Privacy Policy

Who we are

Maxton Personal is provided by Business Micro Systems Ltd. For the purposes of UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, Business Micro Systems Ltd is the data controller for the personal information described in this policy.

Data protection and privacy contact: richard@maxtonsoftware.co.uk

The information we collect

We may collect and use the following categories of personal information:

• identity and contact details such as your name, email address, phone number, and account login information;
• account and billing information such as subscription plan, Stripe customer and subscription identifiers, and payment status;
• security and access information such as sign-in activity, authentication preferences, and account administration records;
• workflow notification preferences such as whether you want Year End alerts by email or text message;
• support and correspondence information when you contact us by email, phone, or through the service;
• business and bookkeeping data you upload, import, or enter into Maxton Personal, to the extent that such data contains personal information.
• website usage information collected through Google Analytics if you accept optional cookies, such as page views, device and browser information, and approximate usage patterns.

How we use your information

We use personal information to:

• provide, operate, secure, and improve Maxton Personal;
• create and manage user accounts and user access;
• send internal account administration notifications, such as alerting an administrator when a new account is registered;
• process subscriptions, manage billing, and maintain customer records;
• send service-related communications such as security messages, billing notices, workflow alerts, and important account updates by email or text message where you have enabled those notifications;
• provide customer support and respond to enquiries;
• maintain audit trails, investigate issues, prevent misuse, and protect the security of the service;
• comply with legal, regulatory, and tax obligations.

Our lawful bases

Under UK data protection law, we rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

• Contract where processing is necessary to provide the service you have asked us to supply;
• Legitimate interests where processing is necessary to run, secure, support, and improve Maxton Personal in a proportionate way;
• Legal obligation where we need to keep records, respond to lawful requests, or meet regulatory requirements;
• Consent where we ask for it for a specific purpose, including optional analytics cookies.

Who we share information with

We may share relevant personal information with trusted service providers where necessary to operate Maxton Personal, including:

• payment service providers, including Stripe, for subscription billing and payment processing;
• cloud hosting and infrastructure providers;
• email and messaging providers used to send account and service communications;
• Google, for website analytics if you accept optional analytics cookies;
• OpenAI, where we use anonymised or minimised business and transaction data to support AI-assisted record categorisation and related content workflows;
• accountants or bookkeepers you invite, appoint, or authorise within Maxton Personal so they can work on the relevant client records and year-end workflow, where that access has been granted by you or another authorised user;
• professional advisers, regulators, or law enforcement where disclosure is legally required or reasonably necessary.

We do not sell personal information.

Analytics and AI assistance

If you accept optional cookies, we use Google Analytics to understand how the site is used and to help us improve the service. Where we use OpenAI-enabled features, we aim to send anonymised or minimised information only, such as redacted transaction text, category candidates, amounts, and other non-identifying workflow context. We do not intend to send direct identifiers unless a feature specifically requires them and the data is already part of the record being processed.

Workflow notifications

If you enable Year End workflow notifications, we may use your email address and, where selected, your mobile number to send reminders when an accountant or client action is waiting. You can change or turn off these notifications in My account.

International transfers

Some of our service providers may process data outside the UK. Where that happens, we take steps to ensure that an appropriate level of protection is in place, such as contractual safeguards or the use of providers with recognised compliance arrangements.

How long we keep information

We keep personal information only for as long as it is reasonably necessary for the purposes described above, including to maintain customer records, support the service, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and maintain audit evidence. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and the service relationship.

Your rights

Subject to the conditions and limits set by law, you may have the right to:

• be informed about how your information is used;
• request access to your personal information;
• request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal information;
• request erasure of personal information in some circumstances;
• request restriction of processing in some circumstances;
• object to processing based on legitimate interests;
• request transfer of certain personal information to you or another provider where applicable;
• withdraw consent where we rely on consent.

To exercise your rights, please contact richard@maxtonsoftware.co.uk.

Complaints

If you have a concern about how we use personal information, please contact us first so we can try to resolve it. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection.

ICO website: ico.org.uk

Updates to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes to Maxton Personal, legal requirements, or our processing activities. The latest version published on this site will apply.