Privacy Policy

Who we are

Essence POS is a point-of-sale product operated by Essence of Sale. This policy covers the essenceofsale.com website, the Essence POS admin portal, and the Essence POS cashier app.

If you have any question about this policy, or want to exercise any of the rights described below, email support@essenceofsale.com.

Information you give us

When you create an account we collect the details needed to run it: your name, email address, business name, business country, and optionally a phone number.

When you contact us we collect the name, email address and message you submit, so we can reply and keep a record of the conversation.

The stock list scanner

If you use the scanner, the photo you upload is processed to read the items written on it, and we store the photo and the extracted text so the result can be shown to you and — if you sign up — loaded into your account.

You can use the scanner without an account. Doing so does not create one. If you never sign up, the scan is retained for a limited period and then deleted.

Your photo is used to read the items on it. It is not used to train third-party models.

Business data you enter

When you use Essence POS to run your shop, you enter data about your products, stock, staff, sales and — if you choose to record them — your customers.

That data belongs to your business. We hold and process it on your behalf in order to provide the service, and we do not sell it or use it to advertise to your customers. Where your business records personal data about its own customers, your business is responsible for having a lawful basis to do so.

Information collected automatically

On this website we record page views and clicks on calls to action so we can see which parts of the site are useful. This is tied to a random identifier stored in your browser, not to your name. If you arrive from a campaign link we also record the campaign parameters in that link.

We use Google Analytics for the same purpose. Google sets its own cookies and processes this data under its own privacy policy.

Our servers keep standard technical logs, including IP address, browser type and timestamps, which we use to keep the service secure and diagnose faults.

Service providers we share data with

We share data with a small number of providers who process it on our behalf, and only to the extent they need it:

• Cloud hosting and object storage providers, who store the application, its database and uploaded files.
• Cloudflare, which serves this website and provides the anti-abuse check on the scanner page.
• Google Analytics, for website usage measurement.
• AI processing providers, which read the text in stock list photos you upload to the scanner.

Payments

Payments your shoppers make through Essence POS are handled by the payment gateway your business connects, using your business’s own merchant credentials. Card and mobile money details are entered with that gateway and are not stored by Essence POS.

For your own Essence POS subscription, billing details are handled by the payment provider that processes the charge. We store a record of what was paid and when, not your full card number.

How long we keep data

We keep account and business data for as long as your account is active. If you close your account we delete or anonymise the data within a reasonable period, except where we are required to retain records — for example tax or accounting records — for longer.

Website analytics data is kept in aggregate. Anonymous scans that are never claimed by an account are deleted after a limited retention period.

Security

Data is encrypted in transit. Access to production systems is restricted to the people who need it, and the application enforces role-based permissions so staff accounts only see what their role allows. Backups are taken regularly.

No system is perfectly secure. If a breach affects your data, we will tell you and, where the law requires it, the relevant authority.

Your rights

You can ask us to give you a copy of your data, correct it, delete it, or stop using it for a particular purpose. Account owners can also export their business data from within the product.

To make a request, email support@essenceofsale.com. We may need to verify who you are before acting on it. If you are unhappy with our response you may complain to your local data protection authority.

Children

Essence POS is a business tool and is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 16.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy we will update the date at the top of this page. If a change materially affects how we handle your data, we will tell account holders directly.