William R. Bloomer, CPA

Information We Collect

When You Use the Contact Form

We collect the name, email address, phone number, topic and message you enter. We also record the internet (IP) address the form was sent from, which we use to limit spam and abuse.

Please do not put Social Security numbers, account numbers, tax documents or other sensitive details in the contact form. It is meant for a first conversation, not for confidential records.

When You Use the Client Portal

Clients sign in to the portal by invitation. To provide sign-in, we keep your name, email address and account details, and a cookie that keeps you signed in. As portal features are added, such as document uploads and secure messages, the information you send through them is stored so we can do the work you have engaged us for.

When our office asks for a login (for example to a tax agency, payroll or bank account we work with for you), you can share it through the portal instead of by email. Each part of it is encrypted before it is stored. Only our office can open it, and every time we do is recorded. Once shared, it is not shown in the portal again, but you can replace it or delete it there at any time. We also record when you share, replace or delete a login, from what internet address, without recording the login itself.

When our office shares a document with you, such as a return or a letter, you can open or download it in the portal. Documents are stored privately and only you and our office can reach them. Each one opens through a link that works for one minute, and we record each time a document is opened or downloaded.

When our office asks for documents, you can upload them in the portal instead of sending them by email. Files you upload are stored the same private way, only you and our office can see them, and we record when each one arrives. Reminder emails say only that documents are still needed, never which ones.

When You Sign Documents Electronically

When we send you documents to sign, we keep the documents, what you fill in, and the signature and initials you adopt. To show the signature is yours, we record when you open, confirm your identity, agree to sign electronically and sign, along with your IP address, your browser and device, and the approximate city and region your internet provider places you in. These records are attached to the signed document as a certificate of completion and kept with our client files.

If you are asked for the last 4 digits of your Social Security number or EIN, or an access password, we store only a scrambled form that cannot be read back. A one-time code sent to your email is kept only until it is used or expires. Signing pages use a cookie that remembers, for two hours, that you confirmed your identity.

When You Email Our Office

Emails between you and our office are copied from our mailboxes into your client file, so we have the full history of your work in one place. Only email with people in our client records is copied; other mail stays in the mailbox. These copies are kept behind our office sign-in, like the rest of your file. Email is not a secure channel, so please send documents and sensitive numbers through the portal instead.

When You Browse the Site

Like most websites, our hosting provider automatically logs basic technical information about each visit, such as your IP address, browser type and the pages requested. These logs are used to keep the site running and secure.

The public pages of this site do not use advertising or analytics cookies and do not track you across other websites. Cookies are used only to keep clients signed in to the portal and to remember an identity check on the signing pages.

How We Use Information

To respond to your inquiry and decide together whether we are the right fit
To provide accounting, tax and related services to clients
To operate, secure and improve the website and portal
To meet our legal and professional obligations

We do not sell, rent or trade personal information, and we do not use it for advertising.

Client Confidentiality

Information you share as a client is confidential. As a licensed CPA, William R. Bloomer is bound by professional standards of confidentiality and by federal law, including the rules that govern how tax return preparers may use and disclose tax return information. Client information is not disclosed to anyone outside the firm without your consent, except as the law requires or permits.

Service Providers

We use a small number of companies to run the site. They process information only to provide their service to us:

Vercel hosts the website.
Neon stores contact form submissions and portal records in a database.
Cloudflare stores documents, including documents sent for signature and the signed copies, in private file storage that is not open to the public.
Clerk provides sign-in for the client portal.
Resend delivers email notifications to the office, and signing requests, codes and copy links to clients.
Anthropic or OpenAI, whichever the office chooses, provides an AI assistant the office may use when working on a client's records. If the office turns it on, it may also read documents the office uploads, to suggest how to name and file them and to make scanned pages searchable. It receives only what the office sends it for that work, and under its business terms it does not use that information to train its models.

We may also disclose information when required by law, such as in response to a subpoena, or to protect our rights or the safety of others.

How Long We Keep Information

Contact form submissions are kept as long as needed to respond and to keep a record of the inquiry. Client records are kept for the periods that professional standards and tax law require.

Security

The site is served over an encrypted connection. Portal access requires sign-in, and each client can see only their own information. Logins shared through the portal are encrypted before they are stored, and our office must enter a separate passcode before opening one. No system is completely secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect what you share with us.

Your Choices

You can ask to see the personal information we hold about you, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete information you sent through the contact form. Some client records must be kept for legal and professional reasons, and we will tell you if that applies. Contact us using the details below.

Because the site does not track visitors across other websites, it does not respond differently to browser "Do Not Track" signals.

California Residents

We serve clients in California. California residents may request the information described above under Your Choices. We do not sell or share personal information for advertising.

Children

This site is meant for businesses and adults. We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13.

Changes to This Policy

If this policy changes, the new version will be posted on this page with a new effective date. Significant changes affecting clients will also be announced on the Updates page.

Contact

Questions about this policy or your information:
William R. Bloomer, CPA
1245 Sierra Vista Drive, Gardnerville, NV 89460-9627
(775) 782-0438
wrb3cpa@aol.com