Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

DKAT Accountants is an accounting and tax advisory practice providing services to individuals and businesses across the United Kingdom. For the purposes of data protection law, DKAT Accountants is the data controller of your personal information.

If you have any questions about this policy or how we handle your data, please contact us using the details at the bottom of this page.

2. What Personal Data We Collect

Depending on your relationship with us, we may collect and process the following categories of personal data:

Identity & Contact Information

• Full name, date of birth, National Insurance number
• Postal address, email address, telephone number
• Business name, company registration number, UTR number

Financial Information

• Income details, employment records, pension information
• Bank account details (where required for payroll or refund processing)
• Tax returns, VAT records, annual accounts
• Details of assets, liabilities and business transactions

Technical & Usage Data

• IP address, browser type and version
• Pages visited on our website and time spent
• Referral source and device information

Enquiry & Communication Data

• Messages submitted via our contact form
• Records of email and telephone correspondence

3. How We Collect Your Data

We collect personal data through the following means:

• Direct interactions — when you contact us, complete our enquiry form, or engage us as a client
• Client onboarding — documents and information you provide during the engagement process
• Third parties — HMRC, Companies House, payroll providers or other professionals acting on your behalf
• Our website — via cookies and analytics tools (see our Cookie Policy)

4. How and Why We Use Your Data

We process your personal data for the following purposes and on the following legal bases:

Purpose	Legal Basis
Providing accounting, tax and advisory services	Contract performance
Complying with HMRC and legal obligations	Legal obligation
Sending service updates and deadline reminders	Legitimate interests
Responding to enquiries and consultations	Legitimate interests / Pre-contract
Sending marketing communications (with your consent)	Consent
Fraud prevention and security	Legitimate interests / Legal obligation
Improving our website and services	Legitimate interests

5. Who We Share Your Data With

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

• HMRC — as required to fulfil our tax filing and compliance obligations on your behalf
• Companies House — for company formation and filing services
• Cloud accounting software providers — such as Xero, QuickBooks or FreeAgent, subject to their own privacy policies
• IT and infrastructure providers — who support our business operations under strict data processing agreements
• Professional advisors — solicitors, financial advisors or other professionals where required in connection with your matter
• Regulatory bodies — where we are legally required to disclose information

All third parties we work with are required to handle your data in accordance with UK GDPR and we put appropriate safeguards in place.

6. How Long We Keep Your Data

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes outlined in this policy, and in line with our legal obligations:

• Client records — retained for a minimum of 6 years after the end of the engagement, in line with HMRC requirements
• Payroll records — retained for a minimum of 3 years from the end of the tax year they relate to
• Enquiry / contact form data — retained for 12 months if no engagement follows
• Website analytics data — typically retained for 26 months

After these periods, your data is securely deleted or anonymised.

7. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right of access — you can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Right to rectification — you can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data
• Right to erasure — you can ask us to delete your data where there is no legitimate reason to continue processing it
• Right to restrict processing — you can ask us to pause processing of your data in certain circumstances
• Right to data portability — you can request a copy of your data in a structured, machine-readable format
• Right to object — you can object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing
• Right to withdraw consent — where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at the details below. We will respond within 30 days. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at any time at ico.org.uk.

8. Data Security

We take the security of your personal data seriously. We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures including:

• Encrypted storage and transmission of sensitive data
• Access controls limiting who can view client information
• Regular staff training on data protection
• Secure disposal of physical and electronic records

In the event of a data breach that is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify you and the ICO as required by law.

9. International Transfers

Where we transfer personal data outside the UK (for example, via cloud software providers), we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as UK adequacy regulations or standard contractual clauses, to protect your information to the same standard as within the UK.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the law or our practices. When we do, we will update the "last updated" date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

11. Contact Us

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