Privacy Policy

Last updated: January 2025 · Version 1.0

  Plain English summary: We never collect your name, bank account details, or any personally identifying information. If you consent, we save anonymized business financial ratios (not exact figures) to improve our forecasting research. You can opt out at any time.

1. Who We Are

ClaritySMEFinance is a free financial forecasting tool for small business owners and entrepreneurs, built as part of academic research by Albert Gomes (M.S. Data Science & AI, Campbellsville University). The research is conducted in support of improving AI-driven financial tools for U.S. small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Contact: privacy@claritysmefinance.app

2. What We Collect

Without consent (default): We collect no data. All calculations happen in your browser. Nothing is transmitted to any server.

With your explicit consent only: We collect the following anonymized, non-identifying information:

Business industry category (e.g. "Healthcare", "Retail")
Business size category (e.g. "Small 10–49 employees")
US State (general location, not address)
Years in business (range, not exact date)
Revenue range (bucketed, e.g. "$15K–$30K/month" — never the exact figure)
Financial ratios: gross margin %, net margin %, expense ratio
Yes/no flags: has accountant, has software, has loan, accepts Medicaid
Computed health score and cash flow stress flag
Macroeconomic context at time of submission (Federal Reserve rate, CPI)
Anonymous session ID (random, not linked to your identity)

We never collect: Your name, business name, address, phone number, email, exact revenue or expense figures, bank account details, tax ID, Social Security number, or any information that could identify you personally.

3. How We Use This Data

To improve the accuracy of our SME financial forecasting models
To publish academic research on small business financial health patterns in the United States
To build industry benchmarks that help future users understand how their business compares to peers

We do not use your data for advertising, marketing, or any commercial purpose beyond improving this free research tool.

4. Data Sharing

We never sell, rent, or share your data with third parties, advertisers, or data brokers. Your data may appear in academic publications only in aggregated, anonymized form (e.g. "the average net margin for healthcare SMEs in our dataset was X%"). No individual records are ever published.

5. Data Storage and Security

Consented data is stored in a secure database (Supabase) with row-level security controls. Data is stored in the United States. We use industry-standard encryption in transit (HTTPS/TLS) and at rest.

6. Your Rights

Right to opt out: Close the consent dialog or click "No thanks" at any time. Your session data is immediately discarded.
Right to deletion: Email us at privacy@claritysmefinance.app with your anonymous session ID (shown after consenting) and we will delete your record within 30 days.
California residents (CCPA): We do not sell personal information. You have the right to know what data we have collected. Contact us to request a data summary.
Right to withdraw consent: You may withdraw consent at any time by contacting us. Future data will not be collected; previously collected anonymized data may be retained for research continuity.

7. Children's Privacy

ClaritySMEFinance is intended for adults (18+) operating businesses. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 18.

8. Changes to This Policy

We will update this page if our data practices change and increment the version number. Continued use after changes constitutes acceptance.

9. Contact

Questions about this privacy policy: privacy@claritysmefinance.app

Research inquiries: Albert Gomes, Campbellsville University, Kentucky, USA

ClaritySMEFinance · Academic Research Tool · Albert Gomes NIW Research · 2025