Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Welcome to Edward Harris. We are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information when you visit our website, contact us, or use our services. We process personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

2. Who We Are

For data protection law, Edward Harris is the “data controller” of the personal information we hold about you. You can contact us at:
Address: Prospect House, Featherstall Road South, OL96HT
Phone Num: 0161 706 1523
Email: info@EdwardHarris.co.uk

3. Information We Collect

We may collect and process the following information about you:

Name, business name, email address, telephone number, and postal address.
Financial and accounting records, bookkeeping data, invoices, and payroll information.
Tax reference numbers such as UTR, National Insurance number, VAT number, and PAYE references.
Proof of identity documents required for anti-money laundering checks.
Technical data collected automatically, including IP address, browser type, device information, and pages visited.
Information received from third parties such as HMRC, Companies House, your previous accountant, or your other professional advisers.

4. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

To respond to your enquiries and provide quotes or consultations.
To provide accountancy, tax, payroll, bookkeeping, and advisory services under our engagement with you.
To prepare and submit statutory accounts, tax returns, and other filings on your behalf.
To verify your identity and carry out anti-money laundering checks, as required by law.
To issue invoices, take payment, and maintain our business records.
To send newsletters, tax updates, and deadline reminders where you have consented or where you are an existing client.
To improve our website and understand how visitors use it.
To comply with our legal and professional obligations.

We rely on one or more of the following lawful bases: performance of a contract, compliance with a legal obligation, your consent, or our legitimate interests in running and promoting our business.

5. Cookies

Our website uses cookies to help the site function correctly and to understand how it is used. This includes strictly necessary cookies, functional cookies, analytics cookies, and marketing cookies. Non-essential cookies are only set where you have given consent. You can change or withdraw your consent at any time through your browser settings or our cookie settings, although disabling certain cookies may affect how the website works.

6. Marketing Communications

Where you have consented, or where you are an existing client and the content is relevant to services you have received, we may send you updates about our services. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in any email or by contacting us at info@edwardharris.co.uk. Opting out will not affect communications relating to the services we are providing to you.

7. Sharing Your Information

We do not sell your personal data. We may share it with:

HM Revenue & Customs, Companies House, and other government bodies where required to make filings on your behalf.
Our professional body and any quality assurance reviewers bound by confidentiality.
IT, cloud accounting, and software providers acting as our data processors.
Payment processors, banks, and identity verification providers.
Solicitors, financial advisers, lenders, or other professionals where you have asked us to liaise with them.
Law enforcement, regulators, or the National Crime Agency where we are under a legal duty to disclose.

Please note that under money laundering legislation we may be required to make a report to the authorities without informing you. This is a legal obligation that overrides our duty of confidentiality.

8. International Transfers

We aim to store your data within the UK or the European Economic Area. Where a provider stores or processes data outside the UK, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as UK adequacy regulations or the International Data Transfer Agreement. You may request further details of these safeguards by contacting us.

9. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes set out in this policy and to meet our legal and professional obligations. Client accounting, tax, and payroll records are generally retained for at least six years, and anti-money laundering identification records for five years from the end of the business relationship. Unsuccessful enquiries are typically deleted within twelve months. At the end of the retention period, data is securely deleted or destroyed.

10. Data Security

We have appropriate technical and organisational measures in place to protect your personal data, including encrypted data transmission, access controls, secure cloud storage with regular backups, staff training, and the secure disposal of paper records. However, no method of transmission over the internet is completely secure, and any transmission is at your own risk. Where a data breach is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will report it to the Information Commissioner’s Office within 72 hours and notify you where required.

11. Your Rights

Under UK data protection law, you have the right to:

Be informed about how your data is used.
Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Have inaccurate or incomplete data corrected.
Request erasure of your data, where no legal obligation requires us to keep it.
Request that we restrict how we use your data.
Receive your data in a structured, commonly used format.
Object to processing, including direct marketing, at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, please email info@edwardharris.co.uk. We will respond within one month. We may need to verify your identity before acting on your request.

12. Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to third-party websites for your convenience. We do not control these websites and are not responsible for their content, policies, or privacy practices. We encourage you to read the privacy policy of every website you visit.

13. Children’s Privacy

Our website and services are not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under the age of 16, except where it forms part of a client’s records and has been provided by a parent or guardian. If you believe we hold data about a child that we should not, please contact us.

14. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to update this Privacy Policy at any time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated effective date. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

15. Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data, please contact us first at info@edwardharris.co.uk so that we can try to resolve the matter. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF, telephone 0303 123 1113, or via ico.org.uk.

16. Contact Us

If you have any questions regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact us through the contact details provided on our website or by email at info@edwardharris.co.uk.