Plain English summary: SparkBiz collects only the data needed to provide our invoicing, variation order, and electronic signature tools. We do not sell your data, we do not read your emails, and your data is stored securely in Australia. You can request deletion of your data at any time.
SparkBiz ("we", "us", "our") is an Australian software-as-a-service product providing invoicing, variation order management, and electronic signature (e-sign) tools for small businesses. SparkBiz is operated by Pingens Holdings Pty Ltd, ABN 43 660 178 389, based in New South Wales, Australia.
For privacy enquiries, contact us at privacy@sparkbiz.com.au.
When you create a SparkBiz account, we collect:
To operate the service, we store data you provide including:
When you visit sparkbiz.com.au (not the logged-in application), we log basic, anonymous pageview data for our own internal statistics: which page was viewed, the referring website (if any), and a fingerprint made by hashing your IP address and browser together with the current date. This hash changes every day and cannot be reversed back into your IP address — we do not use cookies, and we do not share this data with any third party or advertising network.
If you choose to connect your Gmail account, we request the following Google permission only:
We store an OAuth access token and refresh token to maintain this connection. We do not request or have access to your inbox, sent folder, drafts, contacts, or any other Google service (Drive, Calendar, etc.). Google enforces these restrictions at a technical level. You can revoke SparkBiz's access to your Gmail at any time from your Google Account permissions page or from the Settings page within SparkBiz.
If you choose to connect your Outlook, Hotmail, or Microsoft 365 account, we request the Mail.Send permission via Microsoft Graph — the ability to send emails on your behalf only. We do not request or have access to your inbox, calendar, contacts, or files. We store an OAuth access token and refresh token to maintain this connection. You can revoke access at any time from your Microsoft account's app permissions page or from the Settings page within SparkBiz.
If you choose to send documents using your own mail server ("Custom SMTP"), we store the host, port, username, and password you provide. Your password is encrypted at rest and is never displayed back to you or any staff member in plain text — it is used only to authenticate outgoing sends on your behalf.
If you use the bank reconciliation feature, you may upload a bank statement CSV file. We process this file to match transactions to invoices. The raw file is not permanently stored — only matched transaction records are retained in your account.
Subscription payments are processed by Stripe. We do not collect or store your full card number, expiry, or CVC — these are entered directly into Stripe's secure checkout and never touch SparkBiz's own servers. We store a Stripe customer ID and subscription ID so we can manage your billing status and grant access to the modules you've purchased.
When you send a document for signature, the people you send it to (who may not themselves hold a SparkBiz account) have the following data collected when they open and act on their signing link: name and email address (as provided by you), IP address, browser user-agent, consent timestamp, and their captured signature/initials image, along with any date, text, or checkbox values they enter. This data forms part of the permanent record of the signed document and its certificate of completion.
We may collect basic technical data such as browser type, IP address, and pages accessed for security and performance purposes. We do not use third-party advertising trackers.
| Purpose | Data used | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Providing the invoicing, variation, and e-sign services | Account info, client/recipient data, document data | Contract performance |
| Sending documents on your behalf | Email provider OAuth token or SMTP credentials, recipient email addresses | Contract performance |
| Generating PDF invoices, work orders, and signed documents | Business details, document data, captured signatures | Contract performance |
| Payment reconciliation | Bank transaction data (temporary) | Contract performance |
| Billing and subscription management | Stripe customer/subscription ID | Contract performance |
| Account security and fraud prevention | IP address, login activity | Legitimate interest |
| Product improvement | Anonymised usage patterns | Legitimate interest |
| Customer support | Account info, correspondence | Contract performance |
We do not sell, rent, or share your personal information with third parties for marketing purposes.
Authorised SparkBiz support staff may, where necessary to diagnose or resolve a support request, temporarily access your account. This access is limited to what's needed to help you.
Your uploaded documents and files (e-sign documents, variation attachments) are stored in Australian cloud storage (AWS Sydney, ap-southeast-2 region), and system emails are sent via AWS's Sydney region. Your account and business data (invoices, client records, and other information you enter into SparkBiz) is stored in a managed database currently hosted in the EU (Amsterdam).
We retain your data for as long as your account is active. Signed E-Sign documents and their certificates of completion, and Variation attachments and approval records, are retained permanently as the record of a completed transaction, regardless of outcome. If you close your account, we will delete your remaining personal data within 30 days, except where we are required to retain it for legal or tax compliance purposes.
SparkBiz uses the following third-party services to operate:
| Service | Purpose | Data shared | Privacy policy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Database hosting | Stores account and business data | All account and business data | — |
| Amazon Web Services (SES & S3) | Default email delivery and document/file storage | Email content and recipient addresses; uploaded PDFs and attachments | aws.amazon.com/privacy |
| Resend | Automatic email delivery fallback | Email content and recipient addresses | resend.com/legal/privacy-policy |
| Google Gmail API | Email sending (if you connect Gmail) | Email content and recipient addresses | policies.google.com/privacy |
| Microsoft Graph API | Email sending (if you connect Outlook/Microsoft 365) | Email content and recipient addresses | privacy.microsoft.com |
| Stripe | Subscription billing and payment processing | Billing contact details; card details go directly to Stripe, never to SparkBiz | stripe.com/au/privacy |
| Application hosting | Runs the SparkBiz application | Application traffic only | Provider privacy policy |
We do not use Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, or any advertising trackers.
Under the Australian Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles, you have the right to:
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@sparkbiz.com.au. We will respond within 30 days.
SparkBiz uses only essential cookies/local storage required for authentication (session management). We do not use advertising cookies, tracking cookies, or analytics cookies. No cookie consent banner is required as we use essential cookies only.
SparkBiz is a business tool intended for use by adults operating businesses. We do not knowingly collect personal information from individuals under 18 years of age.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "last updated" date at the top of this page and notify active users by email if the changes are material. Continued use of SparkBiz after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
SparkBiz Privacy Officer
Pingens Holdings Pty Ltd
ABN: 43 660 178 389
New South Wales, Australia
Email: privacy@sparkbiz.com.au
Response time: within 30 days of receipt.