01
Who we are
This website is operated by Greystone Hyde Advisory Ltd., trading as Greystone Hyde. We are a company registered in England and Wales with company number 15520640. In this page, “we”, “us” and “our” mean that company.
- Registered office: 4–6 Greatorex St, E1 5NF. This is the address Companies House holds for us and where formal legal notices can be sent.
- Trading address: Suite C220, 4-6 Greatorex Street, London, England, E1 5NF, which is where we meet clients by appointment during our opening hours of Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 17:30.
- Email: info@greystonehyde.co.uk. This is the address to use for any enquiry, complaint or request about your personal data.
02
Privacy notice
This notice explains what personal data we collect when you use this website or work with us, why we collect it, who sees it, how long we keep it, and what rights you have over it.
2.1 Who is responsible for your personal data
We are the data controller for the personal data described in this notice. The one exception is payroll and similar services: when we process your employees’ data on your behalf, you are the controller, we act as your processor, and the terms are set out in our engagement letter.
2.2 What we collect, why, and our legal basis
We only collect personal data we have a clear reason to use. Under the UK GDPR we must have a lawful basis for each use, and these are ours.
When you send us an enquiry through the website form, email, phone or WhatsApp
- What we collect
- Your name, email address, phone number, company name, the service you are interested in, and whatever you tell us in your message.
- Why we use it
- To reply to you, understand what you need, prepare a quote and arrange a consultation.
- Our legal basis
- Legitimate interests, because we cannot run an accounting practice without answering enquiries, and taking steps at your request before entering a contract.
When you become a client
- What we collect
- Identity and contact details, details of your company and its owners and directors, the financial records, bank information and tax details you give us so that we can do the work, and the bank details we need to collect our fees.
- Why we use it
- To prepare accounts, returns and filings, run payroll, give advice, and invoice you.
- Our legal basis
- Performing our contract with you, and complying with legal obligations such as tax and company law filing requirements.
When we carry out client due diligence
- What we collect
- Copies of identity documents, proof of address, information about who owns and controls the business, and, where needed, information about where funds come from.
- Why we use it
- Accountancy firms must verify who they act for and monitor for money laundering. We cannot take you on as a client without completing these checks.
- Our legal basis
- Legal obligation under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds Regulations 2017.
When you pay an invoice online
- What we collect
- Payments are handled by Stripe. We see the payment status, amount and invoice reference. We never see or store your full card number.
- Why we use it
- To take payment and reconcile it against your invoice.
- Our legal basis
- Performing our contract with you, and legitimate interests in being paid correctly.
When you visit the website
- What we collect
- Technical information such as your IP address, browser type, device and the pages you view. Some of this is collected through cookies, explained in section 3.
- Why we use it
- To keep the site secure and working, and, only if you consent, to understand how visitors use it so we can improve it.
- Our legal basis
- Legitimate interests for security and essential site operation, and your consent for any non-essential cookies.
We do not make decisions about you using automated processing or profiling that has legal or similarly significant effects. We do not intentionally collect sensitive categories of data through the website, so please do not include health, political or similar details in the contact form.
2.3 Where we get your data from
Most of the data comes directly from you. We also receive information from other sources where it is needed to do the work:
- Your previous accountant, once you have authorised us to contact them, so that we can take over your records without gaps.
- HMRC and Companies House, through the online services we use to file and check your position on your behalf.
- Your accounting, payroll or banking software, where you give us access so that we can work in your live records.
- Identity-verification and company-search providers, which we use to complete due diligence checks.
2.4 Who we share your data with
We share your data only where it is necessary to do the work or the law requires it, and always on appropriate terms. We never sell your data.
- Government bodies and regulators, such as HMRC, Companies House and The Pensions Regulator, where a filing or the law requires us to provide information.
- Software providers, such as Xero, QuickBooks, Sage and FreeAgent, which hold your accounting and payroll records on our behalf or yours.
- Our website host and email provider, which process enquiries and messages that pass through our systems.
- Stripe, which processes online card payments.
- Professional advisers, insurers and our anti-money-laundering supervisory body, who may need to see records in order to advise us, handle a claim or carry out a supervisory review.
- A successor to our business, if we were ever to merge with or be acquired by another firm. Your data would stay protected on the same terms.
2.5 International transfers
Some of our suppliers, such as cloud software and hosting providers, and team members or subcontractors may process personal data outside the United Kingdom.
Where personal data goes to a country that does not have a UK adequacy decision, we put a recognised safeguard in place first. This is normally the Information Commissioner’s International Data Transfer Agreement or the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, together with an assessment of the risks of the transfer. You can ask us for details of the safeguards that apply to your data by emailing info@greystonehyde.co.uk.
2.6 How long we keep your data
We keep personal data only for as long as we need it for the purpose it was collected, and for as long as the law or our professional obligations require. After that we delete it securely or anonymise it.
- Enquiries that do not lead to an engagement: kept for 12 months so that we can follow up on your enquiry and answer any later questions, then deleted.
- Identity and due diligence records: kept for at least five years after our business relationship with you ends, as the Money Laundering Regulations require.
- Client accounting, tax and advisory files: kept for six years after the engagement ends. This covers HMRC enquiry periods and the time limit for legal claims.
- Payroll records: kept for six years after the end of the tax year they relate to, which is longer than HMRC’s minimum so that we can respond to any later query.
- Marketing records: kept until you withdraw consent. We then keep only a minimal record of your email address so that we do not contact you again.
2.7 How we keep your data secure
We protect your data with encrypted and access-controlled systems, multi-factor authentication and role-based access, so that only the people working on your account can see your information. Please do not send confidential financial documents by WhatsApp or ordinary email. When you become a client we will agree a secure way of exchanging documents with you.
2.8 Your rights
Under UK data protection law you have the following rights:
- Access: you can ask for a copy of the personal data we hold about you and for details of how we use it.
- Correction: you can ask us to correct data that is inaccurate or incomplete.
- Erasure: you can ask us to delete your data where we no longer need it. We may need to keep some records where the law requires it, for example due diligence and tax records.
- Restriction: you can ask us to pause the use of your data while a concern about its accuracy or our use of it is resolved.
- Portability: you can ask for the data you gave us in a structured, commonly used format, where we process it under a contract or with your consent.
- Objection: you can object to us using your data on the basis of legitimate interests, and to any direct marketing at any time.
- Withdrawing consent: where we rely on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time without affecting anything we did before.
To use any of these rights, email info@greystonehyde.co.uk. We will respond within one month. We may need to confirm your identity first.
2.9 Complaints about how we use your data
Please contact us first so that we can try to put things right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk (opens in a new tab) or on 0303 123 1113.
2.10 Changes to this notice
We may update this notice from time to time. The “last updated” date at the top of this page shows when it last changed.
04
Website terms of use
By using this website you agree to the following terms.
- General information only. The content of this site is general information and is not accounting, tax, legal or financial advice. Please do not rely on it to make a decision about your own circumstances. Our services are governed by the engagement letter we agree with you, and that letter takes precedence over anything on this page.
- No client relationship from an enquiry. Sending an enquiry or message does not make you a client. Please do not send confidential information until we have agreed an engagement with you.
- Examples are illustrative. The figures shown in our service examples and dashboards are for illustration only. They are not a quote, forecast or guarantee of any result.
- Prices. The prices on this site are starting points and exclude VAT unless stated. We confirm your fee in writing before any work begins, and one-off work is quoted separately.
- Intellectual property. The content, design and logo on this site belong to us or our licensors. You may view and print pages for your own business use, but you may not copy or republish them for commercial purposes without our written permission. Third-party names and logos belong to their owners, and displaying them does not imply their endorsement.
- Accuracy and availability. We take reasonable care to keep the site accurate and available, but we cannot guarantee that it will be free of errors or always accessible.
- Links to other sites. We are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of any external website we link to.
- Our liability. Nothing in these terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be limited. Subject to that, we are not liable for any loss arising from your use of, or reliance on, this website.
- Governing law. These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction. If you are a consumer, you may also have the right to bring proceedings in the courts of the part of the UK where you live.
05
Paying an invoice online
Online payments are processed by Stripe Payments UK Ltd through a secure checkout page that opens in a new tab. We never see or store your full card details. Stripe acts as an independent controller of the payment data it collects, and you can read how it uses that data at stripe.com/gb/privacy (opens in a new tab). If you have a question about an invoice, please contact us before paying.
06
Complaints about our service
If you are unhappy with any part of our service, please write to info@greystonehyde.co.uk. We will acknowledge your complaint within five working days and aim to give you a full response within 30 days. If we cannot resolve it between us, you may be able to refer it to supervisory authority.
07
Contact us
Please contact us at Suite C220, 4-6 Greatorex Street, London, England, E1 5NF and info@greystonehyde.co.uk