Terms of service

1. About these terms

Apona is run by [Company name], a company registered in England and Wales (company number [number]), registered office [address]. In these terms, "we", "us" and "Apona" mean that company. "You" means the person or firm using Apona.

By creating an account, you agree to these terms and to our privacy policy, which explains how we use personal information. If you're signing up for a firm, you confirm you're allowed to agree on the firm's behalf.

If you use Apona for your own tax affairs, you're a consumer and have legal rights that these terms don't take away. If you use Apona for a business, such as an accountancy firm, some parts work differently, and those parts say so.

2. Your account

• You must be 18 or over to have an account.
• Give us accurate details and keep them up to date.
• Keep your password and your two-step sign-in device safe, and don't share your account. Each person who uses Apona needs their own sign-in.
• Tell us straight away at [email protected] if you think someone else has got into your account.

3. Your tax return is your responsibility

Apona helps you prepare a tax return and works out the tax using HMRC's published rules. But:

• The return is yours. You, or your accountant if you have one, are responsible for what's on it. Check the figures and the calculation before you approve it. HMRC holds the taxpayer responsible for an accurate return.
• Apona isn't tax advice. The guides explain HMRC's forms in plain English, but they can't cover everyone's circumstances. If you're unsure, ask an accountant or HMRC.
• Deadlines are yours too. You're responsible for filing and paying on time. Apona's reminders are there to help, but they don't replace your own diary.

If something goes wrong because Apona didn't work as it should, section 12 explains what we're responsible for.

4. The beta

Apona is in beta. That means:

• it's free to use until we tell you otherwise
• features may change, be added or be removed as we develop it
• sending returns to HMRC from Apona will open once HMRC has finished recognising the software. Until then, you can prepare returns and download them as PDFs.

We'll give you at least [30 days'] notice by email before the beta ends and any charges start. Nothing will be charged unless you choose a paid plan.

5. Paying for Apona

When paid plans start:

• prices are shown before you pay, in pounds sterling
• card payments are taken by our payment provider. Subscriptions renew automatically each month or year until you cancel.
• you can cancel at any time in your settings. Your plan carries on until the end of the period you've paid for.
• add-ons, such as the Practice add-on for accountants, are charged on top of your plan
• we'll give you at least [30 days'] notice of a price rise, and you can cancel before it applies

If you're a consumer: your right to cancel

You have 14 days from buying a plan to change your mind and get a refund. If you ask to start using the paid plan straight away, and then cancel within the 14 days, we'll refund what you paid minus a fair amount for the time you've used it. Once you've filed a return using the paid plan, you can't cancel for that return.

6. Using Apona fairly

Don't:

• use Apona for anything illegal, or to prepare a return you know is false
• add someone else's tax affairs unless you're allowed to, for example as their accountant or with their permission
• try to get into accounts or data that aren't yours, test our security without our written permission, or upload anything harmful
• copy, resell or reverse-engineer Apona, or use automated tools to pull information out of it

If you break these rules, we may suspend or close your account (see section 11).

7. Your information

• It stays yours. You own the information you put into Apona. You give us permission to store and use it only to run Apona for you, as our privacy policy explains.
• You can take it with you. You can download your returns as PDFs at any time.
• Apona stays ours. We own the software, its design, guides and wording. You can use it while your account is open, but you don't own it.

8. Extra terms for accountancy firms

This section applies to firms that use the Accountants module or the Practice add-on.

• Your team. You're responsible for everyone you invite to your firm's account, for the role you give each person, and for removing people who leave.
• Your clients. You must have your clients' agreement, and a lawful reason under data protection law, to put their information into Apona and to act for them with HMRC.
• Your professional work. You're responsible for the advice you give, the returns you prepare and approve, and your own professional and anti-money-laundering obligations. That includes your engagement letters and identity checks. Apona provides places to keep them, but not the wording or the checks themselves.
• Emails you send. You're responsible for the emails your firm sends through Apona, whether they're sent from Apona or from a mailbox you've connected. When you connect a Google or Microsoft mailbox, their own terms apply to it too.
• Your branding. You must have the right to use any logo you upload. Pages shown to your clients will say "Powered by Apona Software".
• Business use. Your firm uses Apona as a business. The consumer rights in section 5 don't apply, and the business limits in section 12 do.

9. Data processing

This section applies to accountancy firms. It's the agreement UK data protection law requires when we handle personal information for you (Article 28 of the UK GDPR).

When your firm puts information about clients and others into Apona, your firm is the controller and we're your processor.

What we process

What we promise

• We'll only process the information on your documented instructions. These terms, and how you set up and use Apona, are your instructions. We'll tell you if we think an instruction breaks data protection law.
• Everyone at Apona who can access the information is bound to keep it confidential.
• We'll keep appropriate security in place, as described in our privacy policy.
• We'll help you respond when someone asks to use their data protection rights, and with your own security, breach and impact-assessment duties, as far as we reasonably can.
• We'll tell you without undue delay, and within [48 hours], after we become aware of a personal data breach affecting your firm's information.
• When your firm leaves Apona, you'll have [30 days] to download your data. After that we'll delete it within [90 days], unless the law requires us to keep it.
• We'll give you the information you reasonably need to show we're meeting these promises. That includes answering questions about our security, and allowing an audit by you or an auditor you choose, on reasonable notice.

Our suppliers (sub-processors)

You give us general permission to use the suppliers listed in the schedule. Each is bound by a written contract that protects your information at least as well as this section does. We'll email you at least [30 days] before adding or replacing a supplier. If you have a reasonable data protection objection, tell us. If we can't resolve it, you can end your plan and we'll refund any fees you've paid in advance for the period after it ends.

Outside the UK

Your firm's information is held in the UK. Where a supplier accesses it from outside the UK, we use the protections described in our privacy policy.

10. Keeping Apona running

• We aim to keep Apona available all the time, but we can't promise it will never be interrupted. We'll try to do planned maintenance outside busy times, and to warn you first.
• We may improve or change Apona. If a change takes away something important you pay for, we'll tell you first, and you can cancel and get a refund for any period you've paid for but won't use.
• We may stop offering Apona altogether. If we do, we'll give you at least [90 days'] notice so you can download your information.

11. Ending the agreement

• You can close your account at any time from your settings, or by emailing us.
• We can suspend or close your account if you seriously or repeatedly break these terms, don't pay what's due, or if we must by law. Unless it's urgent, we'll warn you first and give you a chance to put things right.
• Afterwards, we'll keep or delete your information as our privacy policy explains, and for firms as section 9 explains. Download anything you need before you close your account.

12. Our responsibility to you

If you're a consumer

We're responsible for loss or damage you suffer that's a foreseeable result of us breaking these terms or not using reasonable care and skill. We're not responsible for loss that wasn't foreseeable, or for losses to a business, because Apona is provided to consumers for private use only.

If a mistake in Apona's calculation or software, rather than in the information you entered, means you pay an HMRC penalty or interest, tell us. We'll look at it fairly and put it right where we're responsible.

If you're a business, including an accountancy firm

• We're not responsible for loss of profit, business, goodwill or data, or for any indirect or consequential loss.
• Our total responsibility to you in any 12 months is limited to the greater of the fees you paid us in that time and [£500].
• You're responsible for checking the work you prepare in Apona before it's approved and filed.

For everyone

Nothing in these terms limits our responsibility for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, or for anything else the law doesn't let us limit. Nothing affects your legal rights as a consumer.

13. Changes, complaints and law

• Changes to these terms. We'll tell you by email or in Apona at least [30 days] before an important change takes effect. If you don't agree, you can close your account before then.
• Complaints. Email [email protected]. We'll reply within [10 working days].
• Transferring the agreement. We may transfer this agreement to another organisation, for example if Apona is sold. Your rights won't be reduced, and we'll tell you.
• Law and courts. These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales. If you're a consumer living in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you can also bring a claim in your local courts.

Schedule: our suppliers

These are the companies that help us run Apona and may handle personal information for us.

If your firm connects a Google or Microsoft mailbox, emails are sent through that mailbox under your own agreement with Google or Microsoft. They aren't our suppliers for that purpose.