48-Hour Answer Guarantee

1.1 The 48-Hour Answer Guarantee (the “Guarantee”) is offered by Accountants Direct Pty Ltd (ABN 16 155 811 448) (“Accountants Direct”, “we”, “us”, “our”) to eligible subscribers (“you”, “your”) as described in clause 3.

1.2 The Guarantee forms part of, and must be read together with, our Business Subscription Terms published at accountantsdirect.com.au/business-subscription-terms/ (the “Subscription Terms”) and your Services Proposal and engagement letter. If there is any inconsistency, the Subscription Terms and your engagement letter prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.

2.1 “Business Day” means a day other than a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday in Queensland, Australia.

2.2 “Business Hours” means 8:30am to 5:00pm (AEST/AEDT as applicable) on a Business Day.

2.3 “Designated Channels” means (a) email to your dedicated team or to support@accountantsdirect.com.au; (b) telephone or SMS to 1300 829 746 or your dedicated team’s direct line; and (c) any client portal or messaging facility we make available to subscribers. Questions raised by other means (including social media, personal mobiles of staff, or in passing during unrelated appointments) are not covered by the Guarantee.

2.4 “Eligible Question” means a question submitted by you through a Designated Channel that relates to the services included in your current Subscription Plan, and that is not excluded under clause 7.

2.5 “Response” has the meaning given in clause 6.

2.6 “48 Business Hours” means forty-eight elapsed hours, excluding any time falling on a weekend or public holiday as described in clause 5. For clarity, this is equivalent to two (2) Business Days.

3.1 If you submit an Eligible Question, we will provide a Response within 48 Business Hours of the question being received (as determined under clause 5).

3.2 If we fail to do so and your claim is verified under clause 11, we will credit your account with an amount equal to your subscription fee for the calendar month in which the failure occurred, in accordance with clause 10.

3.3 The Guarantee is available only while it remains published by us and applies to Eligible Questions received during that period.

4.1 The Guarantee applies to clients who, at the time the question is submitted:

(a) hold a current, active [Tax + Books™] subscription (or another plan we expressly state in writing includes the Guarantee);

(b) have paid all fees that are due and payable, and whose subscription is not suspended or in arrears;

(c) submit the question through a Designated Channel; and

(d) submit the question from, or on behalf of, a contact person authorised on the account.

4.2 The Guarantee is personal to the subscribing entity and cannot be assigned or claimed by third parties.

5.1 The Guarantee applies during Business Hours only. It does not run on weekends or public holidays.

5.2 A question received through a Designated Channel during Business Hours is taken to be received at that time. A question received outside Business Hours is taken to be received at the start of Business Hours on the next Business Day.

5.3 The 48 Business Hours run continuously from receipt but pause for any period that is not a Business Day. Example: a question received at 4:00pm on a Friday (with no public holidays following) is due a Response by 4:00pm on the following Tuesday.

5.4 Time also pauses during any period in which we are waiting for information, documents, access or instructions we have reasonably requested from you in order to respond.

6.1 A “Response” means a reply from us that engages substantively with your question, and includes any of the following:

(a) a complete answer to the question;

(b) summary or preliminary information, with fuller detail to follow; or

(c) one or more clarifying questions, or a request for information or documents we reasonably require in order to answer.

6.2 Where our Response is of the kind described in clause 6.1(b) or 6.1(c), the time required to fully resolve your question may be longer than 48 Business Hours, and that further period is not covered by the Guarantee. Full resolution timeframes are governed by the Subscription Terms (including clause 8, Completion Timelines).

6.3 The Guarantee is a commitment about response time. It is not a commitment that every question can be finally answered, or that work product (such as lodgements, financial statements, or formal advice) will be completed, within 48 Business Hours.

7.1 The Guarantee does not apply to:

(a) matters that depend on a third party, including the Australian Taxation Office, ASIC, state revenue offices, banks, software providers (including Xero and Sole) or your former accountant or bookkeeper;

(b) requests that constitute new or out-of-scope work requiring a quote, scoping or a formal written advice, opinion or research engagement;

(c) questions submitted while your account is suspended, in arrears, or subject to an unresolved dispute about fees;

(d) questions that are duplicates of, or materially similar to, a question already under response, or bulk submissions of multiple questions designed to trigger the Guarantee;

(e) questions from persons not authorised on your account; and

(f) communications that are abusive, unlawful or made other than in good faith.

7.2 Where only part of a communication is an Eligible Question, the Guarantee applies to that part only.

8.1 If our telephone, email or other communication systems suffer an outage, degradation or interruption (whether planned or unplanned), the time during which the outage subsists is excluded from the calculation of the 48 Business Hours, and our response time may be correspondingly longer.

8.2 Clause 18 (Force Majeure) of the Subscription Terms applies to the Guarantee. Without limiting that clause, we are not liable for any failure to respond within 48 Business Hours caused by events beyond our reasonable control, including natural disasters, telecommunications or internet failures, cyber incidents, or failures of third-party service providers.

9.1 Clause 7 (Fair Use Policy) of the Business Subscription Terms, available at accountantsdirect.com.au/business-subscription-terms/, applies to the Guarantee and to all questions and consultations submitted under it.

9.2 Without limiting clause 9.1: where a question or its answer amounts to a consultation, it is subject to the consultation allowance in clause 7.1 of the Subscription Terms (currently a maximum of four (4) consultations of up to 30 minutes each per calendar month, unless otherwise agreed in writing). Consultations beyond that allowance may be charged at our standard advisory rates, quoted in advance, and the Guarantee does not apply to any question to the extent it exceeds the fair-use allowance.

10.1 If we fail to meet the Guarantee and your claim is verified, we will apply a credit equal to your subscription fee for the calendar month in which the Eligible Question was received (“Credit”).

10.2 The Credit will be applied against your next invoice (or, for annual prepayments, recorded as a pro-rata credit on your account). The Credit is not redeemable or refundable for cash, is not transferable, and expires if your subscription is terminated for non-payment before it is applied.

10.3 A maximum of one (1) Credit may be claimed per calendar month, regardless of the number of affected questions in that month.

10.4 To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Credit is your sole and exclusive remedy for a failure to respond within 48 Business Hours, and clauses 14 (Liability) and 15 (Indemnity) of the Subscription Terms apply.

11.1 To claim, notify us in writing at support@accountantsdirect.com.au within fourteen (14) days of the date the Response was due, including the date, time, channel and content of the original question.

11.2 We will assess the claim against our communication records and system logs, acting reasonably, and notify you of the outcome within ten (10) Business Days. Our records are conclusive evidence of the time a question was received and a Response was sent, absent manifest error.

12.1 Our services come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law. Nothing in these terms excludes, restricts or modifies any consumer guarantee, right or remedy you have under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) or any other law that cannot lawfully be excluded. The Guarantee is in addition to those rights and remedies.

13.1 We may amend or withdraw the Guarantee at any time by updating this page. Changes apply prospectively to questions received after the change is published, and clause 19 (Changes to These Terms) of the Subscription Terms applies.

13.2 These terms are governed by the laws of Queensland, Australia, and the parties submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of its courts.

13.3 These terms were last updated on 18 August 2026