How Long Should I Hold On to Old Documents?

Standard

Going digital with all your documents has its advantages. Not only are they easier to access, but you can also compile and analyze data with software programs, allowing you to make improvements and increase your return on investment.

In a previous blog post we talked about digitizing documents and what to do with original copies once they’ve been scanned and saved. In this post we’ll talk about different types of documents–which ones you should keep, and which ones to get rid of.

Don’t Ever Get Rid of These Documents

Even after you’ve digitized all your documents (which can be easier than you’d think) there are some that you’ll need to keep indefinitely. Determining what documents you need to hold on to for your business can be complicated. Most of these are official documents from a government agency, and usually involve lawyers:

Contracts & Legal Agreements
Certificates or Articles of Incorporation
Business Licenses
Year-end financial statements
Capital stock and bond records
Employment tax records

The list can go on: basically, hold on to any official document that would be difficult to replace or needs to be kept on its original letterhead and couldn’t be easily replicated.

Shred These Documents after You’ve Digitized Them

You won’t need to keep every document that passes across your desk. Here are a few items that can be shredded after they’ve been digitized, or after a certain amount of time has passed:

Bank withdrawal and deposit slips
Credit card receipts
Bank statements
Tax documents (It’s recommended that you keep these for at least 7 years)

Digitizing your business documents is easier than you might think. NextProcess makes the whole process simple for you: our software is designed to boost your efficiency and reduce your costs.

How Long Should I Hold On to Old Documents?