Privacy Notice
Last revised 1 November 2026
ADLEM Accounting and Compliance (Pty) Ltd is the responsible party for personal information collected through adlemaccounting.co.za and the client portal at portal.adlemaccounting.co.za. This notice sets out what we collect, why we process it, who we share it with, and the rights you have under the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA).
Who we are
ADLEM Accounting and Compliance (Pty) Ltd, registration number 2026/785295/07, is the responsible party for the personal information described in this notice.
| Registered office | 674 Cicero Street, Moreleta Park, Pretoria, Gauteng, 0044 |
| Information Officer | Andrew Adlem |
| Email for privacy queries | info@adlemaccounting.co.za |
Exceptional Accounting Solutions (Pty) Ltd is a separate business and is not a party to this notice.
What personal information we collect
We collect only what we need to provide the service you have asked for.
When you create a portal account: your email address, a password (stored only as a cryptographic hash, never in readable form), and records of email verification, sign-in attempts and session activity.
When you apply for a company registration: proposed company names, and for each director, incorporator and shareholder their full names, identity or passport number, date of birth, residential and postal addresses, contact details, shareholding and beneficial ownership information, together with certified identity documents and proof of address you upload.
When we prepare a tax return: your tax reference number, income, deductions and related financial information, and supporting documents such as IRP5 certificates, medical aid certificates and expense records.
When we provide payroll or accounting services: employee names, identity numbers, banking details, salary and benefit information, and your accounting records.
Automatically, when you use the site or portal: your IP address, browser and device characteristics, pages visited, and the result of the automated security check described below.
Why we process it
POPIA requires us to have a lawful basis for processing your personal information. Ours are set out below.
| Purpose | Lawful basis under POPIA |
|---|---|
| Creating and managing your portal account | Necessary to perform our agreement with you, section 11(1)(b) |
| Preparing and filing company registrations and amendments with CIPC | Compliance with a legal obligation, section 11(1)(c), and performance of our agreement |
| Preparing and filing tax returns with SARS | Compliance with a legal obligation and performance of our agreement |
| Providing accounting, bookkeeping and payroll services | Performance of our agreement |
| Verifying your identity and meeting our obligations under FICA and the Companies Act | Compliance with a legal obligation |
| Protecting the portal against automated abuse and unauthorised access | Our legitimate interests, section 11(1)(f) |
| Sending you service messages, such as verification and password reset emails | Performance of our agreement |
| Sending marketing communications | Your consent, section 11(1)(a), which you may withdraw at any time |
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use it for automated decision-making that produces legal consequences for you.
Who we share it with
We share personal information only where it is needed for the purposes above. Each recipient processes it on our instruction as an operator, or receives it because the law requires it.
| Recipient | What they receive | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) | Director, incorporator, shareholder and beneficial ownership details, and supporting documents | To register companies and file amendments, as the Companies Act requires |
| South African Revenue Service (SARS) | Tax reference numbers, income and deduction information, and supporting documents | To prepare and submit returns on your behalf |
| Sage South Africa (Sage Accounting) | Accounting records and related client details | Bookkeeping and financial record keeping |
| SimplePay | Employee names, identity numbers, banking details and salary information | Payroll processing |
| Cloudflare | IP address, browser and device characteristics, and interaction with the page | The Turnstile security check that distinguishes genuine visitors from automated systems |
| Domains.co.za | All data stored on the website and portal | Website and portal hosting |
| Payment service provider | Payment and billing details | Processing online payments, once this service is introduced |
| Professional advisers, auditors and regulators | Only what the request or obligation requires | Where we are legally obliged to disclose, or need advice |
We will tell you which payment service provider we use before you make any payment through the portal.
Sending information outside South Africa
Some of the service providers listed above operate internationally, and your personal information may be processed on servers outside South Africa. Cloudflare, which runs the security check on our sign-in and account creation pages, processes technical data on infrastructure located in many countries.
Section 72 of POPIA permits these transfers where the recipient is subject to a law, binding agreement or corporate rules giving an adequate level of protection, or where the transfer is necessary to perform our agreement with you. We rely on contractual safeguards with our service providers to meet this requirement.
How long we keep it and how we protect it
Retention. We keep records for as long as the law requires and as long as we need them for the purposes above. Company records and accounting records are kept for seven years under the Companies Act 71 of 2008, and tax records for five years from the date of submission under the Tax Administration Act 28 of 2011. Portal accounts that are never verified are removed once the verification link expires. Where no legal retention period applies, we keep information only while you remain a client and for a reasonable period afterwards.
Security. All traffic to the website and portal is encrypted using HTTPS. Passwords are stored as cryptographic hashes and cannot be read by us or recovered. Documents you upload are stored outside the publicly accessible part of the server. Sign-in attempts are limited and accounts are temporarily locked after repeated failures, and an automated security check protects the sign-in and account creation pages.
No system is completely secure. If a breach occurs that is likely to compromise your personal information, we will notify you and the Information Regulator as section 22 of POPIA requires.
Your rights
Under POPIA you have the right to:
- ask us to confirm whether we hold personal information about you, and to request a copy of it (section 23)
- ask us to correct or delete information that is inaccurate, irrelevant, excessive, out of date, incomplete, misleading or obtained unlawfully (section 24)
- object to our processing on reasonable grounds (section 11(3))
- withdraw consent where our processing relies on it, without affecting what we did before you withdrew it
- not receive unsolicited direct marketing, and to opt out of any marketing at any time
- lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator
To exercise any of these rights, email info@adlemaccounting.co.za. Requests for access or correction are made on the prescribed forms, which are available on the Information Regulator's website. We may ask you to verify your identity before we act, and a reasonable fee may apply to a request for access, as POPIA permits.
If you are not satisfied with how we have handled your personal information, you may complain to:
| The Information Regulator (South Africa) | Woodmead North Office Park, 54 Maxwell Drive, Woodmead, Johannesburg, 2191 |
| Telephone | 010 023 5200, or 0800 017 160 toll free |
| Complaints | POPIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za |
| General enquiries | enquiries@inforegulator.org.za |
| Website | inforegulator.org.za |
Changes to this notice and how to contact us
We may update this notice as our services change or as the law requires. The date at the top shows when it was last revised, and the current version is always available on this page. Where a change materially affects how we handle your personal information, we will tell you directly.
For any question about this notice, or about how we handle your personal information, contact our Information Officer, Andrew Adlem, at info@adlemaccounting.co.za.