Terms of service

1. Who these terms are with

If you use HatchSolo for a company, you confirm you are authorised to bind that company and you agree for it. HatchSolo is business software: you must be using it for the purposes of your business or your company's business, not as a consumer.

2. The service

HatchSolo is business-services software for solo entrepreneurs and freelancers running a UK business. It takes your records from QuickBooks Online or Xero and, once that feature is built and we say so on the site, directly from your business bank account. It:

• reads your records (read only) and works out the figures for each box of your VAT return, showing where each came from;
• blocks a figure and tells you why when it cannot confirm it from your records;
• lets you record decisions, such as how a supplier is treated for VAT, and keeps an append-only record of approvals, figures and receipts;
• tracks VAT, corporation tax, accounts and confirmation-statement deadlines for your company, as reminders only;
• once HMRC has given us production access and we switch it on for customers, sends a VAT return you have approved to HMRC from your own Government Gateway sign-in.

Until that switch-on the site says plainly that sending to HMRC is not available. We will not describe a feature as available when it is not.

3. Early access

HatchSolo is in early access. We admit a small number of companies at a time. Features, screens and limits will change, and some things may not work as you expect. Tell us when they don't.

4. Eligibility and your account

To use HatchSolo you must:

• be the owner of the business, or a director or otherwise authorised to act for the company, whose records you connect;
• connect a source we support: a QuickBooks Online or Xero subscription for that business today, or a business bank account once bank connection is available (we say on the site which businesses each source supports);
• for sending a return to HMRC, have the business's own Government Gateway sign-in for VAT (Making Tax Digital).

Keep your sign-in secure. You are responsible for what is done with your account. Tell us at once if you think someone else has access.

5. Your responsibilities

You are responsible for:

• the accuracy and completeness of your records in QuickBooks or Xero and anything you enter or upload;
• reviewing every figure, blocker and decision before you approve a return;
• the declaration you make when you send a return: that the information is true and complete (a false declaration can lead to prosecution);
• meeting every deadline (reminders are a convenience, not a guarantee);
• checking HMRC's confirmation after you submit, and acting if a submission is rejected or its outcome is unclear;
• getting professional advice where you need it.

6. Acceptable use

You must not:

• use HatchSolo unlawfully or to file false or misleading information;
• use it for a business you are not authorised to act for;
• try to access another customer's account or data;
• probe, scan or test our systems for weaknesses without our written permission (report problems to the contact address or through our security.txt instead);
• reverse engineer the software or use automated tools to extract data from it, other than your own downloads.

7. HMRC and QuickBooks

When you send a return you sign in at HMRC with your own Government Gateway account. We never see or keep your Government Gateway password, and we keep HMRC access only briefly (see the privacy policy). You authorise each submission yourself, with a declaration. We do not file anything for you without that.

We do not guarantee that HMRC will accept a submission. HMRC's confirmation, not our screen, is the proof that a return was received. If we cannot tell whether HMRC received a return, for example because the connection dropped, we check with HMRC and do not send it a second time until we know.

You connect QuickBooks or Xero, and once available your bank, on your own authority and can disconnect at any time. Bank connections are read only: we cannot make payments or move money, and your consent to read your bank lasts up to 90 days before you re-confirm it. QuickBooks and Intuit are trademarks of Intuit Inc. HatchSolo is not endorsed by or affiliated with Intuit or HMRC.

8. Price

There is no charge during early access. We will tell you at least 30 days before any charge starts, with the price, and we will not charge you unless you agree to it. Prices will be stated exclusive of VAT. The safety checks (reconciliation and blocking of unconfirmed figures) will never be a paid upgrade.

9. Your data

Your data stays yours. For the content of your books we act as your processor under our data processing agreement, and use it only to provide HatchSolo to you. You can download a complete export of your records in the app at any time (JSON for everything, CSV for transactions), and ask us to delete your account and data (the privacy policy explains the timings and what we must legally keep). We will not use your data to train AI models or for advertising.

10. Availability and changes

We aim to keep HatchSolo running but do not promise it will always be available or error-free. We may change or withdraw features, and will give reasonable notice of anything that materially affects you. We may update these terms; we will tell you by email or in the app before a material change takes effect, and if you continue to use the service after that you accept it. If you do not accept a change you can stop using HatchSolo and delete your account.

11. Ending your use

You can stop at any time and ask us to delete your data. We may suspend or end your access if you break these terms, if we reasonably suspect fraud or misuse, or if we stop offering the service (with reasonable notice where we can). Download anything you need first.

12. Not professional advice

HatchSolo is software. We are not accountants, tax advisers, auditors or lawyers, and nothing the service shows is tax, accounting or legal advice. Its checks help you spot problems; they do not replace your judgement or professional advice where you need it.

13. Our liability

The service is provided "as is" and "as available". To the fullest extent the law allows we are not liable for:

• penalties, interest, fines or charges imposed by HMRC, Companies House or any other authority;
• late, rejected or missed filings or deadlines;
• errors in figures that result from incorrect or incomplete records, or from a decision you made;
• loss of profit, revenue, goodwill or business opportunity, or any indirect or consequential loss;
• actions or outages of HMRC, Intuit or other third parties.

Our total liability to you for everything arising from these terms or your use of HatchSolo in any 12 months is limited to the fees you paid us in those 12 months, or £100 if you paid none.

Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot lawfully be limited, including for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, or fraudulent misrepresentation.

14. Complaints

Email the contact address and we will try to resolve it promptly. For data protection concerns you can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk).

15. General

These terms are the whole agreement about HatchSolo. If part of them is unenforceable the rest still applies. If we do not enforce a right straight away we have not given it up. You may not transfer your account to someone else. They are governed by the law of England and Wales, and its courts have exclusive jurisdiction.