This policy describes how Accounter collects, uses, and protects your personal information.
1. Accounter in ChatGPT
Accounter Pty Ltd provides the bank statement PDF-to-CSV and Excel integration available through a connected Accounter account. This section explains the integration's data practices in addition to the general policy below.
What you send and why
When you ask the integration to convert a selected PDF, ChatGPT provides a temporary file reference and Accounter downloads that file. We process its filename, statement text or page images, account-holder information, transaction descriptions, dates, amounts and balances to extract transactions and create your requested export. We associate the conversion with your Accounter account, page allowance and conversion history. We also store connection permissions, hashed authorization credentials, submission fingerprints and security or error records needed to operate and protect the service.
Permissions and information returned to ChatGPT
You authorize Accounter through its own sign-in and connection screen. The integration can submit PDFs you select, check your conversion progress and retrieve completed CSV or Excel exports under your connected account. ChatGPT receives conversion status, statement summary information and private download links; retrieving an export shares its transaction contents with ChatGPT. The integration does not connect to your bank or request your banking credentials. Account numbers in export summaries are masked, but the original PDF and transaction descriptions may still contain personal information.
Processing providers and location
Statement processing relies on these service providers: Google (Google Cloud), which hosts the service, database and file storage in its us-central1 region in the United States; OpenRouter, which routes AI model requests for extraction to the model provider selected for each request; OpenAI, which operates ChatGPT, for users who connect the ChatGPT app; and Cloudflare, which carries web traffic to and from accounter.co.za. Every request we send to OpenRouter uses its data collection "deny" setting, which restricts routing to model providers that do not collect user data; this relies on OpenRouter's and the providers' own policies and is not a guarantee of zero retention by every provider. Your use of ChatGPT is separately governed by OpenAI's policies and your ChatGPT data controls.
Security
Data stored in Google Cloud is protected by Google Cloud's default encryption at rest, and traffic between you and accounter.co.za is encrypted in transit with TLS (HTTPS). Apart from PDF passwords you supply for queued conversions, which we encrypt before storing, we do not add our own application-level encryption.
Retention and deletion
Saved original PDFs and extracted statement history remain in your Accounter account until you delete the statement or account. Delete a saved statement from Accounter history to remove its active archive and history entry. Deleted archive objects remain recoverable in Google Cloud storage for seven days under the configured soft-delete period. Temporary job files have a seven-day lifecycle cleanup rule. ChatGPT connection credentials are kept until you revoke the connection or they expire, and are then deleted within 30 days; deleting your account deletes them straight away. Routine application logs have a 30-day retention setting; account security and usage records may remain associated with your account. Deletion from Accounter does not delete copies you downloaded or content already shared with ChatGPT. Contact support for questions about remaining records or a deletion that fails.
Your controls
Choose only the statements needed for your request and only documents you are authorized to process. Do not submit payment card details, government identifiers, health records, passwords or authentication secrets. Redact unnecessary personal information before attaching a statement. You can review and correct saved transactions on the Accounter website or in the Accounter window inside ChatGPT (corrections made there are stored with the statement exactly like corrections on the website), delete a saved statement from your history, clear all your statement history or delete your account under Account → Privacy & data (/account/privacy), and revoke the ChatGPT connection under Account → ChatGPT connection (/account/connections/chatgpt). Revoking the connection prevents further use of its credentials and download links; it does not delete saved statement history or copies held by ChatGPT.
Privacy and support contact
Send integration support, access, correction or deletion enquiries to [email protected]. Our postal address is Accounter Pty Ltd, Postnet Suite 001, Private Bag X6, Langebaan, Western Cape, 7357, South Africa.
2. Introduction
At Accounter, we take your privacy seriously. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website or use our accounting software services. Please read this privacy policy carefully. If you do not agree with the terms of this privacy policy, please do not access the site or use our services.
3. Information We Collect
We collect information that you provide directly to us when registering for an account, using our services, or communicating with us. This may include your name, email address, postal address, phone number, financial information for billing purposes, and any other information you choose to provide. We also automatically collect certain information about your device and how you interact with our services, including IP address, browser type, operating system, referring URLs, access times, and pages viewed.
Personal Information
This includes identifiers like your name, email address, phone number, and billing information necessary to provide you with our services.
Financial Data
When you use our accounting software, we process financial information that you input or import, such as transaction data, account balances, and other accounting records. This data is used solely to provide you with our accounting services.
Device Information
We collect information about the device you use to access our services, including hardware model, operating system, unique device identifiers, and mobile network information.
4. How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect to provide, maintain, and improve our services, to process your transactions, to send you technical notices and support messages, to communicate with you about products, services, offers, and events, and to monitor and analyze trends and usage of our services to improve your experience.
Service Provision
Your information is primarily used to provide you with the accounting services you've requested, including processing financial data, generating reports, and facilitating tax calculations.
Communication
We may use your contact information to send you service-related notices, updates about new features, or promotional materials (subject to your opt-out preferences).
Service Improvement
We analyze usage patterns and user behavior in an aggregated, anonymized form to improve our user interface, features, and overall service quality.
6. Data Security
We implement a variety of security measures to maintain the safety of your personal information when you enter, submit, or access your personal information. We use industry-standard encryption to protect sensitive financial data, logged and restricted staff access to customer statements, and strict access controls for our staff. Authorised staff may review statements that fail our automated balance check, to diagnose and fix extraction errors. See 'Quality review of statements that don't balance' on our POPIA page, including how to object. However, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.
8. Your Data Rights
Depending on your location, you may have certain rights regarding your personal information, such as the right to access, correct, or delete your personal data. You can request a copy of your data, ask us to correct inaccurate information, or request deletion of your account and associated data by contacting our privacy team at [email protected].
Access and Portability
You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format.
Correction
You can request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal information we maintain about you.
Deletion
You can request that we delete your personal information, though we may retain certain information as required by law or for legitimate business purposes.
Opt-Out
You can opt out of marketing communications at any time by clicking the 'unsubscribe' link in any marketing email or contacting us directly.
9. Data Retention
How long we keep each category of information:
Account data
Account details are kept while your account is open. When you delete your account, we delete or anonymise them; payment, invoice and credit records that we must keep for tax and accounting purposes are retained.
Statement PDFs and extracted transactions
Saved statement PDFs and extracted transactions are kept until you delete the statement or your account. Deleted files remain recoverable in Google Cloud storage for seven days under the configured soft-delete period before they are permanently removed.
Temporary job files
Temporary job files are removed by a seven-day lifecycle cleanup rule.
ChatGPT connection credentials
ChatGPT connection credentials are kept until you revoke the connection or they expire, and are then deleted within 30 days. Deleting your account deletes them straight away.
Logs
Routine application logs have a 30-day retention setting. Account security and usage records may remain associated with your account.
10. Statement Hub
Statement Hub lets an accounting firm collect its clients' bank statements through Accounter. For those statements the accounting firm is the responsible party and Accounter processes them as an operator, on the firm's instructions and only to provide the Statement Hub to that firm.
How we keep Statement Hub files secure
What we collect from clients
The client name and email address given to us by the firm, the statements a client uploads or emails to the firm's Accounter address, sign-in events, and the client's email preferences.
Email and file processing
Emails sent to a firm's Accounter address are received through Cloudflare Email Routing and stored privately. Emails from Accounter are sent through Resend. Files are checked before your accountant can open them. Files are stored in our Google Cloud project (us-central1, United States).
Retention
Statements are kept for the period the firm chooses, and for no longer than 5 years. Raw emails are kept for 30 days, and unsorted emails for 30 days. Statements held because a free firm is over its monthly limit, and not released within 30 days, are deleted. Converted spreadsheets are part of the firm's normal Accounter history and follow its usual retention and deletion.
Stopping emails and deletion
A client can stop Statement Hub emails using the link in any email. To ask for their data to be deleted, a client should contact their accounting firm, as the responsible party. The firm can delete a client completely.
11. Children's Privacy
Our services are not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. Users under 18 may only use our services with the consent of a parent or guardian. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 13, or from a user under 18 without a parent's or guardian's consent, we will delete that information.
12. International Data Transfers
Accounter is based in South Africa. Our service providers process your information outside South Africa: Google Cloud hosts the application and database in its us-central1 region in the United States and stores files in the United States, and AI extraction requests sent through OpenRouter are processed by model providers that may be located in other countries.
13. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the 'Last Updated' date. You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.
14. Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at [email protected] or by mail at: Accounter Pty Ltd, Postnet Suite 001, Private Bag X6, Langebaan, Western Cape, 7357, South Africa.
Questions about this page? Contact us.