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   Posted June 06, 2008                                                                                              JLZ Business Services

                 

Thanks to the growing complexity of federal & state regulations, it is more difficult than ever to know which documents to keep and for how long. Here are some guidelines to help streamline your company's document filing system.

               When To Throw Out ... What

The following is a suggested retention plan. Please keep in mind the caution that every rule has it's exceptions.
1 Year
  • Personnel employment applications
  • Purchase orders
  • Shift Sheets
  • Journal Tapes
  • Stenographers’ notebooks

3 Years

  • Bank reconciliation's
  • Bank deposit slips
  • Expired insurance policies
  • General correspondence
  • Internal working papers
  • Delivery receipts

4 Years

  • Bills of Lading
  • Correspondence with applicants
  • Employee applications (after termination)
  • Express receipts
  • Freight bills
  • Freight claims
  • Labor contracts
  • Time Cards
  • Manifests
  • Remittance statements Receiving reports
  • Sales slips
  • Salesman's expense accounts
  • Shipping tickets
  • Customer account records, closed
  • Purchase Orders
  • Requisitions
  • Daily books
  • Parts house invoices
  • Sub-contract labor receipts
  • Correspondence with landlord/lease
5 Years
  • Work Orders
  • All payroll records Correspondence, purchase
  • Credit memos
  • Insurance, fire inspection reports
  • Internal audit reports
  • Sales and use tax returns

7 Years

  • Claims, closed
  • Contracts, expired
  • Credit files
  • Employee records, terminated
  • Inventory, recaps
  • Invoices, copy of order
  • Invoices, paid
  • Accident reports
  • Agreements, leases
  • Checks & bank statements

10 Years

  • Insurance claims
  • Vouchers, A - Z copy
  • Vouchers, capital expend
  • Profit & Loss Financial Statements

Permanent

  • Agreements, licenses, deeds
  • Apps w/regulatory agency
  • Annual reports
  • Audit reports
  • Ledgers & journals and patents
  • Property papers
  • Taxes, Fed., State & Income
  • Taxes, property
  • All minutes