1. Introduction

At Accountants4Less Ltd, we treat the protection of personal data with utmost importance.

In the course of operating our business, we process Personal Data in a variety of ways. This Privacy Policy (the "Policy") addresses the individuals ("Data Subjects") whose Personal Data we may receive in the course of providing accounting, tax, payroll, and advisory services to our clients ("Services"). This includes clients, potential clients, and any other individuals whose data we may handle as part of these Services.

2. Our Role as Data Controller

Within the scope of this Policy, Accountants4Less acts as a data controller for the Personal Data we process. This means that we decide how and why Personal Data is collected and further processed, particularly in relation to the accounting services we provide to our clients.

3. Legal Basis for Processing

We may process your Personal Data on the basis of:

• your consent;
• contractual necessity based on the professional services contract we entered into with you;
• our legitimate interests, such as fulfilling our duties as professional accountants;
• our obligation to comply with applicable law, including UK tax and accounting regulations and our responsibilities as an ICAEW member; or
• any other ground, as required or permitted by applicable law.

4. How We Collect Personal Data

We may collect or otherwise receive your Personal Data when:

• you provide it to us directly as a client or prospective client, through phone, email, mail, a contact form on our website, or by providing information relevant to accounting or tax services;
• we obtain it from publicly available sources relevant to your business or financial status, such as Companies House, HMRC, or other professional registers;
• your financial or legal representatives (e.g., solicitors, banks) provide it to us in connection with accounting, tax, or advisory services; or
• we receive it as part of fulfilling our regulatory obligations as an ICAEW member.

5. Categories of Personal Data

We may process the following categories of Personal Data:

• identification information, such as first and last name;
• professional and financial information, such as job title, position, business ownership details, financial accounts, tax information, and investment details;
• billing information, such as bank account information and payment card details;
• contact information, such as email address, postal address, phone number, and fax number; and
• any other information necessary to fulfil our obligations as accountants and professional advisors, such as National Insurance numbers, Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) numbers, and payroll data.

6. Purpose of Processing

We may process your Personal Data for the purposes of:

• managing our relationship with you as your accountant;
• providing accounting, tax, payroll, advisory, and related accounting services to you;
• responding to your requests or questions regarding your financial affairs;
• collecting payments that are due to Accountants4Less;
• complying with legal and regulatory obligations, including financial reporting and tax submissions to HMRC;
• enforcing our legal rights;
• improving our accounting and advisory services;
• tracking visits to our website through cookies and other technologies; and
• complying with laws and regulations applicable to Accountants4Less, including professional regulations imposed by the ICAEW.

7. Data Retention

We will retain your Personal Data for as long as is strictly necessary to provide our Services and to comply with legal, tax, or regulatory obligations. For example, we are required to retain certain financial records for a minimum of six years as per HMRC requirements. When the purposes of processing are satisfied, and retention is no longer required by law, we will delete or anonymise the related Personal Data.

8. Third Party Data Sharing

We may share Personal Data with:

• HMRC and other regulatory authorities as required by law;
• professional bodies such as the ICAEW to comply with regulatory oversight;
• service providers who process Personal Data on our behalf to assist with accounting software, cloud storage, and secure document management systems;
• subcontractors who assist in providing our accounting, tax preparation, payroll, or advisory services, and who agree to use the Personal Data solely for the purpose of assisting us in delivering these Services to you;
• the providers of artificial intelligence and machine learning tools (such as large language model services) used to assist with drafting, analysis, summarising documents, and the preparation and delivery of client services; where such tools process personal data, we ensure this is done on the basis of appropriate contractual terms and, where data is transferred outside the United Kingdom, in accordance with UK GDPR transfer mechanisms; and
• legal representatives, financial institutions, or other third parties as necessary to fulfil our professional obligations.

Some of these third parties may be located outside the United Kingdom. In such cases, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place in accordance with the UK GDPR. These may include the Information Commissioner's Office-approved International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA), or other transfer mechanisms recognised under UK data protection law. Where we use artificial intelligence tools to assist in processing client data, we take steps to limit the personal data shared to what is strictly necessary, and we select providers whose terms are compatible with our data protection obligations.

9. Cookies

A "cookie" is a small file stored on your device that contains information about your device. For more information about the cookies we use, please refer to our Cookie Notice below, which forms a part of this Notice.

10. Security of Data

We have implemented and will maintain technical, administrative, and physical security measures that are reasonably designed to help protect Personal Data from unauthorised processing, such as unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction.

11. Your Rights: Access and Review

If we process your Personal Data, you may have the right to request access to (or to update, correct, or delete) such Personal Data. You may also have the right to ask that we limit our processing of such Personal Data, as well as the right to object to our processing of such Personal Data. You may also have the right to data portability with respect to such Personal Data.

You may have the right to opt out if your Personal Data is used for any purpose that is materially different from the purpose(s) for which it was originally collected or which you originally authorized. To submit these requests or raise any other questions, please contact us by using the information in the "Contact Us" section below.

12. Privacy of Children

The Services are not directed at, or intended for use by, children under the age of 18.

13. European Economic Area and United Kingdom Supervisory Authority Oversight

If you are a Data Subject whose Personal Data we process, you may also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection regulator in one or more of the European Economic Area member states or the United Kingdom (UK).

14. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Policy or our processing of your Personal Data, please write to us at:

Cookie Notice

This Cookie Notice explains how Accountants4Less Limited uses cookies and similar technologies on our website.

A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that we store on your browser or the hard drive of your computer if you agree. Cookies contain information that is transferred to your computer's hard drive.

We use the following types of cookies on our website:

You can find more information about the individual cookies we use and the purposes for which we use them on the Google Analytics website.

To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them, visit www.allaboutcookies.org. To opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics across all websites visit https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

You can control and manage cookies through your browser settings. You can choose to block or delete cookies, but please note that doing so may affect your experience on our website.

If you have any questions about our use of cookies or on this Notice in general, please contact us at [email protected].