Frequently Asked Questions

What is Second Difference Solutions?

Second Difference Solutions, LLC (2diff.io) is a financial analytics software company in Clarksburg, West Virginia. It makes 2diff.io Business: plain-language financial statements, ratios, forecasts and AI insights for small business owners.

What applications do you offer?

We offer one product, 2diff Business, on four plans: Free (a sample company, no card), Bronze ($9.99/month, no accounting software required, no AI), Silver ($19.99/month, AI insights, connects to QuickBooks^® Online or works from figures you type) and Gold (premium AI models, coming). Silver includes everything in Bronze.

We are also developing 2diff Econ, an economic data dashboard using Federal Reserve (FRED) data.

Who is this platform designed for?

Built for small business owners. Accountants and advisors who want to use it with clients: email us; client-by-client plans are not available yet.

Can my accountant use it?

2diff Business is licensed for your own business's internal use, and client-by-client plans for accountants and advisors are not available yet. Accountants and advisors who want to use it with clients: email us at info@2diff.io.

Where is the company located?

Second Difference Solutions, LLC is based in Clarksburg, West Virginia. Our services are hosted on Google Cloud Platform infrastructure for reliability and security.

How much does 2diff Business cost?

2diff Business has four plans. Free costs nothing and runs on a sample company. Bronze is $9.99 a month, with no AI. Silver is $19.99 a month and includes everything in Bronze, plus AI insights. Gold, with premium AI models, is coming and has no price yet. Paid plans are month to month. See our pricing page for the comparison.

Is there a free trial?

There is no trial period. The Free plan stays free on sample data: create a free account, with no card, and explore a sample company's statements, ratios and forecast before you choose a paid plan. Visit our demo page to try it with no account.

How do I cancel my subscription?

You can cancel your subscription at any time with the “Manage Subscription” button on your App Dashboard. Your access continues until the end of your current billing period, and no further charges will be made.

What payment methods do you accept?

We accept all major credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover) through our secure payment processor, Stripe. We do not store your full credit card information on our servers.

Do you offer refunds?

Subscriptions are month to month and non-refundable, except in the cases our Terms of Service describe. Cancel anytime from the billing portal and keep access to the end of the period.

Is there a limit on how much I can use the AI?

Yes. Silver includes a daily AI allowance, a ceiling on tokens or model spend rather than a question count, that resets at midnight UTC, and a monthly ceiling also applies. Reaching an allowance pauses AI features until it resets and never adds a charge. Bronze has no AI. The figures are on our pricing page.

How do you protect my data?

2diff.io encrypts data in transit and at rest, signs in through Intuit OAuth 2.0, and only reads your reports. The layers:

• Encryption in transit: All data is encrypted using TLS 1.2 or higher
• Encryption at rest: Data stored in our databases is encrypted at rest by Google Cloud Platform using AES-256
• OAuth 2.0: We never see or store your QuickBooks^® password
• We only read your data: We never create, change, or delete anything in your accounting file
• SOC 2 infrastructure: Hosted on Google Cloud Platform

See our Security page for complete details.

Do you sell my data?

No. We never sell, share, or monetize your financial data. Your data is used solely to provide analytics and insights to you. See our Privacy Policy for complete details.

How long do you keep my data?

While your accounting data is connected, we keep a copy of the reports we read so the app loads quickly, and we read them again once that copy is older than a set window: 4 hours for the current year, 7 days for last year (late adjustments are still possible), 30 days for earlier closed years, and 24 hours for your company details. The Refresh data button in Settings reads the current year again at any time. When you disconnect from inside the app, access is revoked and the stored financial data is deleted right away; the disconnect page covers disconnecting from QuickBooks^® itself. Transaction records for billing are retained for 7 years per legal requirements. See our Privacy Policy for complete retention details.

Can I delete my data?

Yes. You can disconnect from QuickBooks^® at any time, which immediately revokes our access. If you type your figures, Delete my entered data on the Enter Data screen removes them. You can also request complete account deletion by emailing info@2diff.io.

What happens to my data when I disconnect 2diff Business?

Disconnecting inside the app immediately revokes 2diff Business's access to QuickBooks^® Online. Your stored financial data, saved goals and valuations are deleted right away, so download any statements you want to keep first. The disconnect page covers disconnecting from the QuickBooks^® side instead.

What happens to my data when I cancel?

When your subscription ends, our access to your accounting data ends and the connection is revoked. Your stored financial data and goals are kept for a 90-day reactivation window, during which you can download your reports, and are then deleted. 2diff Business figures you typed stay in your account until you delete them, or until 90 days after you close your account. Billing records are kept for 7 years for tax compliance. The data lifecycle table in our Privacy Policy has the details.

Is my data used to train AI models?

No. We never use your financial data to train, fine-tune, or improve AI models. When you use AI features, your request goes to the provider you select, whose API terms state that API content is not used to train their models. How long a provider keeps a request is set by those terms, which we link to from our Privacy Policy and do not control.

Where are the product questions answered?

Questions about what 2diff Business does, the AI features, the QuickBooks^® Online connection, and exports are answered in the 2diff Business FAQ.

Is 2diff Business accounting software?

No. 2diff Business is an analytics layer that reads reports from accounting software you already use. Bookkeeping, invoicing, payroll and tax filing stay in your accounting software and with your accountant.

Can 2diff Business work from a spreadsheet?

Yes. 2diff Business needs only yearly totals: income, cost of goods sold, operating expenses, interest, taxes and balance sheet totals. You can copy them from a spreadsheet or a tax return into a short form.

How do I create an account?

Open the dashboard sign-in page and choose “Create a free account”. Continue with Google, or provide an email address and create a password, then verify your email to activate your account.

I forgot my password. How do I reset it?

On the login page, click “Forgot Password” and enter your email address. You will receive a password reset link within a few minutes. Check your spam folder if you do not see it.

How do I contact support?

You can reach us at info@2diff.io. We typically respond within 1-2 business days. For urgent security matters, include “URGENT” in your subject line.

Do you offer phone support?

Currently, we provide support via email only. This allows us to keep costs low and pass savings on to our customers.

Where can I find documentation?

Documentation is available throughout our site:

• 2diff Business Quick Start: both ways to start
• 2diff Business Guide: every screen in full
• AI Insights Guide: the AI assistant on Silver
• How It Works: Connection process explained
• Security: Security practices
• Financial Statements Guide: Understanding your reports
• Our blog: Guides on financial analytics and small business management
• Our economics blog: Inflation, rates, jobs, and GDP as the data lands
• 2diff Business FAQ: App-specific questions

What browsers are supported?

We support the latest versions of:

• Google Chrome (recommended)
• Mozilla Firefox
• Microsoft Edge
• Safari

Internet Explorer is not supported.

Is there a mobile app?

Currently, our applications are web-based and accessible from any device with a modern browser. Native mobile apps may be developed in the future.

What happens if the service goes down?

We use Google Cloud Platform infrastructure with high availability and redundancy. In the rare event of downtime, your connected books stay in QuickBooks, and figures you type are stored in Google Cloud.