Privacy notice

LAR and Associates (Pty) Ltd (registration number 2014/045222/07), referred to here as “LAR” or “we”, is the responsible party for personal information collected through this website.

Our Information Officer is Lucy Rogers, CEO. You can contact the Information Officer about anything in this notice, or to make a request under POPIA or PAIA, at support@lar-ass.co.za (please put “Information Officer” in the subject line) or by post at the address above.

From you, through the contact form: your name, email address, organisation (if you give it), your message, and your confirmation that we may use these details to reply.

From you, directly: if you email or phone us instead, we receive whatever you choose to tell us, such as your name, contact details and the details of your enquiry.

Automatically, from your browser: like any website, the servers that host this site receive technical information when you visit, such as your IP address, browser type, the pages you request and the date and time. This is used to deliver and secure the site.

Please don't send us special personal information (for example health information or ID numbers) or information about children through the form. We don't need it to reply to an enquiry.

We use the information you send us to:

• reply to your enquiry and answer your questions;
• arrange an ERP assessment or prepare a proposal or quote, if you ask for one.

If you go on to become a client, we handle your information under our agreement with you.

Under section 11 of POPIA, we rely on:

• your consent, which you give with the tick box on the contact form and can withdraw at any time;
• the need to take steps you have asked for before a possible contract, such as an assessment or quote;
• our legitimate interest in running and securing this website, for the technical information described above.

No. Giving us your details is voluntary. To reply through the contact form we need your name, email address and message, so we can't process the form without them. Your organisation is optional. If you prefer, you can phone us on 011 964 1650 or email support@lar-ass.co.za instead.

We don't sell personal information. We share it only with service providers that process it for us (“operators” under POPIA), and only so they can provide their service:

• Microsoft (Microsoft 365), which sends contact-form messages from our business mailbox to our inbox;
• our website hosting provider, which runs the servers for this site;
• our business email provider, which hosts the mailbox that receives your enquiry.

If our email delivery service is unavailable, the form opens your own email app instead. Your message is then sent by your own email provider.

We may also disclose information where the law requires us to.

Depending on where our Microsoft 365 account is hosted, Microsoft may store or process contact-form messages outside South Africa. Our hosting provider may also process technical information outside South Africa.

Section 72 of POPIA allows this. Microsoft's data protection terms require it to protect personal information. The transfer is needed to respond to the enquiry you sent us, and you agree to it when you tick the consent box on the form.

This website does not store contact-form messages. They are sent straight to our email inbox, and a copy stays in the sending mailbox's Sent Items in our own Microsoft 365 account.

We keep enquiries only for as long as we need them to deal with your enquiry and any work that follows, or for longer where the law requires it. After that, we delete them.

Under section 19 of POPIA, we take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against loss, damage and unauthorised access. For example, the contact form is sent over an encrypted (HTTPS) connection, and form messages are not kept in a database on the website.

If we have reason to believe that your personal information has been accessed or acquired by an unauthorised person, we will tell you and the Information Regulator as section 22 of POPIA requires.

This website does not set cookies and does not use analytics, advertising or tracking tools. Its fonts and videos are served from the site itself, so apart from our hosting provider, visiting it does not send your information to other companies.

We use the details you send through the contact form only to deal with your enquiry, not for direct marketing. We will not send you marketing emails or messages unless you have agreed to receive them, as section 69 of POPIA requires. You can opt out of any marketing at any time.

Under POPIA you have the right to:

• ask whether we hold personal information about you, and ask for a copy of it;
• ask us to correct information that is inaccurate, out of date or incomplete;
• ask us to delete information we no longer need or are not allowed to keep;
• object to our processing your information;
• withdraw your consent at any time. This doesn't affect processing that has already happened;
• complain to the Information Regulator (see below).

To use any of these rights, email our Information Officer at support@lar-ass.co.za. We may need to confirm your identity before we act on a request.

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal information, please contact us first so we can try to put it right. You can also complain to the Information Regulator (South Africa):

Under the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (PAIA), you can ask for access to records we hold. Please send requests to our Information Officer at support@lar-ass.co.za.

We also work with organisations in Europe. If you contact us from the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or UK GDPR may also apply. Where it does, we rely on taking steps at your request before a possible contract, and on our legitimate interest in replying to business enquiries.

Your information is handled by us in South Africa and by the service providers listed above, including Microsoft. You have rights similar to those listed above, and you can complain to the data protection authority in your country.

We may update this notice from time to time. The date at the top shows when it last changed. If you have questions, email support@lar-ass.co.za or contact us.