Terms of Service

By accessing or using AskAccountant (the "Platform"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service, our Privacy Policy, and any additional policies or notices presented at the point of use.

If you do not agree, you must not use the Platform. If you use the Platform on behalf of a business or organization, you represent that you have authority to bind that entity to these Terms.

• "Platform" means the AskAccountant website, applications, consultation rooms, messaging tools, and related services operated by AskAccountant.
• "Client" means a user who searches for, books, or engages accounting professionals through the Platform.
• "Accountant" or "Professional" means an independent user who lists services, accepts bookings, submits proposals, or delivers work through the Platform. Accountants are not employees or agents of AskAccountant.
• "Consultation" or "Booking" means a scheduled session booked and paid through the Platform, typically conducted via the integrated video consultation room.
• "Service Request" or "Engagement" means a scoped work arrangement initiated through the Platform, which may include proposals, milestones, invoices, documents, completion acceptance, and payout processing.
• "Platform Fee" means the service fee charged to Accountants on confirmed, paid transactions processed through the Platform, as disclosed at listing, booking, or invoice time.

AskAccountant is a technology marketplace and intermediary. We provide tools for discovery, booking, communication, document sharing, invoicing, payment tracking, dispute handling, and payout administration.

AskAccountant is not a licensed accounting firm, law firm, tax agency, or employer of the professionals listed on the Platform. We do not provide accounting, tax, audit, legal, or financial advice.

Any professional advice is provided solely by the independent Accountant you choose to engage. The professional relationship is between the Client and the Accountant, not between either party and AskAccountant.

You must provide accurate, current, and complete registration information and keep your account credentials secure. You are responsible for all activity under your account.

Accountants must maintain truthful profile information, including credentials, rates, availability, and service descriptions. Clients must provide accurate contact and billing information required to complete bookings and engagements.

You must be at least 18 years old and legally able to enter into binding contracts under Philippine law. AskAccountant may refuse, suspend, or terminate accounts that violate these Terms or applicable law.

Accountants control their public listings, including services offered, pricing, availability, and professional background information. AskAccountant may review, approve, publish, reject, suspend, or remove listings at its discretion.

Verification badges, license checks, and credential reviews indicate that specified information was submitted and reviewed according to Platform procedures at a point in time. Verification does not guarantee future performance, availability, regulatory standing, or suitability for a particular matter.

CPA-only or restricted service categories may require additional verification before a listing or service can be published.

Clients book consultations by selecting an available slot and paying the rate displayed on the Accountant's profile. Booking times are interpreted in Philippine Standard Time unless otherwise stated in the product interface.

Consultations may be conducted through the Platform's integrated video consultation room. Attendance, lateness, partial attendance, no-show, rescheduling, and cancellation outcomes may affect eligibility for refunds, payout entitlement, or dispute review according to the policies shown before booking and the records available in the Platform.

A consultation provides professional guidance based on information disclosed during the session. Unless the parties enter into a separate written engagement through the Platform or otherwise, a consultation does not by itself create an ongoing retainer, representation, or full professional engagement.

• Clients should raise booking-related concerns through the Platform while the booking remains eligible for review.
• Accountants may raise booking disputes for eligible completed bookings or certain no-show outcomes, subject to Platform rules and administrator review.
• No-show, refund, and reschedule requests may require supporting information and are subject to Platform and administrator review.

Beyond consultations, Clients and Accountants may use Service Requests to define scoped work, exchange proposals, track progress, share documents, issue invoices, and record completion.

Payment terms may include milestones, down payments, balances due on completion, or other structures displayed on the relevant invoice or engagement record.

When an Accountant marks work complete and the Client accepts completion, the Platform may activate a dispute window before payout entitlement is released to the Accountant. The length of the dispute window and related controls are configured in Platform settings and shown in the engagement interface.

• Clients may raise a service-request dispute only during an active dispute window, for eligible reasons such as incomplete work, quality issues, missing deliverables, or scope disagreement.
• Clients may voluntarily waive the dispute window if they confirm they are satisfied with the delivered work. Waiving the dispute window releases payout entitlement for that engagement according to Platform rules and may be irreversible for that transaction.
• If no dispute is raised and the dispute window expires according to Platform settings, payout entitlement may be granted automatically unless another hold applies.

Payments for bookings and invoices must be made through the Platform unless explicitly permitted otherwise by AskAccountant in writing. Supported payment methods and provider availability may change over time.

Accountants are charged a Platform Fee on confirmed, paid transactions processed through the Platform. The current default Platform Fee is 10%, but the fee in effect for a transaction is the fee disclosed or snapshotted at the time of calculation. Clients generally pay the rate shown by the Accountant; the Platform Fee is deducted from the Accountant side unless otherwise stated.

Payout entitlement may be placed on hold while a dispute is open, during an active dispute window, or while required verification, compliance, or finance review is pending.

Refunds, cancellation charges, and dispute outcomes may be subject to separate refund and cancellation charge settings. Financial records may store fee and charge snapshots for auditability.

• AskAccountant is not a bank, escrow agent, or trust company. Payment processing and payout administration are provided as platform services subject to these Terms and applicable law.
• Accountants are responsible for their own tax, regulatory, and professional obligations arising from income earned through the Platform.
• Attempting to circumvent Platform payments, fees, or payout controls is prohibited and may result in account suspension.

AskAccountant provides an internal dispute process for eligible booking and service-request transactions that were initiated, documented, and paid through the Platform.

Disputes may be raised by Clients or Accountants depending on transaction type, status, and current Platform settings. Dispute categories may include refund requests, service quality concerns, no-show claims, payment issues, incomplete work, missing deliverables, scope disagreement, and other categories presented in the interface.

When a dispute is opened, AskAccountant or its administrators may review messages, booking records, attendance data, invoices, documents, payment records, and other Platform evidence. Outcomes may include full or partial refund, payout release, payout denial, cancellation of the dispute, or other resolutions supported by the Platform.

You agree to cooperate in good faith, provide accurate information, and respond within reasonable timeframes while a Platform dispute is under review.

If a Client and an Accountant disagree about work, payment, advice, deliverables, confidentiality, or any other matter that is not fully captured in an eligible Platform transaction, or if the disagreement continues after a Platform dispute is closed, the parties must resolve that disagreement directly between themselves.

This includes disagreements arising from communications, payments, or services arranged outside the Platform; verbal arrangements not reflected in Platform records; continued work after a consultation without a documented Service Request or invoice; or expectations that go beyond the scope shown in the booking, proposal, or invoice.

AskAccountant is not a mediator, arbitrator, regulator, or guarantor for off-platform arrangements. We do not owe a duty to investigate, adjudicate, or remedy disputes that are outside the scope of Platform records and eligible dispute workflows.

• To the fullest extent permitted by law, you release AskAccountant and its officers, directors, employees, contractors, and affiliates from claims, losses, damages, demands, and expenses arising out of or related to off-platform dealings between users.
• You waive any right to hold AskAccountant responsible for the quality, legality, completeness, or outcome of professional services except to the extent directly caused by AskAccountant's own gross negligence or willful misconduct in operating the Platform itself.
• When you waive a dispute window or accept completion on a Service Request, you acknowledge that this action relates to the Platform transaction shown in your account and does not prevent either party from pursuing separate legal remedies against the other for matters outside Platform scope, at their own cost and risk.
• For ongoing or complex engagements, the parties are strongly encouraged to use Platform Service Requests and invoices and, where appropriate, execute a separate written engagement letter defining scope, deliverables, fees, timelines, and confidentiality obligations.

Clients may leave reviews for eligible completed engagements according to Platform rules. Reviews must be honest, relevant, and based on actual experience.

AskAccountant may remove or moderate reviews that are fraudulent, abusive, retaliatory, unrelated to the service, or otherwise violate Platform policies.

Accountants may not offer incentives for positive reviews or attempt to manipulate ratings.

The Platform provides messaging, document sharing, and consultation tools to support booked services and documented engagements.

Users should use Platform communication channels for booking-related and engagement-related correspondence so that records remain available for support and dispute review.

Consultation sessions and uploaded documents may be accessed by Platform administrators only when reasonably necessary for support, fraud prevention, compliance, or dispute resolution. Additional confidentiality obligations between Client and Accountant may apply under professional standards, separate agreements, or applicable law.

• Misrepresenting credentials, licenses, experience, or identity.
• Circumventing Platform payments, fees, or payout controls.
• Harassment, discrimination, threats, or abusive behavior toward other users or staff.
• Uploading malware, unlawful content, or documents you do not have the right to share.
• Scraping, reverse engineering, or interfering with Platform security or operations.
• Submitting false disputes, fake reviews, or fraudulent refund or no-show claims.
• Using the Platform for unlawful purposes or in violation of BIR, SEC, BOA, or other applicable professional or regulatory requirements.

Information on the Platform is provided for general marketplace purposes. It is not a substitute for professional advice tailored to your circumstances.

Accountants are solely responsible for the services they provide, including compliance with applicable professional standards, licensing requirements, and laws. Clients remain responsible for the accuracy of information they provide and for decisions made based on professional advice received.

AskAccountant does not guarantee any particular tax outcome, filing result, audit result, business registration result, or financial result.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, AskAccountant is not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for lost profits, lost data, business interruption, or reputational harm arising from use of the Platform.

AskAccountant is not liable for the acts, omissions, advice, or deliverables of any Accountant or Client.

Where liability cannot be excluded, AskAccountant's total aggregate liability arising out of or relating to the Platform or these Terms is limited to the greater of (a) the Platform fees paid by you to AskAccountant in the twelve (12) months before the event giving rise to the claim, or (b) PHP 5,000.

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless AskAccountant and its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, and agents from claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of your use of the Platform, your services or content, your breach of these Terms, your violation of law, or your dispute with another user to the extent not caused by AskAccountant's own gross negligence or willful misconduct.

AskAccountant may suspend or terminate access to the Platform at any time for violations of these Terms, suspected fraud, risk to users, legal requirements, or operational reasons.

Termination does not eliminate payment obligations for completed or in-progress transactions that were validly incurred before termination, nor does it prevent AskAccountant from retaining records required by law or legitimate business purposes.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of the Philippines, without regard to conflict-of-law principles.

You agree that courts located in Metro Manila, Philippines shall have exclusive jurisdiction over disputes arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Platform, except where mandatory consumer protection law provides otherwise.

AskAccountant may update these Terms from time to time. When changes are material, we may notify registered users by email or in-app notice.

Continued use of the Platform after the effective date of updated Terms constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

For questions about these Terms, contact us at support@askaccountant.ph. For privacy-related requests, refer to our Privacy Policy.