Privacy Policy

Introduction

RAS Accountants ("we", "our", "us") is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This policy explains how we collect, use, and protect any personal data you provide to us when using our services or our website.

We comply with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. Our ICO registration number is ZA123456.

Information We Collect

We may collect and process the following data about you:

Personal Information

• Name, contact details (email, phone, address)
• Date of birth, marital status, gender
• Financial information (income, expenses, tax details)
• National Insurance number, Unique Taxpayer Reference
• Business details (company number, VAT registration)

Technical Data

• IP address, browser type and version
• Pages visited, time spent on pages
• Cookie data (see our Cookie Policy)

How We Use Your Information

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

• To provide our accounting and tax services
• To comply with legal and regulatory obligations
• To communicate with you about your account
• To improve our services and website
• To prevent fraud and money laundering
• For internal record keeping

The legal basis for processing your data is typically to fulfill our contractual obligations to you, or to comply with legal requirements (e.g., HMRC regulations).

Data Sharing and Disclosure

We may share your information with:

• HMRC and other government bodies as required by law
• Our professional indemnity insurers when necessary
• Subcontractors who assist with our services (under strict confidentiality agreements)
• Law enforcement if required by court order

We will never sell your personal data to third parties.

Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorized access, alteration, or destruction, including:

• Encryption of sensitive data
• Secure password policies
• Regular staff training on data protection
• Secure file storage and transfer methods
• Restricted access to personal data

Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have rights including:

• Right to access - You can request copies of your personal data
• Right to rectification - You can request correction of inaccurate data
• Right to erasure - You can request deletion of your data in certain circumstances
• Right to restrict processing - You can object to certain processing
• Right to data portability - You can request transfer of your data to another provider

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at privacy@rasaccountants.co.uk.

Data Retention

We retain personal data for as long as necessary to:

• Fulfill our contractual and legal obligations (typically 7 years for tax records)
• Resolve any disputes
• Maintain business records

After this period, we will securely delete or anonymize your data.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The current version will always be available on our website. We will notify you of significant changes by email where appropriate.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this privacy policy or our data practices, please contact:

Data Protection Officer
RAS Accountants
7 Marbridge House, Harolds Road, Harlow, CM19 5BJ
Email: info@rasaccountants.co.uk
Phone: +44 745 331 5855