Legal
Privacy policy.
What we collect, why, how long we keep it and how to ask us about it.
What we collect
When you use the enquiry form we collect your name, phone number, email address and postcode, what the enquiry is about, where you are with it, and anything you write. The form also records the time it was sent and your IP address, used only to block automated submissions.
When you become a client we hold your identity documents and the result of an electronic identity check, which the Money Laundering Regulations require; your business records, bank feed data and bookkeeping in the software; your tax returns, accounts and correspondence with HMRC and Companies House; and your portal account. If we run your payroll we hold your employees' names, addresses, National Insurance numbers, pay and pension details as a processor on your behalf, under a written agreement.
Why we use it
- To do the accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll work you have engaged us for (contract).
- To comply with the Money Laundering Regulations, our professional body's rules and our duties to HMRC and Companies House (legal obligation).
- To remind you of deadlines in the portal and by text, and to make the July, January and spring calls (contract).
- To tell you about a change in tax rules that affects your business, which you can decline (legitimate interest).
How long we keep it
Enquiries that do not become an engagement are deleted after six months. Client records are kept for six years after the end of the tax year or accounting period they relate to, as HMRC requires, and then deleted; identity records for five years after the relationship ends. Software accounts are yours and transfer with you if you leave; we remove our access when the engagement ends.
Who sees it
The three of us, and the software providers (FreeAgent or Xero, the portal, the payroll and pension systems) as processors under their published terms. Beyond that, only HMRC, Companies House, your pension provider, your bank if you ask us to send something, our professional body and insurers if they ask, and the electronic identity-check provider. The form is delivered by email to us; we do not use third-party marketing platforms and we never sell or share your details.
Cookies
This site sets a single session cookie to limit repeat form submissions. It contains no personal data and expires when you close the browser. The deadline calendar marks the next date in your browser and sends nothing. The embedded map on the find-us page is served by Google and may set cookies under Google's own policy. The client portal is a separate site with its own notice.
Your rights
You can ask for a copy of what we hold, ask us to correct it, ask us to delete what we are not required to keep, or object to how we use it. Email hello@ledgerandvale.co.uk or write to the address above. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk.