Privacy Policy

Who we are

Alvin is a free AI bookkeeping platform provided by Digital Tax Accountant, a UK-based accountancy firm. Alvin helps UK businesses, sole traders and landlords manage their bookkeeping, invoices, receipts, mileage and draft accounts at no cost.

When you need professional help, qualified accountants from Digital Tax Accountant are available to review your books and file your returns — but only when you choose to engage them.

What data we collect

We collect the following types of data when you use Alvin:

• Account details — your name, email address and password when you register.
• Business and financial data — information you upload or enter, such as bank statements, receipts, invoices, bills, mileage entries and property details.
• Usage data — how you interact with the app, including pages visited, features used and device information.
• Cookies — small files stored on your device. See our Cookie Policy for details.

How we use it

We use your data to:

• Provide the bookkeeping service, including transaction categorisation, invoicing and reporting.
• Power AI features such as auto-categorisation, receipt extraction and tax estimates.
• Provide customer support when you contact us.
• Improve and develop the service, including training and refining our AI models.
• Send you important service notifications, such as deadline reminders.

Legal bases for processing

Under UK GDPR, we rely on the following legal bases to process your personal data:

• Contract — to provide the service you signed up for.
• Legal obligation — where we are required to keep records for tax or regulatory purposes.
• Legitimate interests — for service improvement, security and fraud prevention.
• Consent — for non-essential cookies and optional communications. You can withdraw consent at any time.

How AI processes your data

Alvin uses AI to power features like auto-categorisation of bank transactions, receipt extraction and draft accounts. Your financial data is processed by AI to produce suggestions and estimates — for example, suggesting a category and VAT rate for a transaction, or extracting the amount and supplier from a receipt photo.

You always stay in control. Every AI suggestion can be reviewed, changed or overridden before it is saved to your books. Alvin does not make final decisions about your finances without your input.

Who we share data with

We do not sell your data. We share it only in the following circumstances:

• Digital Tax Accountant accountants — only when you explicitly choose to engage a professional accountant from Digital Tax Accountant. They will only see the data you share with them.
• Service providers and processors — trusted third parties that help us run the platform, such as cloud hosting and AI processing providers. These providers are bound by contract and data protection obligations.
• Legal authorities — where required by law, such as responding to valid requests from HMRC or law enforcement.

Data retention

We keep your data for as long as your account is active. If you close your account, we will delete your data within 30 days, unless we are legally required to retain it for longer (for example, for tax record-keeping purposes under HMRC rules, which typically require records to be kept for up to six years).

Security measures

We take security seriously and use industry-standard measures to protect your data:

• Encryption in transit (TLS) and at rest.
• Row-level security so each user can only access their own data.
• Regular security reviews and access controls.
• Audit logging of sensitive actions.

No system is 100% secure, but we work hard to keep your data safe and respond quickly to any issues.

Your rights

Under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, you have the right to:

• Access your personal data
• Rectify inaccurate data
• Erasure (the right to be forgotten)
• Restrict processing
• Data portability
• Object to processing
• Withdraw consent at any time
• Rights related to automated decision-making

See our GDPR rights hub for a plain-English explanation of each right.

International transfers

Your data is primarily stored and processed in the UK and the European Economic Area. Where any data is processed outside the UK, we ensure it is protected by appropriate safeguards, such as UK International Data Transfer Agreements or equivalent legal protections.

Contact details and right to complain

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data, contact us at admin@digitaltaxaccountant.com.

You have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) if you believe we have not handled your data properly. You can contact the ICO at ico.org.uk or by calling their helpline on 0303 123 1113.