AccountsHelp is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This policy explains what personal data we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, how long we keep it and what rights you have.

AccountsHelp is a trading name of V&C Services Limited, registered in England and Wales under company number 06749021, with its office at Regus, One Elmfield Park, Bromley BR1 1LU. V&C Services Limited is the data controller for the personal data described in this policy. We handle personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.

If you have any question about this policy, contact us at [email protected] or on 020 3488 6108.

What personal data we collect

When you enquire through this website or become a client, we may collect:

Your name and the name of your business
Your email address and telephone number
Your postal address
Your date of birth and National Insurance number, where needed for tax filings
Your Unique Taxpayer Reference and other tax identifiers
Your profession or trade
Financial and accounting records you provide so that we can carry out the work
Identification documents we are required to obtain under anti-money laundering rules

Our website does not collect payment card details. Where a payment is taken, it is handled directly by a payment provider or by bank transfer, and we do not store card numbers.

Our web host records standard technical information such as IP address, browser type and operating system as part of serving and securing the site.

Why we use it, and our lawful basis

To respond to your enquiry. Our lawful basis is our legitimate interest in answering people who contact us.
To provide accounting and tax services. Our lawful basis is performance of our contract with you.
To meet our legal and regulatory obligations, including client identification under anti-money laundering rules and the retention of records. Our lawful basis is compliance with a legal obligation.
To keep our own business records and to improve our services. Our lawful basis is our legitimate interest in running the practice properly.

Who we share it with

We share personal data only where it is necessary. That may include HMRC and Companies House when we file on your behalf, the accounting software providers we use to deliver the service, our professional advisers, and Sipher Accounting and Tax Limited where they are involved in your work. Each of these acts under a duty of confidentiality or a written agreement.

We do not sell your personal data. We do not share it with other organisations for their own marketing purposes.

Where your data is held

We use established software providers to deliver our services, and some of them store data outside the United Kingdom. Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we take steps to ensure it remains protected to the standard required by UK data protection law, including using providers who rely on approved safeguards.

How long we keep it

We keep client records for at least six years after the end of the engagement, because tax and company law requires it and because HMRC can open enquiries into earlier years. Records collected for anti-money laundering purposes are kept for five years after the relationship ends. Enquiries that do not become engagements are deleted once they are no longer relevant.

Your rights

Under UK data protection law you have the right to:

Ask for a copy of the personal data we hold about you
Ask us to correct data that is inaccurate or incomplete
Ask us to erase data, where we are not required to keep it
Ask us to restrict how we use your data
Object to processing carried out on the basis of legitimate interests
Ask for your data in a portable format, where it applies
Withdraw consent at any time, where we relied on consent

There is no charge for making any of these requests. Contact us at [email protected] and we will respond within one month.

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk, or by calling 0303 123 1113. We would ask you to raise it with us first so that we have the chance to put it right.

Security

We have put in place physical, electronic and managerial procedures to protect the information we hold and to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure. This website is served over an encrypted connection.

Cookies

This website sets no tracking or advertising cookies. See our cookie policy for the detail.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The date at the top shows when it was last changed. Please check it occasionally so that you remain content with any changes.

Privacy policy