, Attn: Privacy, [Mailing address to be confirmed before launch].