Privacy Policy

1. PURPOSE OF THIS NOTICE

This notice describes how we collect and use personal data about you, in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and any other national implementing laws, regulations and secondary legislation, as amended or updated from time to time, in the UK (‘Data Protection Legislation’).

Please read the following carefully to understand our practices regarding your personal data and how we will treat it.

2. ABOUT US

Swift Accounting & Bookkeeping Services Ltd is a firm of Chartered Accountants. We are registered in England and Wales as a limited liability company under number: 12861915 and our registered office is at Ground Floor, The Custom House, The Strand, Barnstaple, Devon, EX31 1EU.

For the purpose of the Data Protection Legislation and this notice, we are the ‘data controller’. This means that we are responsible for deciding how we hold and use personal data about you. We are required under the Data Protection Legislation to notify you of the information contained in this privacy notice.

Our Data Protection Point of Contact and is responsible for assisting with enquiries in relation to this privacy notice or our treatment of your personal data. Should you wish to contact our Data Protection Point of Contact you can do so using the contact details noted at paragraph 12 (Contact Us), below.

3. HOW WE MAY COLLECT YOUR PERSONAL DATA

We obtain personal data about you, for example, when:

  • you request a proposal from us in respect of the services we provide;
  • you OR your employer OR our clients engages us to provide our services and also during the provision of those services;
  • you contact us by email, telephone, post or social media (for example when you have a query about our services); or
  • from third parties and/or publicly available resources (for example, from your employer or from Companies House).

4. THE KIND OF INFORMATION WE HOLD ABOUT YOU

  • The information we hold about you may include the following:
  • your personal details (such as your name and/or address);
  • details of contact we have had with you in relation to the provision, or the proposed provision, of our services;
  • details of any services you have received from us;
  • our correspondence and communications with you;
  • information about any complaints and enquiries you make to us;
  • information from research, surveys, and marketing activities;
  • Information we receive from other sources, such as publicly available information, information provided by your employer OR our clients.

5. HOW WE USE PERSONAL DATA WE HOLD ABOUT YOU

We may process your personal data for purposes necessary for the performance of our contract with you OR your employer OR our clients and to comply with our legal obligations.

We may process your personal data for the purposes necessary for the performance of our contract with our clients. This may include processing your personal data where you are an employee, subcontractor, supplier or customer of our client.

We may process your personal data for the purposes of our own legitimate interests provided that those interests do not override any of your own interests, rights and freedoms which require the protection of personal data. This includes processing for marketing, business development, statistical and management purposes.

We may process your personal data for certain additional purposes with your consent, and in these limited circumstances where your consent is required for the processing of your personal data then you have the right to withdraw your consent to processing for such specific purposes.

Please note that we may process your personal data for more than one lawful basis depending on the specific purpose for which we are using your data.

Situations in which we will use your personal data

We may use your personal data in order to:

  • carry out our obligations arising from any agreements entered into between you OR your employer OR our clients and us (which will most usually be for the provision of our services);
  • carry out our obligations arising from any agreements entered into between our clients and us (which will most usually be for the provision of our services) where you may be a subcontractor, supplier or customer of our client;
  • provide you with information related to our services and our events and activities that you request from us or which we feel may interest you, provided you have consented to be contacted for such purposes;
  • seek your thoughts and opinions on the services we provide; and
  • notify you about any changes to our services.

In some circumstances we may anonymise or pseudonymise the personal data so that it can no longer be associated with you, in which case we may use it without further notice to you.

If you refuse to provide us with certain information when requested, we may not be able to perform the contract we have entered into with you. Alternatively, we may be unable to comply with our legal or regulatory obligations.

We may also process your personal data without your knowledge or consent, in accordance with this notice, where we are legally required or permitted to do so.

Data retention

We will only retain your personal data for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it is collected.

When assessing what retention period is appropriate for your personal data, we take into consideration:

  • the requirements of our business and the services provided;
  • any statutory or legal obligations;
  • the purposes for which we originally collected the personal data;
  • the lawful grounds on which we based our processing;
  • the types of personal data we have collected;
  • the amount and categories of your personal data; and
  • whether the purpose of the processing could reasonably be fulfilled by other means.

Change of purpose

Where we need to use your personal data for another reason, other than for the purpose for which we collected it, we will only use your personal data where that reason is compatible with the original purpose. Should it be necessary to use your personal data for a new purpose, we will notify you and communicate the legal basis which allows us to do so before starting any new processing.

6. DATA SHARING

Why might you share my personal data with third parties?

We will share your personal data with third parties where we are required by law, where it is necessary to administer the relationship between us or where we have another legitimate interest in doing so.

Which third-party service providers process my personal data?

“Third parties” includes third-party service providers and other entities within our group. The following activities are carried out by third-party service providers: IT and cloud services, professional advisory services, administration services, marketing services and banking services.

All of our third-party service providers are required to take commercially reasonable and appropriate security measures to protect your personal data. We only permit our third-party service providers to process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.

What about other third parties?

We may share your personal data with other third parties, for example in the context of the possible sale or restructuring of the business. We may also need to share your personal data with a regulator or to otherwise comply with the law.

7. STORING AND TRANSFERRING PERSONAL DATA 

We will store and process some of your personal data in the UK. This means that it will be fully protected under the Data Protection Legislation.

We will store and process some of your personal data within the European Economic Area (the “EEA”). The EEA consists of all EU member states, plus Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein. This means that your personal data will be fully protected under the EU GDPR and/or to equivalent standards by law. Transfers of personal data to the EEA from the UK are permitted without additional safeguards.

We may also store and process some or all of your personal data in countries outside of the UK and EEA. These are known as “third countries”. We will take additional steps in order to ensure that your personal data is treated just as safely and securely as it would be within the UK and under the Data Protection Legislation.

8. DATA SECURITY

Data security is very important to Us, and to protect your data We have taken suitable measures to safeguard and secure data collected through Our Site.

Steps We take to secure and protect your data include: 

  • All devices and computers that we store your data on are password protected;
  • All devices and computers that we store your data have anti-virus software and are constantly updated to the most recent operating system; and
  • We only store your data on computers and devices owned by Us. We also use Contractors who may store Our data on their computers, servers and any such cloud storage they may access. We will take all reasonable steps to ensure that your data will be handled safely, securely, and in accordance with your rights, Our obligations, and the obligations of the third party under the law.

We have put in place commercially reasonable and appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed. In addition, we limit access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need to know. They will only process your personal data on our instructions and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

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

9. RIGHTS OF ACCESS, CORRECTION, ERASURE, AND RESTRICTION

Your duty to inform us of changes

It is important that the personal data we hold about you is accurate and current. Should your personal information change, please notify us of any changes of which we need to be made aware by contacting us, using the contact details below.

Your rights in connection with personal data

Under certain circumstances, by law you have the right to:

  • Request access to your personal data. This enables you to receive details of the personal data we hold about you and to check that we are processing it lawfully.
  • Request correction of the personal data that we hold about you.
  • Request erasure of your personal data. This enables you to ask us to delete or remove personal data where there is no good reason for us continuing to process it. You also have the right to ask us to delete or remove your personal data where you have exercised your right to object to processing (see below).
  • Object to processing of your personal data where we are relying on a legitimate interest (or those of a third party) and there is something about your particular situation which makes you want to object to processing on this basis. You also have the right to object where we are processing your personal information for direct marketing purposes.
  • Request the restriction of processing of your personal data. This enables you to ask us to suspend the processing of personal data about you, for example if you want us to establish its accuracy or the reason for processing it.
  • Request the transfer of your personal data to you or another data controller if the processing is based on consent, carried out by automated means and this is technically feasible.

If you want to exercise any of the above rights, please email our data protection point of contact [email protected]

You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal data (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request for access is clearly unfounded or excessive. Alternatively, we may refuse to comply with the request in such circumstances.

We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access the information (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is another appropriate security measure to ensure that personal information is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it.

10. RIGHT TO WITHDRAW CONSENT

In the limited circumstances where you may have provided your consent to the collection, processing and transfer of your personal data for a specific purpose (for example, in relation to direct marketing that you have indicated you would like to receive from us), you have the right to withdraw your consent for that specific processing at any time. To withdraw your consent, please email our data protection point of contact [email protected].

Once we have received notification that you have withdrawn your consent, we will no longer process your personal information (personal data) for the purpose or purposes you originally agreed to, unless we have another legitimate basis for doing so in law.

11. CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE

Any changes we may make to our privacy notice in the future will be updated on our website at: www.swiftbks.co.uk/privacy-policy

This privacy notice was last updated on 7th June 2021.

12. CONTACT US

If you have any questions regarding this notice or if you would like to speak to us about the manner in which we process your personal data, please email our Data Protection Point of Contact, Kieran Stocker [email protected] or telephone him on 01237 478246

You also have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues, at any time. The ICO’s contact details are as follows:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Telephone – 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545 745

Website – https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/

COOKIES POLICY

OUR USE OF COOKIES

Our Site may place and access certain first party Cookies on your computer or device. First party Cookies are those placed directly by Us and are used only by Us. We use Cookies to facilitate and improve your experience of Our Site and to provide and improve Our services. We have carefully chosen these Cookies and have taken steps to ensure that your privacy and personal data is protected and respected at all times.

All Cookies used by and on Our Site are used in accordance with current Cookie Law.

All Cookies used by and on Our Site are used in accordance with current Cookie Law. We may use some or all of the following types of Cookie:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

A Cookie falls into this category if it is essential to the operation of Our Site, supporting functions such as logging in, your shopping basket, and payment transactions.

Analytics Cookies

It is important for Us to understand how you use Our Site, for example, how efficiently you are able to navigate around it, and what features you use. Analytics Cookies enable us to gather this information, helping Us to improve Our Site and your experience of it.

Functionality Cookies

Functionality Cookies enable Us to provide additional functions to you on Our Site such as personalisation and remembering your saved preferences. Some functionality Cookies may also be strictly necessary Cookies, but not all necessarily fall into that category.

Targeting Cookies

It is important for Us to know when and how often you visit Our Site, and which parts of it you have used (including which pages you have visited and which links you have visited). As with analytics Cookies, this information helps us to better understand you and, in turn, to make Our Site and advertising more relevant to your interests. 

Persistent Cookies

Any of the above types of Cookie may be a persistent Cookie. Persistent Cookies are those which remain on your computer or device for a predetermined period and are activated each time you visit Our Site.

Session Cookies

Any of the above types of Cookie may be a session Cookie. Session Cookies are temporary and only remain on your computer or device from the point at which you visit Our Site until you close your browser. Session Cookies are deleted when you close your browser.

Before Cookies are placed on your computer or device, you will be shown a pop-up requesting your consent to set those Cookies. By giving your consent to the placing of Cookies you are enabling Us to provide the best possible experience and service to you. You may, if you wish, deny consent to the placing of Cookies; however certain features of Our Site may not function fully or as intended. You will be given the opportunity to allow only first party Cookies and block third party Cookies.

Certain features of Our Site depend on Cookies to function. Cookie Law deems these Cookies to be “strictly necessary”. These Cookies are shown below in the table section. Your consent will not be sought to place these Cookies, but it is still important that you are aware of them. You may still block these Cookies by changing your internet browser’s settings as detailed below, but please be aware that Our Site may not work properly if you do so. We have taken great care to ensure that your privacy is not at risk by allowing them.

We do not currently have any first party Cookies running on this website

The following third party Cookies may be placed on your computer or device:

Name of CookieProviderPurpose
_fbpFacebookThis cookie is set by Facebook to deliver advertisement when they are on Facebook or a digital platform powered by Facebook advertising after visiting this website.
frFacebookThe cookie is set by Facebook to show relevant advertisements to the users and measure and improve the advertisements. The cookie also tracks the behaviour of the user across the web on sites that have Facebook pixel or Facebook social plugin.
bscookieLinkedInThis cookie is a browser ID cookie set by linked share buttons and ad tags.
langLinkedInThis cookie is used to store the language preferences of a user to serve up content in that stored language the next time user visit the website.
bcookieLinkedInThis cookie is set by LinkedIn. The purpose of the cookie is to enable LinkedIn functionalities on the page.
lidcLinkedInThis cookie is set by LinkedIn and used for routing.
UserMatchHistoryLinkedInLinkedin – Used to track visitors on multiple websites, in order to present relevant advertisement based on the visitor’s preferences.
AnalyticsSyncHistoryLinkedInUsed to store information about the time a sync with the lms_analytics cookie took place for users in the Designated Countries

Our Site uses analytics services provided by Google. Website analytics refers to a set of tools used to collect and analyse anonymous usage information, enabling Us to better understand how Our Site is used. This, in turn, enables Us to improve Our Site and the services offered through it. You do not have to allow Us to use these Cookies, however whilst Our use of them does not pose any risk to your privacy or your safe use of Our Site, it does enable Us to continually improve Our Site, making it a better and more useful experience for you.

The analytics service(s) used by Our Site use(s) Cookies to gather the required information.

The analytics service(s) used by Our Site use(s) the following Cookies:

Name of CookieFirst / Third PartyProviderPurpose
_gcl_auThirdGoogleThis cookie is used by Google Analytics to understand user interaction with the website.
_gaThirdGoogleThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site’s analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_gidThirdGoogleThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the website is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages visited in an anonymous form.
_gat_UA-185280079-1ThirdGoogleThis is a pattern type cookie set by Google Analytics, where the pattern element on the name contains the unique identity number of the account or website it relates to. It appears to be a variation of the _gat cookie which is used to limit the amount of data recorded by Google on high traffic volume websites.

In addition to the controls that We provide, you can choose to enable or disable Cookies in your internet browser. Most internet browsers also enable you to choose whether you wish to disable all cookies or only third party cookies. By default, most internet browsers accept Cookies but this can be changed. For further details, please consult the help menu in your internet browser or the documentation that came with your device.

You can choose to delete Cookies on your computer or device at any time, however you may lose any information that enables you to access Our Site more quickly and efficiently including, but not limited to, login and personalisation settings.

It is recommended that you keep your internet browser and operating system up-to-date and that you consult the help and guidance provided by the developer of your internet browser and manufacturer of your computer or device if you are unsure about adjusting your privacy settings.