AccountingPennylane and the GDPR: agreement, role and data location.
Pennylane is a accounting tool. Most customers use it as a processor, it publishes its data processing agreement, and it usually keeps data in European Union. Below: what to check and how to declare it.
Prefilled for you · Free to set up · No credit card
In short
- Category
- Accounting
- Usual role
- Usually a processor
- Data location
- Usually European Union
- Agreement
- Published by the vendor
What does Pennylane do with personal data?
Keep accounts, issue invoices and manage bookkeeping. That is how Privacyboard describes a typical use of Pennylane, as a starting point you can edit.
The data usually involved: customer and supplier names, contact details, invoices, payment records and bank transaction details.
Is Pennylane a processor or a controller?
Most customers use Pennylane as a processor: it handles personal data on their instructions, for the purposes they set. That is the common reading for accounting tools and it is what Privacyboard suggests.
As a processor, it needs a written agreement with you under Article 28, and you should know which subprocessors it uses. Confirm the role against your own agreement, because the way you use a tool can change it.
Where does Pennylane store personal data?
Pennylane usually keeps data in European Union for every customer on its standard service, so there is normally nothing to choose. Privacyboard prefills this and you can change it if your setup differs.
What Pennylane says (read on 2026-11-05): “hébergées exclusivement sur le territoire de l'Union européenne” Source: https://assets.ctfassets.net/b76knntgaaiu/716y3zJ75dFd0xHrLdh7v0/06c61353acf52b9fbe507e994439322c/PENNYLANE_ENTREPRISE_CGSU_DEC25.pdf
How to find yours: Check the organization settings, or the provider’s data processing terms.
Even when the main location is in the EU, ask whether subprocessors or support access involve a transfer outside the EEA, and record it if so.
Which legal basis usually applies to Pennylane?
For the usual use of Pennylane, companies most often rely on performance of a contract and legal obligation (GDPR Article 6(1)). Invoices and accounts must be kept as accounting and tax law requires, and billing follows the contract.
This is a starting point, not legal advice: the basis belongs to your activity, and you confirm it in your register.
Does Pennylane have a data processing agreement?
Checked on 5 November 2026. Vendors change their pages, so check the date.
Yes. Pennylane publishes the text of its data processing agreement as a PDF on its own website. Article 28 of the GDPR requires a written contract with every processor, so this is the document to read and keep.
What we noted when we opened the page: Convention de Traitement des Données (Annex 1) to the Pennylane CGSU dated 16 Dec 2025, linked from pennylane.com/fr/conditions-generales. Contracting entity Pennylane SAS (RCS Paris 880 265 921). Says data is hosted exclusively in the EU; no transfer tool named.
A page that exists does not mean you are covered. Whether the agreement applies to you depends on your plan and on what you accepted, so record the decision yourself in your vendor list.
Read the Pennylane agreementHow to declare Pennylane
- 1
In your privacy policy
Name Pennylane as a recipient, say what it is used for (keep accounts, issue invoices and manage bookkeeping) and mention any transfer outside the EEA. Articles 13 and 14 ask you to tell people who receives their data.
- 2
In your vendor list
Add Pennylane with its purpose, the data involved, its role, its region and a link to the agreement. Privacyboard prefills all of this, you confirm or correct it.
- 3
In your processing register
Link Pennylane to the activities that use it, so each record shows its recipients. Article 30 asks the register to list the categories of recipients.
What to check before relying on Pennylane
- Limit access to people who need the books, and review it when someone leaves.
- Agree how long invoices are kept: accounting law often sets a minimum.
- Check the region and any transfer outside the EEA.
- Record whether your accountant also has access, as a separate recipient.
Go online for free. Grow when you need to.
Free puts you online. Pro adds requests, domains and your team; Business, your brand only.
Free
$0 forever
No card, no time limit
For getting compliant and going online on your own.
Start for freeKey features:
- Privacy and cookie policies
- Vendor and processing registers
- Requests and breaches tracked
- Impact assessment screening
- Privacy center on privacyboard.io
- Cookie banner on 1 domain
- 1 person
No card needed
ProRecommended
$32 per month
Billed $384 a year Save $84
For taking requests, covering all your sites and working as a team.
Start with ProEverything in Free, plus:
- DPA for your clients
- PDF and Excel exports
- Email reminders
- Request form and replies
- Your own domain
- Banner on 3 domains, every choice logged
- Weekly site scan
- Complete DPIAs and TIAs
- AI assistant connector
- Up to 5 people, with roles
Cancel any time
Business
$109 per month
Billed $1,308 a year Save $240
For proving it to customers and auditors, under your brand only.
Start with BusinessEverything in Pro, plus:
- No Privacyboard mention
- Security section and vendor alerts
- Evidence pack in one click
- Banner on 10 domains, daily scan
- Up to 50 people
- Two-step verification required
- Activity log kept 3 years
Bank transfer on request
Questions, answered.
Is Pennylane GDPR compliant?
Privacyboard does not certify vendors. Compliance depends on how Pennylane is configured and used, on the agreement you have with it and on your own practices. What can be checked is documented here: it publishes a data processing agreement, the usual role and the data location. Read the agreement itself before relying on it.
Does Pennylane have a DPA?
Yes. Pennylane publishes the text of its data processing agreement as a PDF on its own website. Article 28 of the GDPR requires a written contract with every processor, so this is the document to read and keep. You can read it at https://assets.ctfassets.net/b76knntgaaiu/716y3zJ75dFd0xHrLdh7v0/06c61353acf52b9fbe507e994439322c/PENNYLANE_ENTREPRISE_CGSU_DEC25.pdf.
Is Pennylane a data processor?
Usually, yes. Most customers use Pennylane as a processor that acts on their instructions. Check your own agreement and how you use the tool, because the role can differ.
Which legal basis applies when I use Pennylane?
For the usual use of Pennylane, companies most often rely on performance of a contract and legal obligation (GDPR Article 6(1)). Invoices and accounts must be kept as accounting and tax law requires, and billing follows the contract. This is a starting point, not legal advice: the basis belongs to your activity, and you confirm it in your register.
Where does Pennylane store data?
Pennylane usually keeps data in European Union for every customer on its standard service, so there is normally nothing to choose. Privacyboard prefills this and you can change it if your setup differs. What Pennylane says (read on 2026-11-05): “hébergées exclusivement sur le territoire de l'Union européenne” Source: https://assets.ctfassets.net/b76knntgaaiu/716y3zJ75dFd0xHrLdh7v0/06c61353acf52b9fbe507e994439322c/PENNYLANE_ENTREPRISE_CGSU_DEC25.pdf
Do I need to mention Pennylane in my privacy policy?
Yes, if Pennylane handles personal data for you. The GDPR asks you to tell people who receives their data (Articles 13 and 14). Name the vendor or its category, say what it is used for and mention any transfer outside the EEA.
How do I add Pennylane to my vendor list?
In Privacyboard, pick Pennylane from the catalog. The purpose, the data, the suggested role and a link to its agreement are prefilled, and you confirm each one. Creating a workspace is free.
Similar tools
Privacyboard is not affiliated with Pennylane. Names and logos belong to their owners and are used only to identify the tool. This page summarises public documents as checked on 1 November 2026; it is guidance, not legal advice, and it does not certify any vendor.