Paid subscription terms

Subscription Terms — DutySharp First Tier

Terms version: subscription-terms-2026-07-29
Effective date: 29 July 2026

1. Parties

These Subscription Terms ("Subscription Terms", "these terms") are a binding contract between:

The practice is the customer and the subscriber. Individual users act for the practice; they are not separate customers under these terms.

2. Who may accept these terms

These terms may be accepted only by:

The person accepting represents that they have authority to bind the named practice. For a corporate body (for example a limited company or LLP), that means an owner, director, partner, or other person with authority to contract on the practice's behalf. For a sole trader or ordinary partnership, the person must be the sole trader or a partner with authority to bind the practice.

A change of billing contact is support-mediated. It requires verification of the replacement and reasonable evidence of authority for the practice, and DutySharp notifies the previous billing contact and the practice's other registered users of the change. No other user can start, change, or accept terms for a subscription.

Acceptance is recorded against the exact version identifiers of these Subscription Terms and of the incorporated Data Processing Agreement shown at the point of acceptance.

3. Incorporated and linked documents

These Subscription Terms incorporate by exact version the Data Processing Agreement version data-processing-agreement-2026-07-21 ("DPA"). The DPA sets out the Article 28 controller-processor terms that apply to the client, case, and file data the practice controls through the service. Where these terms and the DPA differ on the processing of practice-controlled personal data, the DPA prevails.

The Privacy Notice version privacy-notice-2026-09-02-r9 describes the personal data for which DutySharp is itself a controller, including account, authentication, support, and billing records. It is linked for information only. It is not part of this contract, and accepting these terms is not consent to the processing described in it.

The free Hosted Pilot Terms are a separate contract and are not incorporated into these terms.

4. The service

DutySharp First Tier is a hosted subscription service for UK accountancy practices, provided at app.dutysharp.co.uk. It helps a practice track blocked client work, record missing information, prepare draft chases and checklists for practitioner review, and exchange files through case-scoped secure upload links.

The service is not a substitute for professional accounting, tax, or legal advice, a general document-management system, an OCR or automated-extraction service, a client portal, an outbound email-sending service for client communications, or an accounting-system integration. It is designed to work alongside the practice's existing tools.

File uploads are accepted only through a case-scoped secure upload link created by a user from within a blocked case. Files sent outside that flow are not handled by DutySharp. Uploaded files are validated server-side against allowed file types, declared MIME type, and the size limits in section 9. We do not scan file content for malware.

5. Human review and outputs

All outputs generated by the service, including chase drafts, checklists, and status summaries, are produced to assist practitioner review. They must be reviewed and approved by a qualified professional before being used or sent to clients. DutySharp does not provide accounting, tax, legal, or compliance advice, and does not check the accuracy of any generated output against the practice's records or its clients' circumstances.

DutySharp does not send generated drafts or messages directly to the practice's clients. Users may copy or email outputs to themselves and then use their own email or practice systems to communicate with clients. The practice remains responsible for any external use of generated outputs.

6. Subscription term and renewal

The subscription runs in monthly billing periods. It starts when the subscription is successfully created following payment through the checkout flow, and renews automatically for a further monthly period at the end of each period unless it is cancelled under section 12 or ends under section 11 or section 15.

The practice may hold one access-granting subscription at a time.

7. Charges, VAT, and payment

First Tier is charged monthly in advance at one of the following amounts:

These are the same First Tier service on two prices, not two different feature plans. Eligibility for founding pricing is determined by DutySharp's own records before checkout; a practice cannot select a price it is not recorded as eligible for.

VAT. The amounts above are net amounts, plus VAT where VAT is applicable. DutySharp is not currently registered for VAT. While that remains the case, DutySharp charges exactly the amounts above and does not represent, show, add, or collect any VAT amount. If DutySharp becomes VAT registered, VAT will be applied and shown from the date it applies, and the practice will be told before that change takes effect.

Payment. Payments are taken through our payment provider using the payment method the billing contact supplies. DutySharp does not receive or store complete payment-card numbers, bank-account numbers, or security codes. Invoices and payment-method changes are handled through the billing pages made available to the verified billing contact.

8. Founding pricing

Where a practice is recorded as eligible, the founding price of GBP 25 per month applies on the following basis:

There is no promised right to regain founding pricing after a terminal cancellation. A later subscription is taken at the price for which the practice is then eligible.

9. Users, device sessions, and included limits

9.1 Users

First Tier includes up to five active verified email users for the practice at any time. A user counts towards that number only after successful email-code verification; opening a firm access link or typing an email address does not create a user. Deactivating a user releases a place without deleting the record of that user's historic activity.

Each user must use their own individual work email address. Sharing a single email address between several people is not permitted: it undermines accountability, audit evidence, and the authority to accept terms.

9.2 One active device session per user

Only one verified device session is active per email address at a time. Signing in on a new device requires fresh email verification and, on success, signs out the previous device session for that email. The new device is told that it signed out another device; the displaced device is told the reason when it is next used and is asked to verify again. A security email records the sign-in time and a support route.

This is a security control that protects individual accountability. Frequent device switching is discouraged: it may indicate unauthorised or shared access, and it can trigger a prominent security warning to the user and a support review. Repeated rapid switching may be reviewed by DutySharp under section 15.

A change of IP address during a valid session does not sign the user out. DutySharp does not treat an IP address as proof of a person's identity, and does not treat an IP or network change as evidence of sharing or unauthorised access on its own.

9.3 Included firm-wide limits

The following limits apply to the practice as a whole, not per user:

Deleting stored files releases stored-data capacity, but it does not reverse accepted-upload usage already counted within the current rolling 30-day window.

These are the practice's entitlements under First Tier. Any allowance that DutySharp receives from its own infrastructure providers, and any allowance used in the free pilot, is an internal operating matter and is not an entitlement of the practice under these terms. The service is not unlimited.

DutySharp may agree a temporary or exceptional increase in writing. A practice that consistently needs more than these limits will be referred to a review and, where one exists, to a higher tier.

10. Support

Support is provided by email at hello@dutysharp.co.uk. We aim to respond within a reasonable time during UK business hours. These terms do not include a specific response-time or resolution-time commitment, and no service-level agreement applies unless DutySharp agrees one separately in writing.

11. Failed renewal, view-only access, and recovery

If a renewal payment fails, the following applies.

Blocking access does not delete the practice's data. The end-of-subscription lifecycle in section 17 then applies.

12. Cancellation by the practice

The verified billing contact may cancel the subscription at any time. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the billing period that has already been paid for. The practice keeps normal, full access for the remainder of that period; access does not become view-only merely because cancellation has been requested.

No refund is given for the unused part of a period that has already been paid for, except where the law requires one or DutySharp agrees otherwise.

A scheduled cancellation may be reversed before the period ends, in which case the subscription continues normally and founding pricing (if held) is not lost. When the subscription actually ends, section 17 applies.

13. What view-only access means

View-only access means the practice's users can open the application and read the pages and records that already exist. In view-only access the following are not available:

The following remain available in view-only access: signing in and out, the billing and payment-recovery routes needed to resolve the outstanding payment, and contacting support.

The controlled export or return of the practice's data after the subscription ends is handled under section 17 and the DPA. It is a separate, verified process and not ordinary product access.

14. Acceptable use and account security

The practice and its users must use the service honestly and within its documented scope. The following are not permitted:

Users must keep their login codes and firm access links confidential. If a user suspects unauthorised access, they should sign out and contact DutySharp at hello@dutysharp.co.uk.

The practice is responsible for issuing secure upload links only to the intended client or third party for the relevant case, for making sure the recipient understands the purpose and confidentiality of the upload, and for not using upload links to collect special-category or criminal-offence data unless the practice has its own lawful basis and appropriate safeguards.

15. Availability, changes to the service, and suspension

DutySharp aims to keep the service available and to give reasonable notice of planned interruptions, but does not commit to a specific level of uptime or availability, and does not provide a service-level agreement or service credits. Interruptions, faults, maintenance windows, and provider incidents can occur.

DutySharp may change, improve, or withdraw features of the service. Where a change materially reduces the service the practice is paying for, DutySharp will give reasonable advance notice by email to the billing contact; the practice may then cancel under section 12.

DutySharp may suspend the practice's access, in whole or in part, where there is a reasonable security, legal, or abuse concern — including suspected unauthorised access, a breach of section 14, or use that puts the service or other customers at risk. Suspension will be no wider and no longer than reasonably necessary, and DutySharp will tell the billing contact the reason unless the law prevents it. Where the concern can reasonably be resolved, DutySharp will say what is needed to restore access.

DutySharp may terminate the subscription on reasonable written notice for a serious or repeated breach of these terms that is not remedied within a reasonable time after being notified.

16. Changes to these terms and version acceptance

DutySharp may change these Subscription Terms or the incorporated DPA. Material changes will be reflected before, or at the same time as, the related change in the service. A new version identifier and effective date will be published at the top of this page, and the earlier version is not changed retrospectively.

Where a change is material, the verified billing contact must accept the displayed exact versions of these terms and the DPA in the application before the practice continues to use the service. Until that acceptance is recorded, access may be blocked. Where the practice does not accept a material change, it may cancel under section 12 and keep access for the remainder of the period already paid for.

A price change does not apply to a period already paid for. Any change to the standard price will be notified to the billing contact by email in advance and takes effect from a following renewal. Founding pricing is governed by section 8.

17. End of the subscription: data return and deletion

When the subscription actually ends — by cancellation, unresolved non-payment, or termination — the practice's right to use the service ends and the following lifecycle applies, consistently with section 12 of the DPA:

The return format, the assistance DutySharp gives, and the treatment of retained audit evidence are governed by the DPA.

18. Confidentiality and data protection

DutySharp will treat the practice's client, case, and file data as confidential and will process it only as described in these terms and the DPA. The practice will keep its own account details, login credentials, and any non-public DutySharp information confidential.

Processor obligations, documented instructions, sub-processor authorisation, security measures, international transfers, assistance with data-subject rights, breach notification, and end-of-service deletion or return are governed by the DPA. The security measures DutySharp implements, and the measures it does not implement or claim, are listed in Schedule 5 of the DPA. DutySharp does not claim that the service is secure against every possible threat, and does not hold information-security certifications such as ISO 27001 or SOC 2.

The practice remains the controller of its client and case data and is responsible for its own lawful bases, client notices, and retention decisions.

19. Liability

Nothing in these terms or the DPA excludes or limits any liability which cannot lawfully be excluded or limited. This includes liability for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, death or personal injury caused by negligence, and any statutory data-protection liability imposed on a data processor under the UK GDPR or the Data Protection Act 2018.

Subject to that, and to the extent permitted by law for a business-to-business subscription of this nature:

These exclusions and limits apply only so far as they are lawful and reasonable under the law governing these terms.

The practice is responsible for its own use of the service, for the accuracy and lawfulness of the data it enters, for obtaining any client consents or notices it needs, and for third-party claims arising from its misuse of the service or of generated outputs.

20. General

These terms, together with the incorporated DPA, are the whole agreement between DutySharp and the practice for the paid subscription, and replace any earlier understanding about it. They do not affect the separate free Hosted Pilot Terms.

The practice may not transfer these terms or the subscription to another business without DutySharp's written agreement. No third party has any right to enforce these terms under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999. If any provision is found to be unenforceable, the rest continues to apply.

21. Governing law and jurisdiction

These Subscription Terms and the incorporated DPA are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Any dispute arising out of or in connection with them is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

22. Professional legal review required

This is a substantive draft published so that the paid subscription terms are clear and versioned before any charging. It is not a substitute for professional legal review. Professional legal review will be obtained, and acceptance will be recorded in the application, before live charging is enabled.

23. Contact

For questions about these Subscription Terms, the DPA, or the service, email hello@dutysharp.co.uk or write to Ivo Stoykov / DutySharp, Unit 170054, PO Box 7169, Poole, BH15 9EL.