This Privacy Notice explains what personal data SouthTech Finance Ltd collects about you, why we collect it, what we do with it, how long we keep it, and what your rights are. If you have any questions, contact us at privacy@southtechfinance.co.uk.
SouthTech Finance Ltd is the data controller responsible for your personal data.
| Company name | SouthTech Finance Ltd |
| Company number | 17104352 |
| Registered address | Unit 39b The Hopstore, Old Bexley Business Park, 19 Bourne Road, Bexley, DA5 1LR |
| privacy@southtechfinance.co.uk | |
| Website | www.southtechfinance.co.uk |
| ICO registration | ZC143358 |
Depending on the nature of the services we provide to you, we may collect and process the following categories of personal data.
We are legally required to verify your identity before providing services. This may include:
We collect personal data in the following ways:
The table below sets out the purposes for which we process your personal data and the lawful basis under UK GDPR for each.
| Purpose | Lawful basis (UK GDPR) |
|---|---|
| Responding to enquiries and taking steps you request before entering into a contract | Contractual necessity — Art. 6(1)(b) |
| Providing bookkeeping services under our contract | Contractual necessity — Art. 6(1)(b) |
| Verifying your identity (AML) | Legal obligation — Art. 6(1)(c) |
| Reporting suspicion or indicators of money laundering, terrorist financing, or proliferation financing to the NCA | Legal obligation — Art. 6(1)(c) |
| Retaining records for HMRC compliance | Legal obligation — Art. 6(1)(c) |
| Responding to complaints or disputes | Legitimate interests — Art. 6(1)(f) |
| Sending service-related communications | Contractual necessity — Art. 6(1)(b) |
| Improving our services and internal records | Legitimate interests — Art. 6(1)(f) |
We do not use your personal data for marketing purposes without your explicit consent. We do not sell your personal data to third parties.
We share your personal data only where necessary and only with the following categories of recipient.
Your data is processed by third-party data processors that we use to deliver our services. These act as data processors on our behalf and are contractually bound to process data only on our instructions and in accordance with UK GDPR. We hold a written data processing agreement with each of these providers as required by Article 28 of the UK GDPR.
| Provider | Purpose |
|---|---|
| FreeAgent, Xero, QuickBooks, Sage | Cloud accounting software — bookkeeping records and bank feeds |
| Engager | Practice management — client records and workflow |
| BrightPay | Payroll software (if payroll services are engaged) |
| Xama | Identity verification, sanctions screening and AML risk assessment |
| Socket | Proposal creation, pricing presentation and engagement signing |
We do not transfer your personal data outside the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area (EEA) unless adequate protections are in place in accordance with UK GDPR requirements. Please contact us if you require further information about any international transfers.
We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected and in line with our legal and regulatory obligations.
| Category of data | Retention period |
|---|---|
| Client bookkeeping records | 7 years from the end of the relevant tax year |
| AML identity verification records | 5 years from the end of the business relationship |
| Engagement letters and contracts | 7 years from the end of the contract |
| Correspondence and emails | 7 years from the end of the business relationship |
| Unsuccessful enquiries | 12 months from the date of last contact |
On expiry of the relevant retention period, we will securely delete or destroy personal data. Where you request deletion before the retention period has expired, we will do so unless we are legally required to retain it.
As a data subject, you have the following rights. You can exercise any of these rights by contacting us at privacy@southtechfinance.co.uk.
| Right of access | You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you (a Subject Access Request). We will respond within one calendar month. |
| Right to rectification | You can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete personal data. |
| Right to erasure | You can ask us to delete your personal data where there is no legitimate reason for us to continue holding it. Note that we may be required to retain certain data by law. |
| Right to restriction | You can ask us to restrict processing of your data in certain circumstances — for example, while we investigate a complaint. |
| Right to portability | You can request that we provide your personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format. |
| Right to object | You can object to processing based on legitimate interests. We will stop processing unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds. |
| Right to withdraw consent | Where we process data based on your consent, you can withdraw that consent at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal. |
We will not charge a fee for handling your request unless it is manifestly unfounded or excessive. We may need to verify your identity before responding.
Our website at www.southtechfinance.co.uk may use cookies. Our Cookie Policy explains what cookies we use, why, and how you can control them.
We take the security of your personal data seriously. We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your data against unauthorised access, loss, destruction or alteration. These include:
In the event of a personal data breach that is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify the ICO within 72 hours and, where required, notify you directly without undue delay.
You have the right to complain directly to us if you are unhappy with how we collect, use, store or otherwise process your personal data.
Complaints relating to the processing of personal data should be sent to privacy@southtechfinance.co.uk. You can also contact us by post at our registered address or by telephone. We will accept your complaint however you choose to raise it.
We will acknowledge your complaint within 30 days of receiving it. We will then investigate it without undue delay, take appropriate steps to respond, and keep you informed of progress and the outcome.
This complaints process does not affect your right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at any time:
We may update this Privacy Notice from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. The current version will always be available on our website at www.southtechfinance.co.uk. Where changes are material, we will notify existing clients directly.
This notice was last reviewed on: 17/06/2026