How CostMate collects, uses, and protects personal information under the NZ Privacy Act 2020, including AI processing and third-party service providers.
Last updated: 23 October 2026
This Privacy Policy explains how COSTMATE LIMITED ("CostMate", "we", "us", "our"), a company registered in New Zealand (Company number 9426990, NZBN 9429053650153), collects, uses, discloses and protects personal information. It applies to the CostMate website (costmate.co.nz) and the CostMate application (together, the "Service").
We handle personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020 and its Information Privacy Principles (IPPs).
CostMate is a business tool for building and trade professionals. "You" generally means the builder or business that holds a CostMate account. We also process limited personal information about your clients that you enter into the Service (for example, a homeowner's name and email on a quote). See clause 5.
If a business you work for or with uses CostMate, that business decides what it records about you. Ask it first; you can also contact us at support@costmate.co.nz.
Account and business information: your name, email address, password (stored in hashed form), and the business details you provide: company or trading name, phone, business address, logo, and where applicable your LBP number, NZBN, and GST number.
Information you input ("Your Content"): estimates, quotes, job details, scope descriptions, material and labour data, and client details you enter (client name, email, address).
Client phone numbers: if you add a client's phone number to a job, CostMate stores it with that job so you can call or text them from the job page. Only you can see it. It is included when you export your data, and deleted when you delete the job or your account.
Your website page: if you switch on My website, CostMate shows the words, photos and contact details you choose on a public page at costmate.co.nz/b/ followed by your chosen address, and anyone can open it. Photos on it are copies with their location data removed. If someone sends an enquiry through its form, we pass it to you as a lead.
Payment information: subscription payments are processed by Stripe. We receive limited billing details (such as plan, status and receipts) but do not store full card numbers.
Usage and technical information: log and device data such as IP address, browser and device type, and pages viewed, collected through our hosting platform's built-in analytics.
Communications: records of emails you send through the Service and any messages you send us for support.
Free Quote Checker email (optional): if you ask us to email you a Quote Checker report, we collect the email address you give us and keep it with a record of the request (the date and which report). We use it to send you that report. We do not create an account for you, and we do not share or sell your address. You can ask us to delete it at any time (see clause 12).
We use personal information to: provide and operate the Service; generate and format estimates and quote checks (including limited AI processing; see clause 6); send transactional emails on your behalf (for example, quotes to your clients); process subscriptions and billing; provide support; maintain security and prevent fraud or misuse; improve the Service; and comply with our legal obligations.
When you enter a client's details, you are responsible for ensuring you have the authority to provide that information and for letting your clients know how their information will be used. We process your clients' information only to provide the Service to you (for example, to render and email a quote). We do not use your clients' details for our own marketing.
Plans shared with crew: if you tick "Crew can see" on a job document, the crew members you have put on that job can open it from their crew screen. Plans can carry your client's name and address, so only tick the ones they need. Nothing is shared with crew until you tick it, and unticking it stops access straight away.
Some features (for example, scope summaries and the Quote Checker) send the relevant text you provide to Anthropic's Claude API to format or analyse it, so we can return results to you. This text can include details you have entered about a job or a client (such as a client's name or address).
Under Anthropic's commercial / API terms, the information we send is not used to train Anthropic's models; it is processed only to return results to us and is retained only for a short period for security and abuse-monitoring purposes. We do not sell your information.
Voice recordings: if you use a microphone button (for example, to describe a job), the recording is sent to Lovable's AI service, which uses a Google model, to turn it into written words. Where a feature then lays those words out for you, the written words (not the recording) go to Anthropic's Claude API. CostMate does not keep the recording. It keeps the written words you choose to save, and a note of how long each recording was and which screen it came from, so we can track what voice costs to run.
We use trusted third-party providers to run the Service. They process information on our behalf, only as needed to provide their service:
We do not sell personal information.
Some of our service providers store or process information outside New Zealand. Where a provider only stores or processes personal information on our behalf and does not use it for its own purposes, we remain responsible for that information under the Privacy Act, and we take reasonable steps (including relying on our providers' published data-processing terms) to ensure it is protected by safeguards comparable to those in the Privacy Act 2020, consistent with Information Privacy Principle 12. By using the Service, you accept that your information, and the information you enter, may be stored or processed outside New Zealand.
We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against loss, misuse and unauthorised access. No system is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
Closing your account. There is no button inside CostMate to close an account — closing goes through us. Email support@costmate.co.nz from the email address you sign in with and tell us you want your account closed. We may need to confirm it is you. Before we close the account, we make sure you have your Export everything download — the copy of your data you download from My Business → Export everything — and we only close it once you tell us you have it, so you keep your own records. The account is closed after that, and the rest of this section applies from then.
We keep personal information for as long as your account is active. After your account is closed, we delete or de-identify personal information within 90 days, except where we need to keep it longer to meet a legal obligation (for example, tax or accounting records). Information may persist in routine backups for up to 30 days after deletion.
We use cookies and similar technologies that are necessary to operate the Service (for example, to keep you signed in) and to understand how the Service is used. If we add non-essential analytics or advertising cookies in future, we will update this Policy.
Under the Privacy Act 2020 you may request access to, and correction of, the personal information we hold about you (IPPs 6 and 7). To make a request, or to ask us to close your account (section 10 explains how that works), contact support@costmate.co.nz. We may need to verify your identity. We will respond as soon as reasonably practicable, and within 20 working days, as required by the Privacy Act 2020.
If you are not satisfied with how we handle your request or your information, you may complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (privacy.org.nz).
We may send you product and marketing emails about CostMate. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in those emails. We will always send you transactional messages needed to operate the Service (such as quotes, receipts and account notices). We comply with the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007.
Texts and calls. After you sign up, Mark (who built CostMate) may now and then text or ring you about your account, for example to help you get started. Tell us at support@costmate.co.nz, or reply STOP to a text, and we won't contact you that way again.
If we cease to operate the Service, we will, where practicable, give you advance notice and an opportunity to export Your Content, and we will then securely delete personal information, except where we are required to retain it by law.
The Service is intended for business users and is not directed at children.
We may update this Policy from time to time. Where changes are material, we will notify you through the Service or by email. The "Last updated" date above shows the current version.
As required by section 201 of the Privacy Act 2020, our Privacy Officer is Mark Buckley. You can contact our Privacy Officer about this Policy or your information at support@costmate.co.nz.
COSTMATE LIMITED
Company number 9426990 · NZBN 9429053650153
Email: support@costmate.co.nz
Registered office: 239J Rosedale Road, Albany, Auckland 0632, New Zealand