What Should You Do With Documents & Records?

When it’s time to close your company, whether because you’re retiring or simply moving on to something else, it’s important to know which records and documents must be kept and which ones should be securely destroyed. Take a look:

Tax Documents

Most business owners have heard of the three year rule when it comes to keeping tax documents. This simply means that you should keep tax papers for your company for three years. There are exceptions to this rule, including if you’ve made an underpayment, if you failed to file or if you’ve claimed a energy credit. In these cases the IRS recommends keeping your records for up to six years.

Employee Records

How long you keep employee records depends on several factors including whether or not you had any unemployment compensation claims. The laws on this vary state by state so it’s important to find out what your state mandates. In most cases, it’s recommended that you keep payroll records for up to seven years and if you terminated any employees, you should keep their records indefinitely so in the event that they file a lawsuit, you are prepared.

Financial Records

Financial records for your company should be kept for up to six years according to experts. These include bank statements, invoices, sales records, cash register tapes, vendor information, company credit card statements and other similar items.

Secure Storage & Destruction is Key

While you may be thinking that many of these papers are innocuous after your company closes, the reality is that they all contain a ton of personal and confidential information that can be used to steal your identity or that of your staff, customers and vendors. It’s crucial to store the documents you must keep for several years in a secure location that is not accessible by too many people.

All other company documents that do not have to be kept for a period of time, should be shredded. This will protect you from the risk of ID theft and financial losses. Once it is time to discard these documents, it is best to have them permanently destroyed by a licensed and reputable shredding and destruction company.

All Points Mobile Shredding is a family owned and operated company located in Stuart, Florida. We provide full service shredding and destruction to businesses across South Florida, from Okeechobee County all the way to Broward County. Give us a call today or fill out this form to learn more.