Privacy policy
Last updated: 28 August 2026
PAWS (Portal for Access, Workflows & Support) is the client portal operated by Our IT Services Ltd, trading as Veterinary IT Services ("we", "us"), for the veterinary practices we support. This policy explains what personal data the portal handles, why, and the rights you have over it.
Who we are. Our IT Services Ltd, trading as Veterinary IT Services, company number 05210896, registered office 7 College Farm, Tetbury Road, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 6PY. For anything in this policy, contact hello@veterinaryit.services or call 0808 196 2041.
1. Our role, and your practice's role
Your practice is our client, and much of the data in PAWS originates from systems your practice controls. For the day-to-day operation of the portal - accounts, sign-in records, support tickets and service delivery - we act as a controller. Where we access your practice's Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace directory to set up and maintain portal accounts, we do so on your practice's instructions under our services agreement with them, and your practice remains in control of that directory.
2. What we collect and where it comes from
- Account data - your name and work email address, imported from your practice's Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace directory, plus your portal role (user or manager) and sign-in timestamps.
- Support data - tickets you raise or are named on, the notes you add, and the updates our engineers record while resolving them. Please do not include clinical records or other special-category data in ticket text unless it is genuinely necessary to resolve the issue.
- Device data (visible to managers only) - details of practice hardware we monitor, such as device names, models, operating systems, network addresses and the last signed-in username, drawn from our monitoring platforms.
- Technical data - the strictly necessary cookies described in section 7 and standard server logs (IP address, browser type, pages requested) used for security and troubleshooting.
3. Why we use it (lawful bases)
- To provide the portal and our support services - performance of our contract with your practice, and our legitimate interest in delivering the services your practice has engaged us for.
- To secure the service - our legitimate interest in preventing unauthorised access, including restricting sign-in to accounts your practice has authorised.
- To meet legal obligations - for example retaining records we are required to keep.
We do not sell personal data, use it for advertising, or use it to train AI models.
4. Who we share it with
PAWS is built on carefully chosen service providers who process data on our behalf under contract:
- Hosting and database - Vercel Inc. (application hosting) and Supabase Inc. (database and authentication).
- Service management - Kaseya (Autotask service desk, Datto RMM device monitoring, IT Glue documentation) and Rewst (automation forms).
- Identity - Microsoft or Google, when you sign in with your practice account.
We do not otherwise share your data unless the law requires it or your practice asks us to.
5. International transfers
Some of our providers process data outside the UK, including in the United States. Where they do, we rely on UK adequacy decisions (including the UK Extension to the EU–US Data Privacy Framework) or the UK International Data Transfer Addendum to standard contractual clauses, so your data keeps equivalent protection wherever it is processed.
6. How long we keep it
- Portal accounts - while your practice remains our client and your account remains in their directory; accounts are deactivated when removed from the directory and deleted within 12 months of your practice's relationship with us ending.
- Support tickets - kept in our service desk for the life of our relationship with your practice and for up to 6 years afterwards, in line with limitation periods for contractual records.
- Server logs - up to 90 days.
7. Cookies
PAWS sets only strictly necessary cookies: session cookies that keep you signed in, and a short-lived cookie used during sign-out. There are no analytics, advertising or tracking cookies, which is why there is no cookie banner.
8. Security
Access to the portal requires sign-in through your practice's own Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace account, so your practice's security controls (including multi-factor authentication) protect your portal access. Data is encrypted in transit and at rest, and access within our team is limited to those who need it to support your practice.
9. Your rights
Under UK data protection law you can ask us for access to your personal data, correction, erasure, restriction, portability, and to object to processing based on legitimate interests. Email hello@veterinaryit.services and we will respond within one month. Note that your name and email are mastered in your practice's directory - corrections there flow into the portal automatically.
If you are unhappy with how we handle your data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113, though we would welcome the chance to put things right first.
10. Changes to this policy
If we make material changes we will update this page and show the new date at the top. Significant changes will be flagged to your practice directly.