This policy explains how The archetype Accountants (“we”, “us”, “our”) collects, uses, stores and protects personal information about our clients, prospective clients, website visitors and other individuals we deal with in the course of our accountancy and tax services.

This policy was last updated in July 2026 and reflects the new statutory requirements on data protection complaints introduced by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, which took effect on 19 June 2026.

1. Who we are

We are The archetype Accountants, an accountancy practice based at:

68 Ffordd Parc Castell, Bodelwyddan, Rhyl, LL18 5WD

We are the data controller for the personal information described in this policy. If you have any questions about this policy or how we handle your information, you can contact us at info@thearchetype.co.uk or by post at the address above.

2. The information we collect

Depending on the services we provide to you, we may collect and process the following categories of personal information:

• Identity information, such as your name, date of birth, and proof of identity documents (for example, a passport or driving licence).
• Contact details, such as your address, telephone number and email address.
• Financial information, such as bank details, income, expenditure, tax records, payroll data, VAT records and other accounting information needed to provide our services.
• National Insurance number, Unique Taxpayer Reference and other identifiers used in dealings with HMRC and other public bodies.
• Information provided as part of anti-money laundering and client due diligence checks, which we are required to carry out by law.
• Details of your dealings with us, including correspondence, meeting notes, and records of instructions you give us.
• Technical information collected when you visit our website, such as your IP address, browser type and how you use the site.

Where you give us information about other people, such as employees, family members or business partners, we expect you to make sure they are aware of this policy and, where appropriate, that they have agreed to you sharing their information with us.

3. How we use your information

We use your personal information to:

• Provide accountancy, tax, bookkeeping, payroll and related advisory services to you.
• Prepare and submit tax returns, accounts and other statutory filings on your behalf, and correspond with HMRC and Companies House where instructed.
• Carry out identity verification and anti-money laundering checks as required under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations.
• Manage our relationship with you, including billing, correspondence and quality assurance.
• Comply with our own legal, regulatory and professional obligations.
• Maintain and improve our website.
• Send you information about our services, where you have agreed to receive this or where we have a legitimate interest in doing so and you have not objected.

4. Our legal basis for processing

We rely on the following legal bases under UK data protection law, depending on the circumstances:

• Performance of a contract, where processing is necessary to provide the services you have engaged us for.
• Legal obligation, where we must process your information to comply with tax, accounting, anti-money laundering or other regulatory requirements.
• Legitimate interests, where processing is necessary for running our practice, such as managing client relationships or keeping our records secure, and this is not overridden by your interests or rights.
• Consent, for example where you have opted in to receive marketing communications from us. You may withdraw this consent at any time.

5. Who we share your information with

We may share your personal information with:

• HMRC, Companies House and other regulatory or government bodies, where required to carry out your instructions or comply with the law.
• Our professional body and regulators, where required for compliance or quality assurance purposes.
• IT, software and cloud service providers who support our accounting and practice management systems, acting under our instructions.
• Banks and payment providers, where necessary to process transactions on your behalf.
• Professional advisers, such as solicitors, where this is necessary to provide our services or protect our legal position.
• Any other party where we are required to do so by law, or with your consent.

We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

6. International transfers

Some of the service providers we use may store or process information outside the UK. Where this happens, we take steps to ensure your information receives an appropriate level of protection, for example through the use of UK adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or by using providers that are certified under recognised data protection frameworks.

7. How long we keep your information

We keep your personal information for as long as necessary to provide our services, and afterwards for as long as required to meet our legal, regulatory and professional obligations. This generally means we retain client accounting and tax records for at least six years from the end of the relevant tax or accounting period, in line with HMRC requirements, though some records may be kept for longer where the law requires it. Where information is no longer needed, we securely delete or destroy it.

8. Keeping your information secure

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse or disclosure. This includes secure IT systems, restricted access to client records, and staff training on data protection and confidentiality. While we take reasonable steps to protect your information, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

9. Cookies

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to help it function properly and to understand how visitors use the site. You can control cookies through your browser settings. For more detail on the specific cookies we use, please see our cookie notice on our website, or contact us using the details in this policy.

10. Your rights

Under UK data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal information. These include the right to:

• Be informed about how we use your information.
• Access a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Ask us to delete your information, in certain circumstances.
• Ask us to restrict how we use your information, in certain circumstances.
• Object to certain types of processing, including direct marketing.
• Ask us to transfer your information to another organisation, where this is technically feasible.
• Withdraw consent, where we are relying on consent to process your information.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@thearchetype.co.uk. We may need to verify your identity before responding to your request, and we will respond within the timescales required by law.

11. How to complain

From 19 June 2026, new rules introduced by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 give you the right to raise a data protection complaint directly with us, before approaching the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). We want to put things right if we have made a mistake, so please raise any concerns with us in the first instance.

How to raise a complaint with us

You can raise a data protection complaint with us by emailing info@thearchetype.co.uk, or by writing to us at 68 Ffordd Parc Castell, Bodelwyddan, Rhyl, LL18 5WD. Please give us as much detail as possible so that we can look into your concern properly.

When we receive a complaint, we will:

• Acknowledge your complaint within 30 days of receiving it.
• Investigate your complaint without undue delay, making any enquiries needed to look into the matter properly.
• Keep you informed of our progress.
• Tell you the outcome of our investigation without undue delay.

Taking your complaint further

If you are not satisfied with our response, or you do not receive a response within a reasonable time, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. The ICO can be contacted as follows:

• Website: ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint
• Telephone: 0303 123 1113
• Post: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time, for example to reflect changes in the law or in the way we handle personal information. Any updates will be published on our website, and we encourage you to check back periodically.

13. Contact us

If you have any questions about this policy or how we handle your personal information, please contact us:

Email: info@thearchetype.co.uk

The archetype Accountants, 68 Ffordd Parc Castell, Bodelwyddan, Rhyl, LL18 5WD