Record Retetention
How long should my organization retain its electronic records?
Organizations need to re-examine their record destruction policies. Policies motivated by the desire to expunge records so they will not be available for future potential litigation should change. Courts can sense this motivation in a systematic destruction program, especially when the program applies to relatively young records.
A better policy is to shift to a bias in favor for longer, more comprehensive retention of email.
So how long should email be kept?
There is no perfect answer but there are two guideposts to consider: the seven-year or longer approach and the technological obsolescence approach. Both approaches suggest a bias toward keeping records longer and toward giving the enterprise a good margin for error. The chart below provides more specific guidelines:
ACCOUNTING RECORDS
- Accounts payable …..7 years
- Accounts receivable ….. 7 years
- Expense report ….. 7 years
- Inventory records ….. 7 years
- Loan payment schedules ….. 7 years
- Purchase orders ….. 7 years
- Sales records ….. 7 years
- Tax returns ….. permanent
- Audit reports ….. permanent
- Chart of accounts ….. permanent
- Depreciation schedules ….. permanent
- Financial statements ….. permanent
- Fixed asset purchases ….. permanent
- General ledger ….. permanent
BANK RECORDS
- Bank reconciliation ….. 7 years
- Bank statements ….. 7 years
- Cancelled checks ….. 7 years
- Electronic payment records ….. 7 years
CORPORATE RECORDS
- Contracts-minor …… Life + 7 years
- Board minutes ….. permanent
- Bylaws ….. permanent
- Business licenses ….. permanent
- Contracts-major ….. permanent
- Insurance policies (check with your agent)
- Leases / mortgages ….. permanent
- Patents / trademarks ….. permanent
- Shareholder records ….. permanent
- Stock registers ….. permanent
- Stock transactions ….. permanent
EMPLOYEE RECORDS
- Employment applications ….. 3 years
- Employee files (ex-employees) ….. 7 years
- Employment taxes ….. 7 years
- Benefit plans ….. permanent
- Pension / profit sharing plans ….. permanent
REAL PROPERTY RECORDS
- Lease payment records ….. life + 7 years
- Construction records ….. permanent
- Leasehold improvements ….. permanent
- Real estate purchases ….. permanent
Contact us for a free 30 minute email policy consultation.
© Copyright Messaging Architects 2008. This article is not legal advice. If an enterprise needs legal advice, it should consult a lawyer.
