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Copyright 2008 Business Archives All Rights Reserved
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Copyright 2008 Business Archives All Rights Reserved
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One of the first hurdles to overcome in Records Management is to know what
records to keep and for how long to keep them. We use the standards suggested
in the table below and recommend them to our clients for use as guidelines
in the retention and disposal of their corporate records.
Use the following guidelines to help develop your retention schedule.
|
Accounting
|
|
| Auditors reports ........................................................................... |
Indefinitely
|
| Bank reconciliation ..................................................................... |
1
year
|
| Bank Statements and Deposit Slips .............................................. |
3
years
|
| Cash Books ................................................................................ |
Indefinitely
|
| Charts of Accounts ...................................................................... |
Indefinitely
|
| Checks- Canceled-Payroll-General ................................................ |
8
years
|
| Depreciation Schedules ................................................................ |
Indefinitely
|
| Dividend Checks- canceled ........................................................... |
6
years
|
| Expense Reports 6 years ............................................................. |
6
years
|
| Financial Statements-End of Year ................................................. |
Indefinitely
|
| Fixed Assets Detail ..................................................................... |
Indefinitely
|
| General Ledgers and Journals ....................................................... |
Indefinitely
|
| Payroll- Time Cards-Individual Time Reports-Earning Records .......... |
3
years
|
| Subsidiary Ledgers (including Receivables and Payables) ................ |
6
years
|
| Trial Balances- Monthly ................................................................ |
6
years
|
| Vouchers- for payment to vendor, employees, etc. .......................... |
8
years
|
|
Corporate
|
|
| Bylaws, Charter, and Minute Books ............................................... |
Indefinitely
|
| Capital- Stock and Bond Records .................................................. |
Indefinitely
|
| Checks- Taxes, Property, Settlement of important contracts ............ |
Indefinitely
|
| Contracts and Agreements still in effect ......................................... |
Indefinitely
|
| Copyrights and Trademark Registrations ........................................ |
Indefinitely
|
| Deeds and Easements ................................................................. |
Indefinitely
|
| Labor Contracts ........................................................................... |
Indefinitely
|
| Mortgages, Notes, and Lease Expired ........................................... |
8
years
|
| Patents ....................................................................................... |
Indefinitely
|
| Proxies ....................................................................................... |
Indefinitely
|
| Retirement and Pension Records .................................................. |
Indefinitely
|
| Tax Returns and Working Papers- Revenue Agents Reports ............ |
Indefinitely
|
|
Correspondence
|
|
| General ....................................................................................... |
2
years
|
| Legal and Tax .............................................................................. |
Indefinitely
|
| License, Traffic, and Purchase ...................................................... |
6
years
|
| Production ................................................................................... |
8
years
|
|
Insurance
|
|
| Accident Reports ......................................................................... |
6
years
|
| Claims-After Settlement ................................................................ |
10
years
|
| Fire Inspection Reports ................................................................. |
6
years
|
| Group Disability Reports ............................................................... |
8
years
|
| Policies- All Types - Expired ......................................................... |
4
years
|
| Safety Reports ............................................................................. |
8
years
|
|
Personnel
|
|
| Contracts - Expired ...................................................................... |
6
years
|
| Daily Time Reports ....................................................................... |
6
years
|
| Disability and Sick Benefit Records ............................................... |
6
years
|
| Employment Applications ............................................................. |
3
years
|
| Personnel Files - Terminated ......................................................... |
6
years
|
| Withholding Tax Statements ......................................................... |
6
years
|
|
Purchasing
and Sales
|
|
| Purchase Orders .......................................................................... |
3
years
|
| Requisitions ................................................................................. |
3
years
|
| Sales Contracts ........................................................................... |
3
years
|
| Sales Invoices .............................................................................. |
3
years
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|
Traffic
- Shipping and Receiving
|
|
| Export Declarations ...................................................................... |
4
years
|
| Freight Bills ................................................................................. |
4
years
|
| Manifests ..................................................................................... |
4
years
|
| Shipping and Receiving Reports ..................................................... |
4
years
|
| Waybills and Bills of Lading ........................................................... |
4
years
|