Terms of Use

Last updated July 27, 2026

What this is

These terms govern the use of the client portal at portal.fredrickjames.com, operated by Fredrick James Accounting, Tax & Consulting ("the firm"). By signing in or using the portal you agree to them. If you do not agree, do not use the portal; every service it provides is also available by calling the office.

The portal is a tool, not the engagement. The professional services we provide are governed by your engagement letter with the firm, and if these terms and your engagement letter ever disagree, the engagement letter wins.

Your account

Accounts are created by invitation from the firm. Your login belongs to you alone: keep your password to yourself, keep your authenticator device secure, and tell us promptly if you believe either has been compromised. You are responsible for activity that happens under your login until you do. If someone else in your household or business needs access, ask us and we will invite them with their own login.

Acceptable use

Use the portal for its purpose: exchanging documents, information, messages, signatures, and payments related to your engagement with the firm. Do not attempt to access another client's information, probe or disrupt the portal's security, upload software intended to do harm, or use the portal for anything unlawful. We may suspend access to protect the portal or its users.

Your documents

Documents and information you upload remain yours. You give the firm permission to store, process, and use them to provide your services, which is the entire reason you uploaded them. You are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of what you provide; our work depends on it.

Electronic records and signatures

By using the portal you consent to receive records, notices, and communications from the firm electronically, and to the use of electronic signatures where you choose to sign electronically. An electronic signature made through the portal has the same effect as ink under the federal ESIGN Act and Florida's Uniform Electronic Transactions Act. You may withdraw this consent or request paper copies at any time by contacting the office; withdrawing consent does not affect anything signed before it.

To use the portal you need a device with a modern web browser, an email address, and, for documents you download, a way to view PDF files.

Communications

The portal sends email notifications about activity on your file, such as document requests and delivered documents. If you have agreed to text messaging, our texting terms are described in the Privacy Policy, including how to stop at any time by replying STOP.

Availability

We intend the portal to be available whenever you need it, but we do not promise uninterrupted service. Maintenance, upgrades, and events outside our control can interrupt it. If the portal is down, call the office; nothing about your engagement depends on the portal being up.

Disclaimers and limits

The portal itself is provided as is. Content displayed in the portal is not professional advice by itself; advice comes from the firm through your engagement. To the fullest extent the law allows, the firm is not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from use of the portal as a piece of software. Nothing in these terms limits the firm's professional responsibilities under your engagement letter or any liability the law does not allow to be limited.

Ending access

You may stop using the portal at any time, and we may suspend or close portal access when an engagement ends or these terms are violated. Ending portal access does not by itself end an engagement, and our recordkeeping obligations described in the Privacy Policy continue either way. Copies of your documents are available from the office.

Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Florida, and any dispute about the portal itself belongs in the state or federal courts serving Pinellas County, Florida.

Changes

We may update these terms as the portal evolves. If a change matters, we will tell you through the portal or by email before it takes effect, and the date at the top will move. Continuing to use the portal after a change takes effect means you accept it.