Introduction

Thank you for using Alex the CFO services.
For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, references to « Alex the CFO, » « we, » « our, » and « us » refer to he following legal entities within the Alex the CFO group:

– **Alex the CFO LLP**, a limited liability partnership registered in the United Kingdom, which provides outsourced bookkeeping and financial consulting services.
– **Alex the CFO SARL**, a société à responsabilité limitée (limited liability company) registered in France, which provides the same services.

We collect, use, and disclose information primarily to market, sell, and provide our Services to businesses and organizations, not individual consumers. Any processing of personal information is conducted in the context of our business relationships and is limited to marketing and selling our services to the organization that employs or affiliates with you, as well as providing, operating, and improving our services for those organizations.

As such, we are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and disclose your personal data in accordance with the Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of 27 April 2016 on the protection of personal data (GDPR), the UK GDPR and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).

1. Data We Collect

We collect data related to our clients, as well as their own clients, as part of providing outsourced bookkeeping and financial consulting services (“Services”).

The data we collect may include “Personal Data”, which is information that can be used to identify you as a natural person, directly or indirectly, in particular in combination with information available to us.

We may collect Personal Data that may include, but is not limited to:

Contact details: First name and last name, Email address, Phone number, Addresses and other contact details;
Registration data may include information from newsletter requests, event/seminar registrations, subscriptions, downloads, and username/passwords;
Prospect data collected through forms, CRM, social media ads;
Financial data that may include Personal Data (e.g., transactions, tax data), invoices, payroll information, employee contracts, other similar information about clients;
Account credentials for systems like Xero, Google Drive, and SharePoint;
Other business-related data that may include Personal Data.

2. How We Use Your Data

We only collect, use and store your Personal Data for the purposes of operating our business, delivering, improving and customizing our website, as well as the Services we provide, sending direct marketing and other communications related to our business and Services, providing you with information and services that your request from us and for other legitimate purposes permitted by applicable law.

Alex the CFO collects and processes Personal Data for a variety of purposes, including the following:

‍To provide and maintain our Services, including to monitor its usage;
‍To manage client accounts: to manage user registration as a user of the Services. The Personal Data you provide can give you access to different functionalities of the Service that are available to you as a registered user;
For the performance of a contract: the development, compliance and undertaking of the contract for the services you have purchased or of any other contract with us through our Services;‍
To contact you: to contact you by email, telephone calls, SMS, or other equivalent forms of electronic communication;
To provide you with news, special offers and general information about other services and events which we offer that are similar to those that you have already purchased or enquired about unless you have opted not to receive such information;
To manage your requests: to attend and manage your requests to us;
To inform you prior to any substantial update of this Privacy Policy;
To contact you following your application to one of our job offers.

Kindly refer to clause 5 “Your Privacy at a glance” for the corresponding legal basis.

3. How we share Your Data

Where required or permitted by applicable law, we may share your Personal Data with our affiliated entities and other third-party business partners, providers, vendors or contractors who help provide the Services.
Therefore, we may share Personal Data within Alex the CFO group and any of our affiliated entities located inside or outside of the EU/EEA, for purposes of data processing or storage.

We also use third-party cloud-based tools that comply with GDPR, PIPEDA, and other data protection standards, including Google Suite for Business and Xero.

We use the following third-party providers to help deliver our services and ensure business operations. These providers may have access to personal data as part of their services:
– **QuickBooks**: Used for managing and processing financial data.
– **Fathom**: Used for financial reporting and performance analysis.
– **G-Accon**: Used for integrating Google Sheets with accounting tools.
– **Google Suite for Business**: Used for email, file storage, and collaboration.
– **Microsoft SharePoint**: Used for storing and sharing documents.
– **HubSpot**: Used for customer relationship management and marketing communications.
– **Fillout**: Used for collecting form data from clients.
– **Typeform**: Used for creating and collecting responses to surveys and forms.
– **ClickUp**: Used for task management and project tracking.
– **Slack**: Used for team communication and collaboration.
– **Hubdoc**: Used for document collection and bookkeeping purposes.
– **Facebook**: Used for marketing and business page interactions.
– **LinkedIn**: Used for professional networking and business page interactions.
– **Instagram**: Used for social media marketing and brand visibility.

Where mandated or permitted by applicable law, regulation or legal process, we will disclose your Personal Data to law enforcement officials, government authorities or other third parties, located inside and outside of the EU/EEA where such disclosure is in accordance with due process of law and binding upon Alex the CFO, to the extent necessary to comply with legal process or meet national security requirements, protect the rights, property or safety of Alex the CFO, our business partners, you, or others.

4. Data Retention

We will retain your Personal Data only for as long as is necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it is collected and to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce agreements and policies to which Alex the CFO is a party.

Kindly refer to clause 5 “Your Privacy at a glance” for further details on data retention periods.

5. Your Privacy at a glance

CATEGORIES OF PERSONAL DATA	PURPOSES	LEGAL BASIS	DATA RETENTION PERIOD
Name, Address, Phone Number, E-mail address, company role, country & other contact details	Respond to an inquiry from you (submitted via the contact form available on the website)	Legitimate interest of Alex the CFO to follow up on your query.	Three years following the last contact from you, augmented by any applicable statute of limitation.
Name, Address, Phone Number, E-mail address, company role, country & other contact details	Send direct marketing communications (newsletter, offers, etc.)	Legitimate interest of Alex the CFO to keep you informed of our latest developments, promotions and customer surveys.	Three years following the last contact from you, augmented by any applicable statute of limitation.
Name, Address, Phone Number, E-mail address, company role, country & other contact details	Inform you of any substantial update of this Privacy Policy.	Necessary for compliance with legal obligations	Three years following the last contact from you, augmented by any applicable statute of limitation.
Name, Address, Phone number, E-mail address, curriculum vitae, cover letter etc.	Contact you following your application to one of our job offers.	Consent	Two years after receipt of application
Login IDS & passwords	Identify each client in order to provide our Services	Necessary for the performance of the contract	For the duration of the contract, and for seven years following its term
Financial data as explained above	To provide Alex the CFO services	Necessary for the performance of the contract	For the duration of the contract, and for seven years following its term

6. Choice and opt-out

We collect and manage consent through opt-ins and opt-outs. When you subscribe to our marketing communications or other services, you give us explicit consent to process your data for these purposes. You can withdraw your consent at any time by using the opt-out link in our communications or by contacting us at info@alexthecfo.com.

We may send you non-commercial communications such as notices in case of a substantial update of this Privacy Policy. As such communications are necessary to comply with our legal obligations, you will not be able to opt-out from receiving them.

7. International Data Transfers

We may transfer personal data to countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA), including to contractors or cloud-based service providers located in other countries. In such cases, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as the use of Standard Contractual Clauses or reliance on other legal mechanisms, to ensure that the said parties comply with the GDPR and the PIPEDA and comply with all obligations incumbent upon us, regarding data protection security and confidentiality.

Personal data transferred outside of Canada will be subject to the laws of the country to which it is transferred, and we ensure that data will be processed with an adequate level of protection.

8. Security

We implement technical and organisational measures in an effort to safeguard your Personal Data in our custody and control. Such measures include restricting access to your Personal Data to staff and service providers on a need-to-know basis, as well as the use of encryption and secure protocols.

While we endeavour to always protect our systems, website, operations and information against unauthorized access, use, modification and disclosure, due to the inherent nature of the Internet as an open global communications vehicle and other risk factors, we cannot guarantee that any information, during transmission or while stored on our systems, will be absolutely safe from intrusion by others.

9. Users’ Rights

Under applicable laws, you have the following rights concerning your personal data:
– **Right to Access**: You can request access to the personal data we hold about you.
– **Right to Rectification**: You can request corrections to any inaccurate or incomplete data.
– **Right to Erasure**: You can request the deletion of your personal data, subject to legal requirements.
– **Right to Object to Processing**: You can object to the processing of your personal data for specific purposes, including marketing.
– **Right to Data Portability**: You can request a copy of your personal data in a structured, commonly used format for transfer to another service.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@alexthecfo.com. Please note that we may ask you to verify your identity before responding to such requests.

We will engage with you when you place such a request within 30 days from receipt. Please note that we may not fully comply with your request, where we have a legitimate interest for us to do so, or as applicable, it would adversely affect the rights and freedoms of others. We will inform you in any case.

10. Regular Updates

We regularly review and update this privacy policy to ensure that it remains in compliance with applicable laws (including GDPR and PIPEDA) and accurately reflects our data processing practices. This privacy policy will be reviewed and updated at least annually. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated revision date.

11. Contact Us

If you have any privacy-related inquiries or requests, please contact us at info@alexthecfo.com.

If you are not satisfied with our answer or the way we process your Personal Data pursuant to this Privacy Policy, you may also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection authority or a Court of competent jurisdiction.
If you reside within the UK, you may contact the Information Commissioner’s Office.
If you are in the European Economic Area (EEA), please contact your competent local data protection authority in the EEA.