Privacy Policy

Section 01

Who We Are

Acuna Bookkeeping is a self-employed bookkeeping practice based in Edinburgh, Scotland, operated by [Your Name]. We provide bookkeeping, VAT, payroll, and related financial services to small businesses across the UK.

For the purposes of UK data protection law, we are the data controller of your personal information.

Section 02

What Information We Collect

We collect personal information in the following situations:

• Enquiry form: name, email address, phone number, business name, and any information you include in your message.
• As a client: business and personal financial records, bank statements, invoices, payroll data, HMRC credentials, and other information needed to provide bookkeeping services.
• Communications: emails, calls, or messages you send to us.
• Website usage: basic analytics such as pages visited — no personally identifiable information is collected via the website itself.

Section 03

How We Use Your Information

• To respond to your enquiry and discuss our services.
• To provide bookkeeping and related services you have engaged us for.
• To meet our legal obligations, including submitting returns to HMRC on your behalf.
• To send relevant updates about your accounts or our services — never marketing without your consent.
• To maintain accurate financial records as required by law.

Section 04

Legal Basis for Processing

• Contract: processing is necessary to provide the bookkeeping services you have engaged us for.
• Legal obligation: we are required to process certain data to comply with HMRC and other regulatory requirements.
• Legitimate interests: responding to your enquiry and managing our business relationship.
• Consent: where you have explicitly agreed, for example by ticking the consent box on our contact form.

Section 05

Who We Share Your Information With

We do not sell or rent your personal data to third parties. We may share information only in these circumstances:

• HMRC: as required to submit VAT returns, payroll, and other statutory filings on your behalf.
• Xero: our cloud accounting software stores your financial data. See xero.com for their privacy policy.
• Your accountant: if you instruct us to share records with your professional advisers.
• Legal requirements: if we are required to disclose information by law or court order.

Section 06

How Long We Keep Your Data

• Client financial records: minimum 6 years from the end of the relevant tax year, as required by HMRC.
• Enquiry data (non-clients): up to 12 months, then securely deleted.
• Payroll records: minimum 3 years after the tax year they relate to.

After the applicable retention period, your data is securely deleted or anonymised.

Section 07

Your Rights

Under UK GDPR you have the following rights:

• Right of access: request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to rectification: ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Right to erasure: ask us to delete your data, subject to legal retention obligations.
• Right to restrict processing: ask us to limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
• Right to data portability: request your data in a portable format.
• Right to object: object to processing based on legitimate interests.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at contact@acunabookkeeping.co.uk. We will respond within 30 days.

Section 08

Data Security

We use secure, cloud-based software (Xero), communicate via encrypted email where possible, and do not store sensitive financial information in unsecured formats. Access to your data is limited to authorised personnel only.

In the unlikely event of a data breach that poses a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify you and the ICO as required by law.

Section 09

Cookies

Our website does not currently use tracking cookies or third-party analytics that collect personally identifiable information. If this changes, this policy will be updated accordingly.

Section 10

Complaints

If you have concerns about how we handle your data, please contact us first. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office:

Section 11

Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with a revised date.

Questions? Contact us at contact@acunabookkeeping.co.uk.