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Backpilot

PAIA Manual

Manual in terms of section 51 of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 · Last updated 16 September 2026

This manual is published under the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (PAIA) and incorporates the requirements of the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA). It explains what records Backpilot (Pty) Ltd holds and how a person may request access to them.

1. Particulars of the body

  • Name: Backpilot (Pty) Ltd
  • Registration number: 2026/474092/07
  • Registered address: 20A Protea Road, Dana Bay, Mossel Bay, 6510, South Africa
  • Information Officer: Bruce Downing
  • Contact for requests: privacy@backpilot.co

2. The Information Regulator’s guide on how to use PAIA

The Information Regulator has published a guide, in an accessible form, on how to use PAIA to exercise rights of access to information. It is available from the Regulator: The Information Regulator (South Africa), JD House, 27 Stiemens Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001 — inforegulator.org.za, PAIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za.

3. Records held by Backpilot

The categories of records we hold include:

  • Client records: agreements, contact details, correspondence, billing and account information.
  • Client business data: the sales, stock, supplier and customer records we process on each client’s behalf to provide the service (held as operator, on that client’s instruction).
  • Operational records: generated reports, system and security logs.
  • Company records: our own statutory, financial, tax and employment records.

Certain records are also kept under other legislation — for example the Companies Act, the Income Tax Act and the Value-Added Tax Act — and access to those is governed by both this manual and that legislation.

4. How to request access

To request access to a record:

  • Complete the prescribed PAIA request form (Form 2, available from inforegulator.org.za).
  • Send it to the Information Officer at privacy@backpilot.co, or to 20A Protea Road, Dana Bay, Mossel Bay, 6510, South Africa.
  • Provide enough detail to identify the record and the right you seek to exercise, the form of access required, and a contact address.
  • If you request the record on behalf of someone else, include proof of your authority.

We will respond within 30 days, as PAIA requires. That period may be extended in the circumstances the Act allows, in which case we will tell you.

5. Fees

PAIA provides for a request fee and, where applicable, an access fee, at the rates prescribed in the Act’s regulations. We will notify you of any fee payable before processing the request. No fee is charged for a person requesting access to their own personal information.

6. Grounds on which we may refuse

We may refuse access on the grounds set out in PAIA — for example to protect another person’s privacy, third-party commercial information, confidential information held on behalf of a client, or records privileged from production in legal proceedings. Where we refuse, we will give reasons and explain how to appeal or complain.

7. Personal information we process (POPIA)

The categories of personal information we process, and why, are:

  • Our clients and their representatives — names, contact details, login and billing information — to provide and administer the service.
  • Third parties within a client’s records — for example a customer’s or supplier’s name and contact details appearing on an invoice — processed as operator, on the client’s behalf, only to provide the service.
  • Our own personnel — as needed to run the business and meet legal duties.

Recipients of this information are the service providers (operators) listed in our Privacy Policy — Supabase, Vercel, Anthropic and Google — each bound to protect it. Some processing occurs outside South Africa under the safeguards POPIA requires, as that policy describes. Our security safeguards are also set out there.

8. Your rights and how to complain

You may ask what personal information we hold about you, ask us to correct or delete it, and object to processing in the circumstances POPIA allows. You may also complain to the Information Regulator at the address in section 2. Full details of your rights are in our Privacy Policy.

9. Availability of this manual

This manual is available on this website, and on request from the Information Officer at privacy@backpilot.co.