This policy explains what personal information Yardstick Solutions LLC ("Yardstick", "we") collects, how we use it, who we share it with, and the choices you have. It covers our website, yardsticksolutions.com, the services we provide to clients, and the internal systems we use to run the business.
1. Who we are
Yardstick Solutions LLC builds custom software and automation for small and mid-sized businesses. We are based in Costa Mesa, California.
Contact: contact@yardsticksolutions.com, 760 613 8283.
2. Information we collect
When you contact us or order from our website. The forms on our website do not send anything to us directly. They open a pre-filled message in your own email app, and you choose whether to send it. If you do, we receive what you wrote, such as:
- your name and email address,
- your message,
- for an order, the size, quantity and shipping address.
We never ask for card numbers by email. If an order needs payment, we send you a secure payment link from our payment processor.
When you work with us as a client. We collect:
- business contact details for the people we work with,
- billing contacts,
- the information needed to deliver the work, such as access to systems and the data you give us,
- invoices and records of what you have paid.
When you pay us. Payment comes in one of two ways:
- Zelle, wire or bank transfer: we see the amount, date, payer name and memo, as our bank records them.
- Card: the payment is handled by our processor, Stripe. We do not see or store your full card number.
When you visit our website. Our hosting provider processes standard server logs to deliver the site and protect it from abuse. These include your IP address, browser type, the pages requested and the time. Our website does not use analytics, advertising trackers or cookies.
3. How we use it
We use personal information to:
- reply to you and provide what you asked for,
- deliver client work,
- send invoices, match payments to them and keep accounting records,
- keep our systems secure,
- meet legal and tax obligations.
We do not sell personal information. We do not share it for advertising. We do not use it to make automated decisions about you.
4. How we use Plaid
We use Plaid Inc. ("Plaid") to connect Yardstick's own business bank account to our internal billing system, so we can see when client payments arrive.
If you pay us by bank transfer or Zelle, Plaid provides us with the transaction details our bank already shows for your payment: the amount, date, payer name and memo. We use them only to match your payment to your invoice.
We do not use Plaid to access your bank account, and we will never ask you to connect it.
Plaid's own handling of data is described in the Plaid End User Privacy Policy.
5. Who we share it with
We share personal information only with service providers that help us run the business, and only as needed for that purpose:
| Provider | What it does for us |
|---|---|
| Google Workspace | Email and documents |
| Vercel | Hosts our website and applications |
| Supabase | Hosts our databases |
| Resend | Sends invoice and notification emails |
| Stripe | Processes card payments |
| Plaid | Reads deposits into our own bank account |
| Dropbox | Stores contracts and documents |
| GitHub | Stores our source code |
Software we build for a client may use other providers, such as AI model providers. Those are set out in that client's agreement.
We may also disclose information when the law requires it, to protect our rights or the safety of others, or as part of a sale or reorganization of the business. In that last case, this policy continues to apply.
6. How long we keep it
We keep personal information only as long as we need it:
- Invoices, payments and accounting records: 7 years after the end of the tax year they relate to.
- Client project data: returned or deleted within 30 days after an engagement ends, unless the agreement says otherwise.
- Messages: kept as long as they relate to work or records we still hold.
Our Data Retention and Disposal Policy sets out the details.
7. How we protect it
We use encryption in transit and at rest. Every staff account that can reach personal information requires multi-factor authentication. Access is limited to the two people who run Yardstick, and only for the work that needs it. Our bank connection credentials are separately encrypted.
No system is perfectly secure. If a breach affects your information, we will tell you without undue delay and as the law requires.
8. Your choices and rights
You can ask us to:
- tell you what personal information we hold about you,
- correct it,
- delete it.
Email contact@yardsticksolutions.com and we will respond within 30 days. We may need to confirm your identity first, and we may keep records the law requires us to keep, such as invoices.
If you live in California, you may have additional rights under California law, and the requests above are available to you. We do not sell or share personal information as those laws define it, and we will not treat you differently for making a request.
Do Not Track. Our website does not track you over time or across other websites, so it does not change its behavior in response to Do Not Track signals.
9. Children
Our website and services are for businesses. They are not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 16.
10. Changes
If we change this policy, we will update the effective date above and post the new version at yardsticksolutions.com/privacy. For a significant change that affects clients, we will also tell you by email.
11. Contact
Questions or requests: contact@yardsticksolutions.com, or Yardstick Solutions LLC, Costa Mesa, California.