SME Business Advice (“we”, “us”, “our”) is committed to protecting your personal data and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard information when you visit our website at www.smebusinessadvice.co.uk.
This policy is written in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
1. Who We Are
SME Business Advice is operated by Michael Hartley. For any data protection queries, you can contact us at:
Email: michael@smebusinessadvice.co.uk
Website: www.smebusinessadvice.co.uk
We are not currently required to register with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) as a data controller, as we do not process personal data in a manner that triggers this obligation. Should this change, we will update this policy accordingly.
2. What Data We Collect
We may collect the following types of personal data:
- Contact information: Your name and email address, if you submit our contact form or send us an email.
- Usage data: Information about how you use this website, including pages visited, time spent on pages, and referring URLs. This is collected via analytics tools (see Section 5).
- Technical data: Your IP address, browser type, device type, and operating system, collected automatically when you access our site.
- Cookie data: Information collected via cookies and similar tracking technologies (see our Cookie section below).
3. How We Collect Your Data
We collect data in the following ways:
- Directly from you when you complete and submit a contact form on this website.
- Directly from you when you send us an email.
- Automatically via cookies and analytics tools when you browse the site.
4. How We Use Your Data
We use the personal data we collect for the following purposes:
- To respond to your enquiries and messages submitted via our contact form or email.
- To understand how visitors use our website so we can improve our content and user experience.
- To comply with our legal obligations.
We do not sell, rent, or share your personal data with third parties for marketing purposes. We will never send you unsolicited marketing emails unless you have explicitly opted in to receive them.
5. Analytics
This website uses Google Analytics to collect anonymised information about visitor behaviour. Google Analytics uses cookies to collect data such as how long visitors spend on each page and which pages they visit. This information is used in aggregate and does not identify you personally.
You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking by using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
We may also use other analytics or performance tools over time. Where these involve the processing of personal data, we will update this policy accordingly.
6. Cookies
Our website uses cookies, small text files stored on your device. We use the following types of cookies:
- Strictly necessary cookies: Required for the website to function correctly (e.g. WordPress session cookies). These cannot be disabled.
- Analytics cookies: Help us understand how visitors interact with the site (e.g. Google Analytics). These are only set with your consent.
- Functionality cookies: Remember your preferences to improve your experience.
When you first visit the site, you will be asked to consent to non-essential cookies via a cookie banner. You can manage or withdraw your consent at any time through your browser settings or our cookie preference tool.
7. Legal Basis for Processing
Under UK GDPR, we rely on the following legal bases for processing your personal data:
- Legitimate interests: For analytics and improving our website, where this does not override your rights.
- Consent: For non-essential cookies and any optional communications you have opted into.
- Contract: When responding to an enquiry or request you have submitted to us.
8. Data Retention
We retain contact form submissions and email correspondence for a period of up to 2 years, unless a longer retention period is required for legal or operational reasons. Analytics data is retained in accordance with the data retention settings of the respective analytics provider.
9. Third-Party Services
We may use the following third-party services that may process your data:
- Google Analytics: Website analytics (Google LLC, subject to Standard Contractual Clauses for UK data transfers).
- WordPress.com or self-hosted WordPress: Website platform and hosting.
- Contact Form Plugin: For processing form submissions on this website.
All third-party processors are required to handle your data in compliance with applicable data protection law.
10. Your Rights Under UK GDPR
You have the following rights regarding your personal data:
- Right of access: You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- Right to rectification: You can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
- Right to erasure: You can request that we delete your personal data in certain circumstances.
- Right to restrict processing: You can ask us to limit how we use your data.
- Right to data portability: You can request your data in a portable, machine-readable format where applicable.
- Right to object: You can object to processing based on legitimate interests.
- Rights relating to automated decision-making: We do not carry out automated decision-making or profiling.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at michael@smebusinessadvice.co.uk. We will respond within one calendar month as required by UK GDPR.
11. Right to Complain
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s supervisory authority for data protection:
ICO website: www.ico.org.uk
Helpline: 0303 123 1113
12. External Links
This website contains links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites and encourage you to read their privacy policies before submitting any personal data.
13. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, technology, or our practices. The date at the top of this page indicates when the policy was last revised. We encourage you to check this page periodically.
14. Contact
If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data, please contact us at:
Email: michael@smebusinessadvice.co.uk