Effective date: January 1, 2026
These terms apply to bookkeeping, payroll, advisory, tax, and other recurring (“subscription”) services Molen & Associates provides to the business named in your signed engagement agreement (“you”). If these terms and your signed engagement agreement differ, your signed agreement controls.
1. Scope of services
We perform only the services and frequencies listed in your engagement agreement. You review and approve journal entries, transaction classifications, and account coding we prepare or change. Tax return preparation and other projects may require their own engagement agreement.
2. Additional services
Work outside your agreement, such as audit support, amended returns, prior-period cleanup, or financial statements for a lender, is quoted before we begin and added only by written agreement at a mutually agreed price.
3. Term and termination
Services begin on the start date in your agreement and run for an initial period of 12 months, then continue month to month until ended by either party or replaced by a newer agreement. Notice of any change or termination must be given in writing 30 days in advance.
If you end the engagement early, all services rendered during the term are collected in full. On termination, you pay for any work performed through the end of the notice period that has not yet been paid, at the agreed rates or otherwise at our then-current rates. Because our pricing spreads annual work, such as tax returns and year-end work, across the monthly fee, this includes the unpaid portion of any such work already completed. We may apply any deposits or payments already received to amounts owed.
4. Fees and rate changes
Your estimated monthly fee is honored for the first 90 days and is then confirmed or adjusted to reflect the actual work performed. We give 30 days’ written notice of any rate change, and you may end the engagement during that period.
5. Invoicing and payment
We invoice monthly; invoices are due on receipt and are charged to your payment method on file. We may suspend services or withdraw from the engagement if invoices become delinquent. Undisputed balances unpaid after 60 days accrue interest at 1.5% per month or the maximum allowed by law, whichever is lower, and you agree to pay reasonable costs of collection, including attorneys’ fees.
6. Retainers
If a retainer is required, we will tell you up front. Retainers are held on account and applied to future invoices or an agreed payment schedule. Any unused balance is refunded within 60 days after the engagement ends or on your request.
7. Your responsibilities
You are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the records and information you provide, for giving us timely access to people and documents, and for business decisions you make. On request, provide items such as bank and credit card statements, loan statements, payroll reports, sales records, accounting file backups, formation documents, prior tax returns, and entity election letters.
8. Our advice and limits of our work
We will share our professional opinion and alternatives we are aware of, but decisions remain yours. Our services are not an audit and are not designed to detect errors, fraud, or theft, although we will tell you about any we notice. Where specialized help is needed, we may refer you to an attorney or another professional. If we find prior-period errors or unreconciled balances, you authorize us to make the adjusting entries needed to produce current financial statements.
9. Satisfaction commitment
If you are ever unhappy with our work, tell us right away so we can make it right. If we cannot resolve it, we will work with you on a fair adjustment for the affected services.
10. Confidentiality, technology and data security
We keep your information confidential and protect it under our written information security program, as required by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the FTC Safeguards Rule. We disclose it only as required by law, as needed to perform the services, or with your written consent. We use service providers bound by confidentiality and security obligations, and may use AI-enabled tools whose terms do not allow the provider to train its models on client information. Tax return information is shared with providers outside the United States only with your separate written consent under IRC §7216. Email is not fully secure; please use our client portal for sensitive files. If your industry has stricter privacy requirements, you are responsible for telling us and ensuring that what you share with us complies.
11. Records
Your original documents remain yours and are returned when our work is complete. We keep copies of the records related to your engagement, including working papers and filed returns, for seven years or as otherwise required by law. Our records do not replace your own.
12. Intellectual property
Our methods, templates, and tools remain our property. Any forms or reports we create for you may be used within your business.
13. Limitation of liability and indemnity
Our total liability for any claim related to these services is limited to the fees you paid us for the services giving rise to the claim, and we are not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages, including lost profits, except where the law does not allow such limits. You agree to indemnify us for losses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, caused by your negligence, dishonest or intentional acts, or failure to meet your obligations under your engagement agreement.
14. Governing law and disputes
Texas law governs these terms. Any action relating to them must be brought in the state or federal courts located in Harris County, Texas. The prevailing party may recover reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.
15. Electronic signatures and entire agreement
Electronic signatures and records are binding. Your signed engagement agreement, its schedules, and these terms are the entire agreement and replace any prior understandings. By signing, you confirm you are authorized to bind the business named in the agreement.
Questions
Molen & Associates
11555 Champion Forest Dr., Houston, TX 77066
Phone: (281) 440-6279
Email: info@molentax.com