Privacy, POPIA & PAIA

Last updated: May 2026  ·  Equilibrium, operated by a registered South African company.

1.1 Who we are

Equilibrium is a South African software platform providing payroll, practice management, and financial management services to businesses. When this policy refers to "Equilibrium", "we", "us" or "our", it means the entity operating the Equilibrium platform and the website equilibriumacc.co.za.

Our Information Officer can be contacted at: privacy@equilibriumacc.co.za

1.2 Scope

This Privacy Policy applies to personal information collected through:

• Our marketing website at equilibriumacc.co.za
• Our contact and enquiry forms
• Email correspondence with us

If you are a client using the Equilibrium payroll or accounting platform, a separate data processing agreement governs the personal information of your employees that you process through our software. Please contact us for details.

1.3 What personal information we collect

When you submit an enquiry or request a demo through this website, we collect:

• Contact details: first name, last name, email address, phone number
• Business information: company name, number of employees, service(s) of interest
• Message content: any information you choose to include in your message
• Technical data: IP address, browser type, and pages visited (collected automatically via server logs and analytics)

We do not collect sensitive personal information (as defined in POPIA) through this website, nor do we collect payment card details.

1.4 Why we collect your information (purpose)

We process your personal information for the following specific, explicit, and legitimate purposes:

• To respond to your enquiry or demo request
• To provide you with information about our services and pricing
• To follow up on your enquiry within a reasonable period
• To improve our website and services (analytics)
• To comply with applicable legal obligations

We will not use your information for any purpose that is incompatible with the purpose for which it was collected without obtaining your prior consent.

1.5 Legal basis for processing

Under the Protection of Personal Information Act, 4 of 2013 (POPIA), we rely on the following grounds to process your personal information:

• Consent: by submitting an enquiry form, you consent to us processing your information to respond to your request.
• Legitimate interest: improving our website and services, subject always to your rights.
• Legal obligation: where we are required to retain records by law.

1.6 How we share your information

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for marketing purposes. We may share your information with:

• Formspree Inc. (USA) — our contact form processor. Form submissions are transmitted to Formspree's servers to deliver email notifications to us. Formspree acts as an operator on our behalf. By submitting our contact form, you acknowledge that your data will be processed by Formspree. See Formspree's Privacy Policy for details. This constitutes a cross-border transfer of personal information outside South Africa; we take reasonable steps to ensure adequate protection.
• Service providers: cloud hosting, analytics, and email service providers who process data on our behalf under confidentiality and data processing obligations.
• Legal authorities: where required by law, regulation, or court order.

1.7 International transfers

Our website is hosted on Cloudflare's global content delivery network (CDN), which may process your data on servers outside South Africa. Form submissions are processed by Formspree Inc. in the United States. We only transfer personal information to countries or organisations that provide an adequate level of protection, or where you have consented, or where the transfer is necessary to perform a contract with you.

1.8 Retention

We retain enquiry data for a maximum of 3 years from the date of submission, unless you become a client (in which case a separate retention policy applies) or unless we are required by law to retain it for longer. Technical logs are retained for a maximum of 12 months.

1.9 Security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. Our website uses HTTPS encryption. However, no method of internet transmission is 100% secure and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

1.10 How to contact us

For any privacy-related queries, requests, or complaints, please contact our Information Officer:

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Equilibrium is committed to complying with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 4 of 2013 (POPIA), which came into full effect on 1 July 2021. POPIA gives effect to the constitutional right to privacy and regulates the processing of personal information.

2.1 The eight conditions for lawful processing

We process personal information in accordance with all eight conditions set out in POPIA:

• Accountability: We have appointed an Information Officer responsible for ensuring POPIA compliance.
• Processing limitation: We collect only the personal information necessary for the stated purpose.
• Purpose specification: Personal information is collected for specific, explicitly defined, and lawful purposes.
• Further processing limitation: We do not process personal information in a manner incompatible with the original collection purpose.
• Information quality: We take steps to ensure that personal information is complete, accurate, and not misleading.
• Openness: We maintain transparency about how we collect and use personal information, as set out in this policy.
• Security safeguards: We implement reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information.
• Data subject participation: We honour data subject rights as described below.

2.2 Your rights as a data subject

Under POPIA, you have the following rights in relation to your personal information:

To exercise any of these rights, please contact our Information Officer at privacy@equilibriumacc.co.za. We will respond within 30 days of receiving your request.

2.3 The Information Regulator

If you are not satisfied with our response to a complaint or believe we have infringed your rights under POPIA, you may lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa:

2.4 Security compromise notification

In the event of a security compromise that may reasonably be expected to result in unlawful access to or use of your personal information, we will notify both the Information Regulator and you, as required by section 22 of POPIA, as soon as reasonably possible after becoming aware of the compromise.

2.5 Operator relationships

Where we engage third-party operators (such as cloud hosting providers and form processors) to process personal information on our behalf, we ensure that appropriate operator agreements are in place, as required by POPIA. These operators are contractually bound to process personal information only as instructed by us and to implement adequate security safeguards.

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This manual is published in terms of section 51 of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2 of 2000 (PAIA). PAIA gives effect to the constitutional right of access to information held by private bodies.

3.1 Details of the private body

Name of body: Equilibrium
Website: equilibriumacc.co.za
Email: info@equilibriumacc.co.za

3.2 Information Officer

The Information Officer is responsible for receiving and processing PAIA requests.

3.3 Records held by Equilibrium

Equilibrium holds the following categories of records:

• Client and prospect records: Contact details, company information, service enquiries, correspondence
• Commercial records: Contracts, invoices, service agreements
• Financial records: Accounting records, payment records (retained for the period required by the Companies Act and SARS regulations)
• Technical records: System logs, support tickets, software configuration
• Human resources records: Personnel files for Equilibrium's own employees
• Platform data: Payroll and financial data processed on behalf of clients (held as operator — subject to the client's own PAIA obligations as the responsible party)

3.4 How to submit a PAIA request

To request access to records held by Equilibrium, please follow this process:

1. Submit your request in writing to privacy@equilibriumacc.co.za, clearly stating:
   • Your full name and contact details
   • A description of the record(s) you are requesting access to
   • The form in which you wish to receive access (copy, inspection, etc.)
   • Your right that gives rise to the request and how access will assist in exercising that right (if applicable)
2. We will acknowledge receipt within 5 business days.
3. We will respond to your request within 30 days of receipt, or seek an extension where permitted.
4. A request fee and/or access fee may be charged as prescribed by the Regulations under PAIA.

3.5 Grounds for refusal

Equilibrium may refuse access to records on the grounds set out in Chapter 4 of PAIA, including but not limited to:

• Protection of third parties' personal information
• Commercial confidentiality or legally privileged information
• Records that do not exist or cannot be found after reasonable search
• Records where disclosure would constitute an invasion of a third party's right to privacy

3.6 Right of appeal

If your request is refused, or if you are not satisfied with the decision, you may apply to a court for relief as contemplated in Part 4 of Chapter 2 of PAIA. You may also contact the South African Human Rights Commission for guidance:

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4.1 What are cookies?

Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit a website. They help the website function correctly, remember your preferences, and understand how visitors use the site.

4.2 Cookies we use

This website uses a minimal number of cookies:

• Strictly necessary cookies: Required for the website to function (e.g. security tokens, session management). These cannot be disabled.
• Analytics cookies: We may use privacy-respecting analytics to understand how visitors use our site (e.g. which pages are most visited). We do not use advertising or tracking cookies. Where analytics are used, data is aggregated and anonymised.

We do not use cookies for advertising, behavioural profiling, or cross-site tracking. We do not share cookie data with advertisers or data brokers.

4.3 How to manage cookies

You can control and delete cookies through your browser settings. Blocking strictly necessary cookies may affect the functionality of this website. For information on how to manage cookies in your browser, visit www.allaboutcookies.org.

4.4 Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy, POPIA Statement, PAIA Manual, and Cookie Policy from time to time. The "last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision. Continued use of our website after changes are published constitutes acceptance of the updated policy. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

Questions about this policy? Contact our Information Officer: privacy@equilibriumacc.co.za