These terms are for bookkeepers and CPAs who use Kept Books for their clients. They add to Kept's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, which also apply to you. Kept is Kept AI, Inc., doing business as Kept Books.
1. Before you start
A few things to agree to as an accountant on Kept.
- You are joining as a bookkeeper (no license needed) or a CPA. Kept does not check licenses.
- You only open books a client invites you to or accepts you into.
- If you are a CPA, you follow your state board's rules and tell each client in writing about any fee from Kept. No fee for a client you audit or review.
2. Your clients' books
- A client's books open to you only after they add you, or accept your invite.
- You can see and fix their transactions and categories, and view and download their reports. You cannot touch their invoices, payments, banks or billing.
- A client can remove you at any time. Your access ends the moment they do.
- Keep what you see in a client's books private, and use it only to do their books.
3. Your own books
Your firm gets its own Kept books for free, with Starter limits: 1 business and 3 banks. They are free for your first 30 days, and after that for as long as at least 1 client of yours is paying for Kept. With no paying client after 30 days, your own books are paused until one joins or you pick a plan. Nothing is deleted, and your client work is not affected.
4. Referral fees
- Kept may pay you a fee for a client who signs up for Kept from your own invite email. A client who already paid Kept before joining you earns no fee.
- The fee is a flat amount for each paying client, each month: $5 a client when you have 1 to 4 paying clients, $10 for 5 to 9, $15 for 10 to 20, and $20 for 21 or more. The same amount applies to every paying client that month, on every plan.
- A client starts earning you a fee after they have paid Kept for 2 months. A client who cancels, is removed or misses a payment before then earns nothing.
- A month earns a fee only when Kept actually collected that month's plan payment. The fee is never more than that payment. If the payment is refunded or disputed, the fee for that month comes back off your next payout, or Kept reverses it.
- Your own business, and any business you own or control, never earns a fee. If you audit or review a client, you must not take a fee for them: that is your responsibility under your state board's rules, and Kept does not check it.
- A client who joins from your invite does not also get a customer referral discount.
5. Getting paid
- Payouts go to your bank through Stripe once you set up payouts inside Kept. Stripe checks your identity and holds your bank and tax details; Kept never sees your full account or tax number.
- Payouts go out on the 5th of each month for the month before, once at least $10 is owed. Anything under $10 waits for the next month.
- Earnings wait safely until your payout setup is finished and your tax ID is verified. Kept does not pay out while a tax ID is missing or not verified.
- In some states Kept cannot pay you yet. If yours is one of them, your earnings wait until it can.
6. Taxes
Fees are paid to you as an independent contractor. You are responsible for your own taxes. Kept sends you a Form 1099-NEC when the law requires one.
7. Changes and ending
- Kept can change these terms or the fee amounts. We'll email you at least 30 days before a change that lowers your fees, and fees already earned stay earned.
- Kept can pause or end your fees if you break these terms, the law or your professional rules, or misuse the program. Fees earned honestly before that are still paid.
- These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Tennessee, as set out in the Terms of Service.
Questions? Email support@keptbooks.co.