Data Protection Policy

Last Updated: 29 August 2025

1. Introduction

Your privacy is important to us. This Privacy Policy explains what personal data Neuvantage Business Services Limited collects from you, how we use that data, and the legal basis for doing so. It applies to personal data we collect through our website (www.neuvantage.com), when you contact us, or when you become a client.

Neuvantage Business Services Limited is the ‘data controller’ for the personal data we process. This means we are responsible for deciding how we hold and use personal information about you, and for ensuring it is protected in accordance with UK data protection law, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

This policy is designed to be concise, transparent, and written in clear, plain language to help you understand our data protection practices. By using our website or services, you are engaging with the practices described in this policy.

2. The Personal Data We Collect

We collect personal data in several ways, depending on how you interact with us. We are committed to the principle of data minimisation, meaning we only collect the information that is necessary for the purpose it is intended for.

2.1 When You Contact Us

When you use the contact form on our website, we collect the following personal data that you voluntarily provide:

  • Name

  • Email address

  • Phone number

  • The content of your message, which may include further personal information you choose to share.

2.2 When You Schedule a Call

Our website includes a link to "Book Your Free Financial Clarity Call," which directs you to our third-party appointment scheduling provider, Google. When you use this service to book an appointment with us, you provide your personal data directly to Google, which then shares it with us so we can manage the appointment. In this relationship, Neuvantage Business Services Limited is the data controller, and Google acts as our data processor, handling the data on our instructions. The data collected typically includes:

  • Name

  • Email address

  • Any other information you provide in the scheduling form (e.g., phone number, notes about your enquiry).

2.3 When You Use Our Website (Analytics)

When you visit www.neuvantage.com, we automatically collect certain technical information about your device and browsing activity. Our website is built on the Squarespace platform, which has built-in analytics. We may also use Google Analytics. These tools help us understand how visitors use our site so we can improve it. This information is collected using cookies and similar technologies. The data collected includes:

  • Information about your browser, network, and device

  • Web pages you visited prior to coming to this website

  • Your IP address

  • Details about your use of this website, including clicks, internal links, pages visited, scrolling, searches, and timestamps.

This data is processed in a way that does not directly identify you. For more information on our use of cookies, please see our separate Cookie Policy.

3. How and Why We Use Your Personal Data

We only use your personal data for specific, explicit, and legitimate purposes. The principle of 'purpose limitation' under UK GDPR means that we will not use your data for any purpose that is incompatible with the reason it was originally collected.

Our purposes for processing your personal data are:

  • To Respond to Your Enquiries: We use the information you provide via our contact form or scheduling link to respond to your questions, provide information you have requested, and communicate with you about our services.

  • To Schedule and Manage Appointments: Data provided through our scheduling tool is used to book, confirm, and manage your "Financial Clarity Call" or other meetings.

  • To Provide Our Services: If you decide to engage Neuvantage Business Services Limited as your accountant, the personal data collected during our initial interactions will form the basis of your client file. We will then process this and further data as necessary to deliver our compliance, tax, and advisory services to you, as outlined in our letter of engagement.

  • To Improve Our Website and Services: We analyse aggregated and anonymous data about website usage to understand visitor behaviour, identify areas for improvement, and ensure our content is relevant and effective.

  • To Meet Our Legal and Professional Obligations: As an accountancy practice, we are subject to various legal and regulatory requirements. We must process personal data to comply with laws related to anti-money laundering (AML), taxation (HMRC), and company law (Companies House).

  • To Manage Our Business Operations: This includes internal record-keeping, processing payments, and managing our relationship with you.

4. Our Lawful Bases for Processing

UK GDPR requires us to have a valid lawful basis for every processing activity we undertake. We rely on the following bases, depending on the specific purpose :

  • Consent: We rely on your consent to process the data you submit through our website contact form. By completing and submitting the form, you give us clear, affirmative consent to use that information for the specific purpose of responding to your enquiry. You have the right to withdraw this consent at any time.

  • Performance of a Contract: When you engage our accountancy services, we process your personal data on the basis that it is necessary for the performance of our contract with you. This also applies to steps taken at your request before entering into a contract, such as preparing a formal proposal or quote. Once you are a client, this becomes the primary lawful basis for most of the data we process about you.

  • Legal Obligation: We process personal data where it is necessary for us to comply with a legal or statutory obligation. This is a key basis for an accountancy practice and covers activities such as retaining financial records for the period required by HMRC, conducting legally mandated customer due diligence for anti-money laundering purposes, and filing tax returns on your behalf.

  • Legitimate Interests: We process website analytics data on the basis of our legitimate interests. Our legitimate interest is in monitoring and improving our website, content, and services to better serve our audience and grow our business. We have conducted a balancing test and concluded that this processing has a minimal privacy impact and that our interests do not override your fundamental rights and freedoms.

It is important to determine the correct lawful basis from the outset, as it cannot easily be changed later. For example, where processing is necessary for a contract, we rely on that basis rather than consent, as the contractual obligation persists even if consent were to be withdrawn.

5. Data Sharing and Disclosure

We take your privacy seriously and will never sell your personal data. We only share your personal data with trusted third parties when it is necessary to provide our services or to comply with the law.

We may share your data with the following categories of third-party service providers who act as our data processors:

  • IT and Cloud Service Providers: This includes our website host (Squarespace), our email and document storage provider (e.g., Google Workspace), and providers of other cloud-based business systems.

  • Appointment Scheduling Provider: We share your name and contact details with our scheduling provider (e.g., Google) to manage bookings.

  • Professional Service Software: We use specialist software to provide our services, such as accounting software (e.g., Xero) and tax filing software. Your data will be processed within these systems to deliver the services you have engaged us for.

  • Government and Regulatory Bodies: We are legally required to share information with bodies such as HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and Companies House as part of our professional services (e.g., filing tax returns and annual accounts).

  • Professional Advisors: We may share your data with our own professional advisors, such as lawyers, insurers, or compliance consultants, if we need to seek advice or in the event of a legal claim.

Some of our third-party service providers are based outside the United Kingdom, so their processing of your personal data may involve a transfer of data outside the UK. When we transfer your data out of the UK, we ensure a similar degree of protection is afforded to it by ensuring appropriate safeguards, such as adequacy regulations or standard contractual clauses, are in place.

6. Data Retention

We will only retain your personal data for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

Our retention periods are determined by these legal and professional obligations:

  • Enquiry Data: If you contact us but do not become a client, we will retain the personal data from your enquiry for up to 24 months to allow for follow-up correspondence, after which it will be securely deleted.

  • Client Data: As an accountancy practice, we are legally required by HMRC and our professional body regulations to retain client records and associated personal data for a minimum of 6 years after the end of the financial year to which they relate, or 6 years following the cessation of our business relationship, whichever is later. This legal obligation provides a direct and lawful reason to retain this data and may override a request for erasure during this period.

  • Analytics Data: Anonymised analytics data may be retained for periods determined by our analytics providers (e.g., Google Analytics data is typically retained for up to 26 months).

7. Your Data Protection Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have several rights regarding your personal data. These rights are designed to give you control over your information. We are committed to upholding these rights.

  • The Right to be Informed: You have the right to be provided with clear, transparent, and easily understandable information about how we use your personal data. This Privacy Policy is our primary method of doing so.

  • The Right of Access: You have the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you and information about how we process it. This is commonly known as a "Data Subject Access Request".

  • The Right to Rectification: You have the right to have your personal data corrected if it is inaccurate or incomplete.

  • The Right to Erasure: Also known as the ‘right to be forgotten’, this enables you to request the deletion or removal of your personal data where there is no compelling reason for us to keep using it. This right is not absolute and only applies in certain circumstances. For example, we may be legally required to retain your data for a certain period (see Section 6: Data Retention).

  • The Right to Restrict Processing: You have the right to ‘block’ or suppress further use of your personal data in certain circumstances. When processing is restricted, we can still store your data, but may not use it further.

  • The Right to Data Portability: You have the right to obtain and reuse your personal data for your own purposes across different services. This allows you to move, copy or transfer personal data easily from one IT environment to another in a safe and secure way.

  • The Right to Object: You have the right to object to certain types of processing, such as processing based on our legitimate interests.

  • Rights in Relation to Automated Decision Making and Profiling: Neuvantage Business Services Limited does not use automated decision-making or profiling that would have a legal or similarly significant effect on you.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details below. We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal data.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK’s supervisory authority for data protection, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), if you believe that we have not complied with data protection laws. You can find their contact details at www.ico.org.uk.

8. How to Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our data protection practices, or if you wish to exercise any of your rights, please contact us:

Data Controller: Neuvantage Ltd Contact Person: The Director Email: gavin@neuvantage.com

9. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. We will post any changes on this page and update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this policy. We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we are protecting your information.