1. Introduction
Hobbs Business Systems ("we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting the privacy of our customers, website visitors, and users of our software products including HobbsPOS and HobbsINV. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information when you use our website at hobbs-business-systems.com or any of our software products.
Please read this policy carefully. By using our website or products, you agree to the practices described here.
2. Who We Are
Hobbs Business Systems is a B2B software company providing point-of-sale and invoicing solutions to small businesses. If you have any questions about this policy, you can contact us at a.hobbs@hobbs-business-systems.com.
3. What Information We Collect
3.1 Information you provide to us
- Account registration: When you sign up for a free trial or paid account, we collect your name, company name, email address, and phone number.
- Contact and enquiry forms: When you contact us through our website, we collect your name, email address, company name, and the content of your message.
- Payment information: We do not store payment card details. Payments are processed securely through third-party payment providers.
- Business data you enter into our software: When you use HobbsPOS or HobbsINV, you may enter business data including product information, customer details, sales records, and financial data. This data belongs to you.
3.2 Information we collect automatically
- Usage data: We collect basic analytics on how our website and software are used, including pages visited, features used, and session duration.
- Technical data: We collect your IP address, browser type, device type, and operating system for security and diagnostic purposes.
- Cookies: We use essential cookies to keep you logged in and remember your preferences. We also use analytics cookies to understand how our website is used. You can manage cookie preferences using the banner shown on your first visit.
4. How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect to:
- Provide, operate, and maintain our software services
- Process your account registration and manage your subscription
- Send you important account notifications, including trial expiry reminders and billing communications
- Respond to your enquiries and provide customer support
- Improve our products and website based on usage patterns
- Comply with legal obligations
- Detect and prevent fraud or misuse of our services
We will never sell your personal data to third parties. We do not use your data for advertising purposes.
5. Your Business Data
Data you enter into HobbsPOS or HobbsINV — including your products, customers, sales, and financial records — is your data. We store it securely on your behalf and do not access it except when you have specifically requested technical support from us. Support access requires your explicit authorisation through a verified access code.
You can export or delete your data at any time from within the software settings.
6. Data Sharing
We may share your information with:
- Hosting providers: Our software is hosted on secure servers. Our hosting provider processes data on our behalf and is contractually bound to keep it confidential.
- Payment processors: When you make a payment, your payment details are handled by our payment provider and are not stored by us.
- Legal requirements: We may disclose your information if required by law or in response to a valid legal request.
We do not share your personal data with any other third parties without your explicit consent.
7. Data Retention
We retain your personal data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide our services. If you cancel your account, we retain your data for 30 days before permanently deleting it, to allow for account recovery if needed. After 30 days, all personal data and business data associated with your account is permanently deleted from our systems.
We may retain anonymised, aggregated data (such as usage statistics) indefinitely as this cannot be used to identify you.
8. Data Security
We take the security of your data seriously and implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect it, including:
- Encrypted connections (HTTPS/TLS) for all data transmitted between your browser and our servers
- Secure, hashed password storage — we never store passwords in plain text
- Role-based access controls limiting who can access your data within our systems
- Verified support access codes required before any support agent can access your HobbsPOS system
- Regular backups to protect against data loss
While we take every reasonable precaution, no system is completely secure. If you believe your account has been compromised, please contact us immediately.
9. Your Rights
Under UK data protection law (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 ask us to delete your personal data in certain circumstances.
- Right to restriction: You can ask us to restrict how we process your data in certain circumstances.
- Right to data portability: You can request your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
- Right to object: You can object to certain types of processing of your personal data.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at a.hobbs@hobbs-business-systems.com. We will respond within 30 days.
10. Cookies
We use the following types of cookies:
- Essential cookies: Required for the website and software to function. These cannot be disabled.
- Analytics cookies: Help us understand how visitors use our website so we can improve it. These are only set if you accept cookies.
You can manage your cookie preferences at any time using the cookie banner on our website, or by clearing cookies in your browser settings.
11. Third-Party Links
Our website may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those websites and encourage you to read their privacy policies before providing any personal information.
12. Children\'s Privacy
Our services are intended for business use and are not directed at children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children.
13. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by email or by displaying a notice on our website. The date at the top of this policy indicates when it was last updated. Continued use of our services after changes are made constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.
14. Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal data, please contact us: