Last updated: 29 October 2026
This policy explains what personal information The Paperwork Team collects, why we need it, who we share it with and the rights you have over it. It applies to our clients, people who enquire about our services, visitors to our website, people who enter our prize draws and people who apply to work with us.
We follow the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR).
1. Who we are
The Paperwork Team Ltd is the controller of your personal information. This means we decide how and why it is used.
| Detail | |
|---|---|
| Company name | The Paperwork Team Ltd |
| Company number | 07668357 |
| Registered address | 5 Manor Lane, Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire, CV36 4EF |
| ICO registration number | CSN3896585 |
| Privacy contact | help@paperworkteam.com |
If you have any questions about this policy or your information, please email us at the address above.
2. What information we collect
- Contact details: your name, job title, business name, email address, phone numbers and business address.
- Identity checks: proof of identity and address, which we must collect before we take you on as a client under anti-money laundering rules.
- Financial and business records: the bookkeeping, payroll, VAT and other records you give us so we can provide our services. These may include details about your own staff, customers and suppliers.
- Billing details: what we need to invoice you and take payment.
- Enquiries and conversations: what you tell us by email, phone, our website forms or our website chat.
- Website data: how you use our website, collected through cookies and analytics (see section 6).
- Job applications: your CV, cover letter and interview notes if you apply to work with us.
3. How we use it and why we are allowed to
The law says we must have a valid reason, called a lawful basis, for each way we use your information.
| What we use it for | Our lawful basis |
|---|---|
| Providing our bookkeeping, payroll, admin and marketing services | Contract |
| Invoicing and taking payment | Contract |
| Identity checks and keeping records for HMRC and anti-money laundering rules | Legal obligation |
| Answering your enquiries and following up on them | Legitimate interests |
| Sending you news and offers by email | Consent, or for existing clients, our legitimate interests in telling you about similar services (you can opt out at any time) |
| Running our prize draws, including picking and contacting the winner | Legitimate interests |
| Sharing a prize draw winner’s name and business on our website and social media | Consent |
| Giving a prize draw winner’s surname and county to anyone who asks, as the advertising rules on prize draws require | Legitimate interests |
| Improving our website through analytics | Consent, or legitimate interests where the law allows |
| Showing you relevant adverts on social media and measuring how well they work | Consent |
| Considering job applications | Legitimate interests, and contract if we offer you a job |
When we work on your business records, such as running payroll for your staff, we act on your instructions as a processor. Section 9 of our Terms and Conditions sets out how we look after that information.
4. Who we share it with
We never sell your information. We only share it when we need to, and only with:
- Software providers we use to run our business, such as our CRM (Zoho), email and file storage (Microsoft 365), bookkeeping and receipt software (Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, FreeAgent, Apron and Hubdoc), website analytics (Google) and advertising (Meta and LinkedIn). They can only use your information on our instructions.
- HMRC, Companies House and other government bodies, when we file returns for you or the law requires it.
- Our anti-money laundering supervisor (HMRC), if they ask to inspect our records.
- Professional advisers, such as our accountants, insurers and solicitors.
- The police, courts or regulators, if we are legally required to.
- Other people you ask us to share with, such as your accountant.
- The public, for prize draw winners only: with the winner’s agreement, their name and business on our website and social media; and their surname and county to anyone who asks.
5. Transfers outside the UK
Some of our software providers may store or access information outside the UK. When this happens, we make sure it is protected by UK-approved safeguards. These include countries the UK recognises as having adequate data protection, or the UK International Data Transfer Agreement. You can ask us for more details.
6. Cookies, analytics and website chat
Our website uses cookies. Some are essential for it to work. Others, including Google Analytics, help us see which pages are useful so we can improve them. Advertising cookies from Meta (Facebook and Instagram) and LinkedIn help us show you relevant adverts and see how well they work. You can accept or decline non-essential cookies using the banner on our website, and change your choice at any time. Full details are in the Cookie Policy.
If you use the chat on our website, we keep a record of the conversation and any contact details you give us. We use these to answer your question and follow up with you.
7. How long we keep it
We only keep information for as long as we need it. After that, paper records are shredded securely and electronic records are deleted.
| Type of information | How long we keep it |
|---|---|
| Client financial and business records | 6 years from the end of the financial year they relate to |
| Identity checks and anti-money laundering records | 5 years from the end of our working relationship |
| Client contracts and correspondence | 6 years from the end of our working relationship |
| Enquiries that do not become clients | 2 years from our last contact |
| Prize draw entries | 6 months after the winner is announced, unless you ask to hear from us or become a client |
| Email marketing list | Until you unsubscribe |
| Unsuccessful job applications | 6 months from the end of the recruitment process |
8. How we keep it safe
Only trained members of our team who need your information to do their job can see it. We use secure, password-protected systems with two-step sign-in, and keep any paper records locked away. Everyone who works with us is bound by confidentiality.
9. Your rights
You have the right to:
- ask for a copy of the information we hold about you
- ask us to correct anything that is wrong or incomplete
- ask us to delete your information
- ask us to limit how we use your information
- object to how we use your information, including for marketing
- ask us to send your information to you or another organisation in a common format
- withdraw your consent at any time, where we rely on it
To use any of these rights, email help@paperworkteam.com. We may ask for proof of identity first. We will reply within one month. Some rights have limits; for example, we cannot delete records the law says we must keep.
10. Complaints
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, please tell us first at help@paperworkteam.com. We will acknowledge your complaint within 30 days, look into it and let you know the outcome without undue delay.
If you are still not satisfied, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or by calling 0303 123 1113.
11. Changes to this policy
We review this policy regularly and will update it when the way we use information or the law changes. The date at the top shows when it was last updated. If we make a significant change that affects you, we will let you know.