Privacy Notice

Introduction

Sync Accountants ("we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Notice explains how we collect, use, share, and safeguard your personal information when you interact with our website and services.

1. Who We Are

Data Controller: Sync Accountants
Address: The Media Centre, 7 Northumberland Street, Huddersfield, United Kingdom, HD1 1RL
Email: admin@syncaccountants.co.uk
Telephone: 01484 437403
ICO Registration Number: ZB517659

2. Personal Data We Collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data:

Client Data

  • Contact details (name, address, email, phone number)
  • Business information (company name, registration number, VAT number)
  • Financial records and transactions
  • Tax identification numbers and tax-related information
  • Banking details for payment processing
  • Employees' payroll information (if providing payroll services)
  • Correspondence between us

Website Visitor Data

  • IP address and browser information
  • Pages visited and time spent on our website
  • Referral source
  • Device information

Communication Data

  • Information provided through our contact forms (via Fillout.com)
  • Appointment booking details (via Calendly.com)
  • Email communications
  • Telephone conversations
  • Feedback and survey responses

3. How We Collect Your Data

We collect data through:

  • Direct interactions (when you provide information to us)
  • Automated technologies (cookies, server logs)
  • Third-party services (appointment booking systems, contact forms)
  • Public sources (Companies House, HMRC)

4. How We Use Your Data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

  • Providing Accounting Services:
    • Preparing financial statements and accounts
    • Tax compliance and filing
    • Payroll processing
    • Business advisory services
    • Maintaining accounting records
  • Business Operations:
    • Managing our relationship with you
    • Processing payments and billing
    • Meeting our legal and regulatory obligations
    • Responding to inquiries
  • Website and Service Improvement:
    • Analyzing usage data to enhance user experience
    • Troubleshooting technical issues
    • Developing new services
  • Marketing and Communications:
    • Providing information about our services
    • Sending newsletters and updates
    • Inviting you to events or webinars

5. Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal data on the following legal grounds:

  • Contractual Necessity: Processing necessary for the performance of our contract with you
  • Legal Obligation: Processing required to comply with our legal obligations (tax laws, anti-money laundering regulations)
  • Legitimate Interests: Processing necessary for our legitimate business interests, such as:
    • Improving our services
    • Ensuring the security of our website
    • Managing our client relationships
  • Consent: Where you have explicitly agreed to the processing of your data for specific purposes

6. Data Sharing and Recipients

We may share your personal data with:

  • Service Providers:
    • IT and system administration providers
    • Appointment scheduling services (Calendly.com)
    • Form providers (Fillout.com)
    • Analytics providers (Google Analytics)
    • Cloud storage providers
    • Professional advisors (legal, insurance, banking)
  • Regulatory Bodies and Authorities:
    • HMRC and other tax authorities
    • Financial Conduct Authority (if applicable)
    • Law enforcement agencies (when legally required)
  • Professional Bodies:
    • Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (or relevant accounting body)

We require all third parties to respect the security of your data and treat it in accordance with the law.

7. International Transfers

Some of our external third-party providers may be based outside the UK, which may involve the transfer of your data outside the UK. Whenever we transfer your personal data out of the UK, we ensure a similar degree of protection by implementing at least one of the following safeguards:

  • Transferring to countries deemed to provide an adequate level of protection by the UK government
  • Using specific contracts approved by the UK government that give personal data the same protection it has in the UK
  • Implementing appropriate supplementary measures where necessary

8. Data Retention

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which we collected it, including:

  • For the duration of our contractual relationship
  • To comply with legal, tax, and regulatory requirements (typically 6 years after the end of the financial year for accounting records)
  • To establish, exercise, or defend legal claims

9. Your Rights

Under the UK GDPR, you have the right to:

  • Access: Request copies of your personal data
  • Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate data
  • Erasure: Request deletion of your data in certain circumstances
  • Restriction: Request limitation of processing in certain circumstances
  • Data Portability: Request transfer of your data in a structured format
  • Object: Object to processing based on legitimate interests
  • Withdraw Consent: Withdraw consent at any time where we rely on consent to process your data
  • Automated Decision-Making: Not be subject to automated decision-making with significant effects

To exercise these rights, please contact us using the details provided in Section 1.

10. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to distinguish you from other users and improve your experience. We use:

  • Essential Cookies: Necessary for the website to function
  • Analytical/Performance Cookies: To recognize and count visitors and analyze website usage
  • Functionality Cookies: To recognize you when you return to our website
  • Targeting Cookies: To record your visit, pages visited, and links followed

You can set your browser to refuse all or some browser cookies or to alert you when websites set or access cookies. However, some parts of the website may become inaccessible or not function properly if you disable cookies.

11. Data Security

We have implemented appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used, or accessed in an unauthorized way, altered, or disclosed. We limit access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors, and other third parties who have a business need to know.

We have procedures to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach where we are legally required to do so.

12. Marketing Communications

We may use your data to provide you with information about our services that may be of interest to you. You will receive marketing communications from us only if:

  • You have requested such information
  • You have provided consent
  • We have a legitimate interest in doing so

You have the right to opt out of receiving marketing communications at any time by:

  • Clicking the "unsubscribe" link in any marketing email
  • Contacting us using the details in Section 1

13. Third-Party Links

Our website may include links to third-party websites, plug-ins, and applications. Clicking on those links may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. We do not control these third-party websites and are not responsible for their privacy statements.

14. Children's Privacy

Our services are not intended for children under 18, and we do not knowingly collect data from children.

15. Changes to This Privacy Notice

We may update this Privacy Notice from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated revision date. We encourage you to review this Privacy Notice periodically to stay informed about how we are protecting your data.

16. Complaints

If you have concerns about how we handle your personal data, please contact us first so we can try to resolve the issue. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House, Water Lane
Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Website: https://ico.org.uk/concerns/
Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Last Updated: 20/03/2025