Privacy Policy
Last updated: August 2026
1. About this notice
Sandwell Accountancy Services ("we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting your personal information and being clear about how we use it.
This notice explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, what we do with it and what rights you have. It applies to visitors to this website, to people who contact us about our services, and to our clients and their staff, directors and shareholders where we hold information about them.
We are the data controller for the information described in this notice. That means we decide how and why it is used.
Our details
| Legal name | Sandwell Accountancy Services Limited |
| Company number | 02606982 |
| Registered office | Old Bank Buildings, Upper High Street, Cradley Heath, West Midlands, B64 5HY |
| Correspondence address | Old Bank Buildings, Upper High Street, Cradley Heath, West Midlands, B64 5HY |
| enquiries@sas-accounts.co.uk | |
| Telephone | 01384 569197 |
| ICO registration number | ZA084681 |
We are regulated by, and are members of, the CPAA and AAT. We are supervised for anti-money laundering purposes by the AAT.
2. Information we collect
2.1 When you visit this website
Our website is hosted on secure servers. When you visit, our systems automatically record technical information including your IP address, browser type and version, device type, operating system, the pages you view, the time and date of your visit, and the website that referred you to us. This information is collected in server logs and, where enabled, through analytics tools.
We also use cookies and similar technologies. Section 7 explains this in detail.
2.2 When you contact us
If you complete a form on our website, email us, call us or speak to us at a meeting or event, we collect the information you choose to give us. This will usually include your name, business name, email address, telephone number and whatever you tell us about your circumstances and requirements.
2.3 When you become a client
To provide accountancy, tax and related services we need considerably more information. Depending on the services we provide, this may include:
- Full name, date of birth, nationality, residential address and previous addresses
- National Insurance number, Unique Taxpayer Reference and other tax identifiers
- Contact details, including personal email addresses and telephone numbers
- Identity documents such as a passport or driving licence, and proof of address
- Marital status, family circumstances and details of dependants where relevant to your tax position
- Employment details, income, benefits and pension information
- Bank account details, financial statements, accounting records and transaction data
- Details of assets, property, investments, shareholdings and business interests
- Information about your business, its directors, shareholders, partners and beneficial owners
- Details of your employees where we provide payroll services, including salary, deductions, absence and statutory pay information
- Correspondence with HMRC, Companies House and other authorities
Where you are a client organisation, we will also hold information about your staff, officers and, in some cases, your own customers and suppliers. If you provide us with information about other people, you should make sure they know you have done so and that they are aware of this notice.
2.4 Information from other sources
We may receive information about you from third parties, including your previous accountant or adviser (through professional clearance), HMRC and Companies House, credit reference and identity verification agencies, banks and other financial institutions, publicly available sources and registers, and our clients where you are their employee, officer or contact.
3. Special category and criminal offence data
Some of the information we hold is treated as more sensitive under data protection law.
We may hold special category data such as health information (for example, where it affects a tax claim, benefit entitlement or statutory sick pay calculation) or information that reveals racial or ethnic origin (for example, from a copy of a passport held for identity checks).
We may also hold criminal offence data, for example where an unprompted disclosure to HMRC is required, or where our anti-money laundering checks return a result.
We only process this information where we have a lawful basis to do so and an additional condition under Article 9 or Article 10 of the UK GDPR. In practice this is usually because processing is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims, because it is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest (including the prevention and detection of unlawful acts), or because you have given us your explicit consent.
4. Why we use your information, and our lawful basis
| What we use it for | Lawful basis |
|---|---|
| Responding to your enquiry and providing you with a quotation or proposal | Legitimate interests - responding to people who approach us about our services; or steps taken at your request prior to entering a contract |
| Carrying out identity verification and anti-money laundering checks | Legal obligation - Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 |
| Providing accountancy, tax, payroll, bookkeeping and related services under our engagement letter | Performance of a contract |
| Preparing and filing returns and accounts with HMRC, Companies House and other authorities | Legal obligation and performance of a contract |
| Invoicing, credit control and maintaining our own accounting records | Performance of a contract and legal obligation |
| Maintaining professional indemnity insurance and dealing with claims or complaints | Legitimate interests - protecting our business and defending legal claims |
| Complying with the rules of our professional body, including practice assurance and quality reviews | Legal obligation and legitimate interests |
| Improving our website and understanding how it is used | Consent, where analytics cookies are used |
| Sending you updates about tax changes, deadlines and our services | Legitimate interests for existing clients, or consent |
| Keeping our systems and premises secure and preventing fraud | Legitimate interests - protecting our business, our clients and our staff |
Where we rely on legitimate interests, we have considered whether our interests are overridden by your rights and freedoms, and concluded that they are not. You can ask us for more detail on that assessment at any time.
Where we rely on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time. Withdrawing consent does not affect anything we did before you withdrew it.
5. Marketing
If you are an existing client, we may send you information about tax deadlines, legislative changes and other services we offer, on the basis that it is relevant to the relationship we already have with you.
If you are not a client, we will only send you marketing where you have asked us to.
Every marketing email we send includes an unsubscribe link. You can also tell us to stop at any time by emailing enquiries@sas-accounts.co.uk. We will still need to send you service messages about work we are carrying out for you – those are not marketing and you cannot opt out of them while we act for you.
6. Who we share your information with
We do not sell your personal information. We share it only where we need to, and only with organisations that are required to keep it secure and confidential.
Authorities and registers. HMRC, Companies House, the Pensions Regulator, pension providers and other government bodies, where required to file returns or provide information on your behalf or by law.
Our professional body and regulators. The CPAA and AAT, and any regulator with a right of access, in connection with practice assurance visits, quality reviews and investigations. Reviewers are bound by confidentiality obligations.
Software and service providers. We use third-party systems to run our practice, including accounting and tax software, payroll systems, document storage, email and our website hosting. These providers act on our instructions as processors and are bound by written contracts. Our principal providers are Microsoft 365 Suite, Sage, Keypay, Xero, Quickbooks, FreeAgent and Bright Hub.
Identity and anti-money laundering checking services. Where we carry out electronic verification checks.
Other advisers. Banks, lenders, solicitors, independent financial advisers and other professionals, where you ask us to deal with them on your behalf or where it is necessary to complete work you have instructed us to do.
Subcontractors. We occasionally use subcontractors and consultants to help deliver our services. They are bound by the same confidentiality and data protection obligations that apply to our own staff.
Our insurers and professional advisers. In connection with a claim, complaint or legal dispute.
A purchaser. If we sell or transfer our practice or part of it, information may be transferred to the purchaser as part of that transaction.
We may also disclose information where we are required to do so by law. This includes making a suspicious activity report to the National Crime Agency where we know or suspect money laundering or terrorist financing. Where such a report is made, we are prohibited by law from telling you that we have made it or from discussing it with you.
7. Cookies
Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit a website. We use them to make the site work, to remember your preferences and, where you agree, to understand how the site is used.
We only set cookies that are not strictly necessary where you have given consent through our cookie banner. Non-essential cookies and tracking scripts are blocked until you accept them, and you can change or withdraw your preferences at any time.
A full and current list of the cookies used on this site, what each one does and how long it lasts, is set out in our Cookie Policy. You can also manage your choices at any time through Cookie settings.
You can block or delete cookies through your browser settings, but blocking strictly necessary cookies may stop parts of the site working properly.
8. Where your information is held
We store and process your information within the United Kingdom and the European Economic Area wherever possible.
Some of our software providers process or store data outside the UK. Where that happens, we make sure appropriate safeguards are in place – normally UK adequacy regulations, or the International Data Transfer Agreement or the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses. You can ask us for details of the safeguards that apply to a particular transfer.
9. How long we keep your information
We keep your information for as long as we need it, and no longer.
| Type of record | Retention period |
|---|---|
| Client files, working papers, accounts and tax records | 7 years from the end of the accounting period or tax year to which they relate |
| Anti-money laundering identification and due diligence records | 5 years from the end of our business relationship with you, or 5 years from the date a one-off transaction is completed |
| Payroll records | 6 years from the end of the tax year to which they relate |
| Engagement letters and contractual records | 7 years from the end of the engagement |
| Enquiries that do not become engagements | 12 months from last contact |
| Marketing contact details | Until you unsubscribe or ask us to stop |
| Website server logs | 3 months rolling |
We may keep information for longer where there is an ongoing dispute, investigation or legal claim, or where we are required to do so by law or by our professional body.
When we no longer need your information, we delete it securely or destroy paper records by confidential shredding.
10. How we keep your information safe
We take the security of your information seriously. Our measures include encrypted connections to this website and to our systems, access controls so that staff only see the information they need, secure cloud storage with reputable providers, regular backups, staff training on confidentiality and data protection, and secure disposal of paper and electronic records.
No system can be completely secure, and any information you send us over the internet is sent at your own risk. If we become aware of a breach that is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will report it to the Information Commissioner’s Office, and we will tell you directly where the risk is high.
11. Your rights
Under data protection law, you have the following rights.
Access. You can ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
Rectification. You can ask us to correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete.
Erasure. You can ask us to delete your information. This right is limited – we will usually have to keep records to meet our legal and regulatory obligations.
Restriction. You can ask us to limit how we use your information in certain circumstances, for example while we investigate a concern you have raised about its accuracy.
Objection. You can object to us processing your information where we rely on legitimate interests. You have an absolute right to object to direct marketing.
Portability. Where we process information you have given us by automated means, on the basis of consent or a contract, you can ask us to provide it in a machine-readable format or to transfer it to another organisation.
Withdrawing consent. Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.
We do not use automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal effects or similarly significant effects for you.
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at enquiries@sas-accounts.co.uk. We will respond within one month. We may ask you to confirm your identity first. There is normally no charge, but we may charge a reasonable fee or refuse to act where a request is clearly unfounded or excessive.
12. Complaints
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal information, please tell us first at enquiries@sas-accounts.co.uk so we have the chance to put it right.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Information Commissioner’s Office Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF Helpline: 0303 123 1113 ico.org.uk
13. Other websites
This website contains links to other sites. We are not responsible for their content or their privacy practices. If you follow a link away from this site, you should read the privacy notice of the site you arrive at.
14. Changes to this notice
We review this notice regularly and may update it to reflect changes in the law or in how we work. The current version is always available on this page, and the date at the top shows when it was last changed. Where a change is significant, we will tell clients directly.