Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy describes how Margin Theory ("we," "our," or "us") collects, uses, and protects information when you engage Margin Theory for fractional CFO services or visit margintheory.co.

Who We Are

Margin Theory is a fractional CFO practice operated by Jake Erickson. We provide monthly financial review, forecasting, cash flow planning, and related advisory services to founder-led businesses. Our principal place of business is Austin, Texas.

Contact: jake@margintheory.co

Information We Collect

When you become a client, we collect:

• Contact information (name, business name, email, phone, mailing address)
• Financial information necessary for CFO services (QuickBooks Online access, general ledger and trial balance data, bank statement summaries, POS reports, management commentary)
• Communications we exchange during the engagement (emails, meeting transcripts, notes, text messages)
• Payment information necessary to bill and collect fees

We only collect information necessary to deliver CFO services. We do not use tracking cookies on margintheory.co beyond standard web analytics.

How We Use Information

We use client information solely to deliver the services contracted for in your engagement agreement. This includes:

• Preparing monthly financial reviews, forecasts, and action plans
• Diagnosing financial issues and identifying opportunities for improvement
• Coordinating with your bookkeeper, accountant, or other advisors with your permission
• Communicating with you about your engagement
• Invoicing and collecting fees

We do not sell client information. We do not share client information with third parties except as described below.

QuickBooks Online Integration

Margin Theory uses QuickBooks Online APIs to pull trial balance and general ledger data for clients who have authorized Margin Theory as a user on their QBO company. This integration is implemented in an internal tool ("Margin Theory CFO Prep") used solely by Margin Theory staff to prepare client monthly reports. QBO data is never shared outside Margin Theory. We use OAuth 2.0 to access your QBO data and store only the refresh token needed to re-authenticate. You can revoke access at any time through your QuickBooks settings (Apps and subscriptions, My Apps, disconnect Margin Theory CFO Prep).

AI-Assisted Analysis

We use Anthropic's Claude AI to help prepare client-specific analytical commentary (variance explanations, forecast commentary, action recommendations) from QuickBooks trial balance and general ledger data. This is inference only: Anthropic processes the data under its commercial API terms, which prohibit using client data to train or fine-tune AI models. AI-generated drafts are reviewed by Margin Theory staff before inclusion in any client deliverable. Clients who prefer their data not be processed by a third-party AI provider can opt out at any time by emailing jake@margintheory.co; we will prepare their monthly materials manually.

How We Share Information

We share client information only:

• With you and anyone you explicitly designate (bookkeeper, attorney, spouse, business partner)
• With service providers that help us operate the practice (Google Workspace for email and calendar, Notion for project management, Capsule for CRM, Intuit for QuickBooks data, Anthropic for AI-assisted analytical commentary, Supabase for lightweight data storage), each of which is under its own confidentiality terms
• When required by law, subpoena, or court order

We do not share client information with marketing platforms, data brokers, or AI model trainers.

How We Protect Information

• Client data is stored on encrypted local drives and reputable cloud services
• Credentials for third-party systems are stored in access-controlled secrets files, never in version control
• We never email or text passwords
• Access to client books is limited to Jake Erickson and any explicitly authorized delegates

Retention

We retain client records for seven years after an engagement ends, consistent with tax and professional record-keeping standards. If you wish to request earlier deletion of non-records information, contact jake@margintheory.co.

Your Rights

You may request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal information at any time by contacting jake@margintheory.co. We will respond within 30 days. If you are in a jurisdiction with specific privacy rights (for example California or the European Union), those rights apply.

Changes

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The "last updated" date at the top reflects the current version. Material changes will be communicated to active clients by email.

Contact

Margin Theory
Attn: Jake Erickson
jake@margintheory.co
Austin, Texas