HG Accounting Ltd customer privacy notice
This privacy notice tells you what to expect us to do with your personal information.
- Contact details
- What information we collect, use, and why
- Lawful bases and data protection rights
- Where we get personal information from
- How long we keep information
- Who we share information with
- Sharing information outside the UK
- How to complain
- Contact detailsEmail: [email protected]What information we collect, use, and why
We collect or use the following information to provide and improve products and services for
clients:
Names and contact details
Addresses
Occupation
Date of birth
Payment details (including card or bank information for transfers and direct debits)
Financial data (including income and expenditure)
Transaction data (including details about payments to and from you and details of products and services you have purchased)
Employment details (including salary, sick pay and length of service)
Records of meetings and decisions
Account access information
We collect or use the following personal information for the operation of client or customer
accounts:
Names and contact details
Addresses
Purchase or service history
Account information, including registration details
Information used for security purposes
We collect or use the following personal information for the prevention, detection,
investigation or prosecution of crimes:
Names and contact information
Client accounts and records
Financial information eg for fraud prevention or detectionWe collect or use the following personal information for information updates or marketing purposes:
Names and contact details
Marketing preferences
We collect or use the following personal information to comply with legal requirements:
Name
Contact information
Identification documents
Client account information
Any other personal information required to comply with legal obligations
We collect or use the following personal information for dealing with queries, complaints or claims:
Names and contact details
Addresses
Payment details
Account information
Purchase or service history
Customer or client accounts and records
Financial transaction information
Correspondence
Lawful bases and data protection rights
Under UK data protection law, we must have a “lawful basis” for collecting and using your personal information. There is a list of possible lawful bases in the UK GDPR. You can find out more about lawful bases on the ICO’s website.
Which lawful basis we rely on may affect your data protection rights which are set out in brief below. You can find out more about your data protection rights and the exemptions which may apply on the ICO’s website:
Your right of access - You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information. You can request other information such as details about where we get personal information from and who we share personal information with. There are
some exemptions which means you may not receive all the information you ask for.
Read more about the right of access.
Your right to rectification - You have the right to ask us to correct or delete personal information you think is inaccurate or incomplete. Read more about the right to
rectification.Your right to erasure - You have the right to ask us to delete your personal information. Read more about the right to erasure.
Your right to restriction of processing - You have the right to ask us to limit how we can use your personal information. Read more about the right to restriction of processing.
Your right to object to processing - You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data. Read more about the right to object to processing.
Your right to data portability - You have the right to ask that we transfer the personal information you gave us to another organisation, or to you. Read more about the right to data portability.
Your right to withdraw consent – When we use consent as our lawful basis you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. Read more about the right to withdraw consent.
If you make a request, we must respond to you without undue delay and in any event within one month.
To make a data protection rights request, please contact us using the contact details at the top of this privacy notice.
Our lawful bases for the collection and use of your data
Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information to provide and improve products and services for clients are:
Contract – we have to collect or use the information so we can enter into or carry out a contract with you. All of your data protection rights may apply except the right to object.
Legitimate interests – we’re collecting or using your information because it benefits you, our organisation or someone else, without causing an undue risk of harm to anyone. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to portability. Our legitimate interests are:
Processing this information is necessary for the legitimate interests of running our bookkeeping practice efficiently, optimizing our delivery of financial workflows, and ensuring client account security. The benefits to our clients are immense, as it allows us to securely manage their data, provide accurate financial reporting, and recommend service improvements or software efficiencies that save their business
time and money. Because the data is strictly limited to standard commercial financial records, and is protected by robust security measures, the processing is
entirely necessary and does not unfairly override or negatively impact the rights, freedoms, or privacy risks of the individuals involved.For more information on our use of legitimate interests as a lawful basis you can contact us using the contact details set out above.Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information for the operation of client or customer accounts are:
Contract – we have to collect or use the information so we can enter into or carry out a contract with you. All of your data protection rights may apply except the right to object.
Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information for the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of crimes are:
Legal obligation – we have to collect or use your information so we can comply with the law. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to erasure, the right to object and the right to data portability.
Recognised legitimate interests - our pre-approved purpose for collecting or using personal information for the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of crimes:
We need to prevent, detect, or investigate a crime, including the apprehension and prosecution of offenders (the ‘crime condition’).
Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information for information updates or marketing purposes are:
Consent - we have permission from you after we gave you all the relevant information. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to object. To be clear, you do have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.
Legitimate interests – we’re collecting or using your information because it benefits you, our organisation or someone else, without causing an undue risk of harm to anyone. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to portability.
Our legitimate interests are:
Processing this information is necessary for the legitimate interests of promoting our bookkeeping services and keeping our existing business clients informed about vital financial updates, tax year changes, and regulatory requirements. The benefit to individuals and corporate clients is that they receive relevant, timely professional updates that help them manage their businesses effectively and stay compliant with HMRC. The privacy risk to individuals is extremely low, as we only process basic business contact data, never share it with third parties for their own marketing, and include a clear, instant option to opt-out or unsubscribe from every communication we send.
For more information on our use of legitimate interests as a lawful basis you can contact us using the contact details set out above.
Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information to comply with legal requirements:
Legal obligation – we have to collect or use your information so we can comply with the law. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to erasure, the right to object and the right to data portability.Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information for dealing with queries, complaints or claims are:
Contract – we have to collect or use the information so we can enter into or carry out a contract with you. All of your data protection rights may apply except the right to object.
Legitimate interests – we’re collecting or using your information because it benefits you, our organisation or someone else, without causing an undue risk of harm to anyone. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to portability. Our legitimate interests are:
Processing this information is necessary for the legitimate interests of handling consumer or business enquiries effectively, investigating service complaints, and defending our practice against potential legal disputes or professional indemnity
insurance claims. The benefit to individuals is that it ensures their queries or complaints are fully documented, tracked, and resolved in a professional manner.
The benefit to our organisation is the ability to maintain accurate historical correspondence records to satisfy our regulatory requirements and protect our business interests. The impact on individuals is minimal because the data is restricted entirely to relevant business communications and is stored securely in line with legal limitation periods, meaning it does not pose an unfair risk to their privacy.
For more information on our use of legitimate interests as a lawful basis you can contact us using the contact details set out above.
Where we get personal information from
Directly from you
Publicly available sources
Third parties:
We receive personal information from our business clients regarding their employees, subcontractors, suppliers, and customers. This information is provided to us by the client to allow us to perform contracted professional bookkeeping services, financial reporting, accounts payable/receivable management, and payroll administration on their behalf.
How long we keep information
We retain personal and financial data in accordance with statutory UK requirements. Specifically:
Client Accounting Records & Tax Files: Retained for a minimum of 6 years from the end of the relevant company financial year, as mandated by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) Anti-Money Laundering (AML) & Identity (KYC) Verifications: Retained for 5 years after the business relationship with the client has officially ended.
General Enquiries & Correspondence: Retained for up to 2 years following our last contact,
unless the individual becomes an active client.For more information on how long we store your personal information or the criteria we use to determine this please contact us using the details provided above.Who we share information with
Data processors
We use UK/EEA cloud accounting software providers, UK/EEA/US secure cloud storage and IT communication tools, and UK-based identity verification platforms for mandatory regulatory AML screening.
This data processor does the following activities for us: They host cloud-based accounting and
payroll engines to track client bookkeeping transactions, reconcile live bank data feeds, manage
sales and purchase ledgers, and compute statutory payroll and VAT returns. They also provide secure, encrypted cloud data storage environments to hold day-to-day business emails, financial
spreadsheets, contract documentation, and onboarding correspondence. Finally, they run
automated identity screening scripts against public databases to verify government-issued identification documents for compliance with mandatory Anti-Money Laundering (AML)
regulations.
Others we share personal information with
Other financial or fraud investigation authorities
Insurance companies, brokers or other intermediaries
Professional or legal advisors
Organisations we’re legally obliged to share personal information with
Sharing information outside the UK
Where necessary, we may transfer personal information outside of the UK. When doing so, we comply with the UK GDPR, making sure appropriate safeguards are in place.
For further information or to obtain a copy of the appropriate safeguard for any of the transfers below, please contact us using the contact information provided above.
Organisation name: Global Cloud Software Vendors
Category of recipient: Information Technology & Cloud Storage Providers
Country the personal information is sent to: United States of America
How the transfer complies with UK data protection law: The country or sector has been assessed as providing adequate protection to data subjects (also known as Adequacy Regulations
or UK data bridge)
Where necessary, our data processors will share personal information outside of the UK. When doing so, they comply with the UK GDPR, making sure appropriate safeguards are in place.
For further information or to obtain a copy of the appropriate safeguard for any of the transfers
below, please contact us using the contact information provided above.Organisation name: Global Cloud Software Vendors
Category of recipient: Information Technology & Cloud Storage Providers
Country the personal information is sent to: United States of America
How the transfer complies with UK data protection law: The country or sector has been assessed as providing adequate protection to data subjects (also known as Adequacy Regulations
or UK data bridge)How to complain
If you have any concerns about our use of your personal information, you can make a data
protection complaint to us:
Email: [email protected]
If you remain unhappy with how we’ve used your data after raising a complaint with us, you can
also complain to the ICO.
The ICO’s address:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Helpline number: 0303 123 1113
Website: https://www.ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint
HG Accounting Ltd is a registered company in England and Wales. Company number: 08657173
Registered office address: 39 Priory Road, Tonbridge, Kent, TN9 2AS
Harry Gill AATQB is licensed and regulated by AAT. Licence number: 1009411
ICO Data Protection Registration Number: ZC015247 Privacy Policy
