This policy explains what personal information Beechwood Accountants collects, why, and what you can do about it — whether you're just getting in touch through our website or you're already a client. It applies alongside anything specific we agree with you when you become a client (for example, in our engagement letter).
01Who we are
Beechwood Accountants is the trading name of M F Consultancy Ltd, company number 03922444, registered in England and Wales. Our registered office and trading address is Ground Floor, 6 High View Close, Vantage Park, Leicester, LE4 9LJ. We're registered with the CPAA (Certified Public Accountants Association).
We're registered with the Information Commissioner's Office under registration reference ZB418427 (M.F. Consultancy Limited).
For anything to do with this policy or your personal information, contact us at info@beechwoodaccountants.com or 01162 200112.
02What information we collect
If you just get in touch — through our contact form or to ask for our tax guide — we collect your name, email address, phone number, and whatever you tell us in your message.
If you become a client, we collect a lot more, because we need it to do the work: your personal and business financial records, National Insurance number and Unique Taxpayer Reference, bank details where relevant to the service, and proof of identity — we're required by anti-money-laundering law to check who our clients are before we act for them.
03How we use it, and our legal basis
- Responding to your enquiry — our legitimate interest in dealing properly with people who contact us.
- Providing accountancy, bookkeeping and company secretarial services once you're a client — because it's necessary to deliver the contract we have with you, and to meet our own legal obligations (filing with HMRC and Companies House, anti-money-laundering checks).
- Sending marketing emails — only where you've given us clear consent to do so, which you can withdraw whenever you like. See "Marketing emails" below.
04Who we share it with
Do you share my information with anyone else?
Yes, but only where it's needed to do our job for you or where the law requires it — we don't sell or rent out your information.
Which third parties?
HMRC and Companies House, where we're filing something on your behalf. The accounting and practice software we use to deliver the work — which may include Xero, QuickBooks, Dext, Link my Books, VT Transaction+, TaxCalc or Moneysoft, depending what suits your business. Specialist advisers we bring in for specific pieces of work outside our everyday service, such as SSAS pension administration, holding company structures, or Inheritance Tax planning — they only see what's relevant to that piece of work. And our own team, including a bookkeeper who works with us remotely from outside the UK.
05Sending information outside the UK
Some of our day-to-day work is carried out by members of our team who work for us remotely from outside the UK. Where that happens, we put an appropriate legal safeguard in place first — an International Data Transfer Agreement, together with an assessment confirming your information stays properly protected — before any of your information is accessed that way.
06How long we keep it
Enquiries that don't become clients
We keep it for up to 12 months and then delete it — unless you've asked to hear from us, in which case we keep it until you unsubscribe.
Client records
Sole traders and individuals: at least 5 years after the 31 January filing deadline for the tax year concerned. Limited companies: at least 6 years from the end of the financial year the records relate to. We may keep some records longer where HMRC has opened a check, or the records relate to a longer-life asset.
07Marketing emails
We only send marketing emails — tax tips, updates, invitations to work with us — if you've actively opted in. Filling in our contact form to ask a question doesn't sign you up to anything. If you're already a client, we may occasionally let you know about other services we think could genuinely help you, but every email includes a way to opt out, and you can also just email us directly to be removed.
08Cookies
Cookies are small files stored on your device. Here's what this website actually uses:
Strictly necessary
A session cookie (PHPSESSID) that lets the website function correctly. This is set automatically by the server and can't be switched off if you want to use the site.
Google Maps
We embed a Google Map on our contact section to show our office location. Loading it may allow Google to set its own cookies, separate from ours and governed by Google's own privacy policy.
Google reviews widget
We use a widget (provided by Trustindex) to display our genuine Google reviews on the homepage. This connects to Trustindex's and Google's services, which may set their own cookies — governed by their privacy policies, not ours.
Google Fonts
We load typefaces from Google Fonts. Google's own documentation states this doesn't set cookies, though your device does contact Google's servers to fetch the font files, which shares your IP address with Google.
We don't currently use any analytics or advertising cookies. If that changes — for example, if we add website analytics — we'll update this section and, where the law requires it, ask for your consent first.
09Keeping it secure
We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your information against loss, misuse or unauthorised access, and only give access to the people at Beechwood — and the specialists mentioned above — who need it to do their job.
10Your rights
Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:
- ask what personal information we hold about you and get a copy of it;
- ask us to correct anything that's inaccurate;
- ask us to delete your information in some circumstances;
- ask us to restrict how we use it;
- ask for a portable copy of information you've given us;
- object to us using your information in certain ways;
- withdraw consent at any time, where consent is the reason we're using it; and
- complain to the Information Commissioner's Office if you think we've got something wrong.
To use any of these, contact us at info@beechwoodaccountants.com.
11Changes to this policy
We'll update this page whenever the way we handle personal data changes, and update the date at the top when we do.
12How to complain
We'd really like the chance to put things right first — contact us using the details in "Who we are" above. If you're not satisfied with our response, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.
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