Privacy Policy

Lantern is the secure client portal of SW Accounting & Consulting Corp (“SW Accounting,” “we,” “us”). It is where our bookkeeping and tax clients view the financial statements we prepare for them. This policy explains what information the portal handles and what we do with it.

The short version

• We collect only what is needed to sign you in and show you your own company's reports.
• We do not sell or share your information, and we do not use it for advertising.
• Lantern runs no advertising trackers and no analytics tools. There are no third-party tracking cookies on this site.

Information we handle

• Account information — your name and email address, and which companies you are permitted to view.
• Sign-in information — if you sign in with a password, it is stored only as a cryptographic hash and we cannot read it. If you sign in with Google, Google confirms your identity to us and provides your name and email address (see below).
• Notification records — when we email you that a statement is ready, we record the recipient address, subject, date, and whether delivery succeeded.
• Documents — files our staff place in your portal for you, along with the file name, size, and upload date.
• Session cookies — strictly necessary cookies that keep you signed in. They are not used for advertising or tracking across other websites.

About the financial data you see

The statements, ledgers, and balances shown in Lantern are prepared by SW Accounting from records you provide to us under our engagement — bank statements, payroll reports, point-of-sale exports, and similar records. That information is not collected through this portal; the portal is where we publish the finished result for you to read. Our handling of those underlying records is governed by our engagement letter with you and by the confidentiality obligations that apply to us as accountants.

Signing in with Google

If you choose “Continue with Google,” we request only your basic profile and email address, and we use them for one purpose: to confirm who you are and sign you into Lantern. We do not request or receive access to your Gmail, Google Drive, contacts, calendar, or any other Google service, and we do not use Google sign-in information for advertising or transfer it to anyone for advertising.

Service providers

We use a small number of vendors to operate Lantern. They process information only to provide their service to us:

• Supabase — database, sign-in, and file storage for the portal.
• Vercel — website hosting and delivery.
• Resend — delivery of the “your statements are ready” emails.
• Google — identity verification, only if you choose to sign in with Google.

How your information is protected

Traffic to and from Lantern is encrypted. Access is restricted at the database level so that a signed-in user can read only the companies that have been assigned to them; this is enforced by the database itself, not merely by the screens. Within our firm, access is limited to staff who need it to do the work.

No system can promise perfect security. If we learn of a breach affecting your information, we will notify you as required by applicable law.

How long we keep it

We keep account and portal records for as long as you have access to Lantern, and afterward for as long as we are required to retain client records under professional and legal obligations. When you ask us to close your access, we remove your sign-in account and your company assignments.

Your choices

You may ask us to show you the personal information we hold about you, correct it, or close your portal account. Write to us at swyoun@sw-cpas.com and we will respond. Note that closing your portal account does not delete the accounting records we are required to keep for you.

If you are a California resident, you have rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act, including the right to know what personal information we collect and to request deletion of information we are not required to retain. We do not sell or share personal information, so there is nothing to opt out of. Use the same contact address to exercise these rights.

Children

Lantern is a business tool for our clients and is not directed to children. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we will update the effective date above, and we will tell you directly if the change is significant.

Contact

SW Accounting & Consulting Corp — swyoun@sw-cpas.com