Privacy policy · POPIA
How we handle your personal information.
Accounting Connect is a responsible party under the Protection of Personal Information Act, 4 of 2013 (POPIA). This policy explains what we collect, why, who sees it, how long we keep it, and your rights. Last updated 13 October 2026.
Who we are
Accounting Connect is a South African accounting and tax advisory firm. Our Information Officer is Johann Steenkamp, reachable at info@accountingconnect.net or 086 782 0037.
What we collect
- Enquiry and booking details: your name, phone number, email address, and the answers you give on our forms, WhatsApp or Facebook lead forms (for example turnover band, how your business is set up, how far behind you are with SARS).
- Review documents: financial statements, assessments or SARS correspondence you send us for a Tax Second Opinion or catch-up assessment.
- Client records: if you become a client, the accounting, tax, payroll, SARS and CIPC information needed to do the work, including identity numbers, registration numbers and banking details where required by SARS, CIPC or your bank.
- Website and communication data: pages visited, device and browser information, and cookie or pixel data (see Cookies below); call recordings and message history with our team.
Why we collect it and on what basis
- To respond to your enquiry and arrange a call or meeting (your consent, and steps taken at your request before a contract).
- To prepare and deliver a review, proposal or quote (steps at your request before a contract).
- To perform our engagement with you as a client, including filing with SARS and CIPC (performance of a contract, and legal obligations under the Tax Administration Act, Income Tax Act, VAT Act, Companies Act and FICA where applicable).
- To tell you about our services where you have asked for information or are a client (our legitimate interest; you can opt out at any time).
- To measure and improve our website and advertising (consent, through your cookie choices).
Who we share it with
We do not sell personal information. We share it only with: SARS, CIPC and other authorities as required to do the work; software and service providers who process it on our instructions, including our accounting software (Xero, Hubdoc), our customer relationship and messaging platform, our telephony and WhatsApp Business provider, and our email and document storage providers; Meta and Google for advertising measurement, as described under Cookies; and professional advisers or regulators where the law requires. Some providers store data outside South Africa; where they do, we rely on contractual safeguards and only use providers that apply protection substantially similar to POPIA.
Cookies, pixels and call recording
Our website uses the Meta Pixel and Google tools to understand which pages and adverts lead to enquiries. These set cookies in your browser. You can refuse or clear them in your browser settings; the website works without them. Calls with our team may be recorded for quality and record-keeping; you are told at the start of a recorded call.
How long we keep it
- Enquiry details and review documents from people who do not become clients: deleted within 90 days of our last contact, unless you ask us to keep them.
- Client records: for the period the law requires after the engagement ends, generally five years for tax records under the Tax Administration Act and seven years for company records under the Companies Act, then securely deleted.
- Marketing contact details: until you unsubscribe or ask us to stop.
Your rights
You may ask us what personal information we hold about you, ask us to correct or delete it, object to processing for direct marketing, and withdraw consent where processing is based on consent. Write to info@accountingconnect.net; we respond within 30 days. If you are not satisfied, you may complain to the Information Regulator (South Africa) at complaints.IR@justice.gov.za or www.justice.gov.za/inforeg.
Security
We protect personal information with access controls, two-factor authentication on our systems, encrypted storage and transmission, and staff confidentiality obligations. If a breach affecting you occurs we will notify you and the Information Regulator as POPIA requires.
Changes
We may update this policy; the date at the top shows the latest version. Material changes will be announced on this page.
This policy is written in plain language to meet POPIA's conditions for lawful processing. It is not legal advice to you.