Client Privacy Notice

This notice explains what personal information we hold about you, why we hold it and what rights you have. It applies to our clients and to the individuals connected with them, such as directors, partners, employees and family members.

Who we are

N L Accounting (South West) Ltd is the data controller for the personal information we collect when providing accountancy, tax and advisory services. We are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), registration reference ZA446434.

If you have any questions about this notice or your information, please contact Nick Limb, Director:

• Email: nick@nl-accounting.co.uk
• Post: Unit 7, Town Farm Workshops, Dean Lane, Sixpenny Handley, Salisbury SP5 5PA

Information we collect

We collect only the information we need to provide our services and meet our legal duties. Depending on the work we do for you, this may include:

• identity and contact details, such as your name, address, date of birth, email and phone number;
• identification documents and the results of anti-money laundering checks;
• tax references, such as your National Insurance number and Unique Taxpayer Reference;
• financial information, such as bank statements, income, expenses, assets, pensions and investments;
• business records, such as invoices, receipts and accounting software data;
• payroll information about your employees, including pay, tax codes, pension details and, where needed for statutory pay, absence and family leave details;
• details of family members, where relevant to your tax affairs, for example for Child Benefit or marriage allowance.

Most of this comes from you. We may also receive information from HMRC, Companies House, your bank, your previous accountant, and identity verification and credit reference agencies.

How we use your information

We use your information only for the purposes below, and the law requires us to have a lawful basis for each.

• Providing the services in our letter of engagement, such as accounts, tax returns, VAT, payroll and bookkeeping – performance of our contract with you
• Identity checks and anti-money laundering compliance – legal obligation
• Keeping records required by HMRC, our professional body (AAT) and our insurers – legal obligation
• Processing your employees' data for payroll – legal obligation, and our contract with you
• Billing, collecting fees and managing our relationship with you – legitimate interests
• Sending you updates on tax changes and deadlines that may affect you – legitimate interests (you can opt out at any time)
• Defending or bringing legal claims – legitimate interests

Where we process special category data, such as health details needed for statutory sick pay, we do so to meet employment and social security law or to establish, exercise or defend legal claims. We do not use your information for automated decision-making or profiling.

Who we share it with

We never sell your information. We share it only where needed to provide our services or meet our legal duties, with:

• HMRC, Companies House and other government bodies;
• the software providers we use to run our practice, such as Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent, Sage, IRIS Elements, BrightPay, Dext, Hubdoc, BrightManager and Google Workspace;
• identity verification providers, for anti-money laundering checks;
• our professional body (AAT), insurers and professional advisers, where required;
• subcontractors working on our behalf, who are bound by the same confidentiality terms;
• our continuity alternate, as set out in our letter of engagement;
• the National Crime Agency, where the law requires us to report.

Some of our software providers store data outside the UK. Where this happens, we make sure it is protected by UK adequacy regulations or approved contract terms, such as the International Data Transfer Agreement.

How long we keep it

We keep your information for seven years after the end of the period it relates to, unless the law requires a longer period or it is needed for a legal claim. Anti-money laundering records are kept for five years after our relationship with you ends, as the Money Laundering Regulations require. After that, we securely delete or destroy them.

How we keep it safe

We store your information in secure, password-protected systems with two-factor authentication where available. Access is limited to those who need it to do their work. If a data breach is likely to put your rights at risk, we will tell you and the ICO as the law requires.

Your rights

Under data protection law, you have the right to:

• ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you;
• ask us to correct information that is wrong or incomplete;
• ask us to delete your information, where we no longer need to keep it;
• ask us to restrict or stop using your information in some circumstances;
• object to our use of your information based on legitimate interests, including updates and marketing;
• ask us to transfer information you gave us to another organisation.

To use any of these rights, contact us using the details above. We will respond within one month. Some rights are limited where we must keep information by law, for example for HMRC or anti-money laundering purposes.

Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, please contact us first so we can try to put it right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.

Changes to this notice

We review this notice regularly and will publish any changes on our website. This version was last updated on 2 November 2026.