Legal Issues of Being Organized:
Paper Management and Record Retention
by Bunky Lundberg
Papers, papers, papers! What do I throw or recycle? What do I keep? What if I don't know??? What if I get rid of something I might need someday? How do I decide? Overwhelms brought on by paper! An endless battle most of the time, the "not knowing" truly can overwhelm us. And the bad news is there are only guidelines, no absolutes. Taming the Paper Tiger, by Barbara Hemphill, nationally known Professional Organizer, author, and speaker, details Hemphill's system for paper management, which has become a standard in the organizing industry. A software system, known as Kiplinger's Taming the Paper Tiger, is based on Hemphill's book and guarantees its user the ability to retrieve documents (and CDs, cassettes, books, videos, etc.) in five seconds or less. In addition to its capability for retrieval, is also has a built-in reminder system for purging files when they have reached the date for review. As the only Paper Tiger Authorized Consultant (PTAC) in the Denver, CO region, I have seen the system change people's lives from an inability to find ANYTHING to the ability to find EVERYTHING! Professional Organizers are always encouraging clients to mark, label, schedule a time when things can finally be let go…not always an easy task for many clients. If YOUR methods for "getting rid of" is based upon sound guidelines, the process will be that much simpler. There are many helpful systems available for processing paper. By the way, did you know that the average Londoner in the late 1800's had access to less information in her lifetime than we receive in one edition of the New York Times? It is advisable to work with your attorney and accountant to establish specific preferences.
Item Term of Retention
Bank Deposit Slips 3 years
Bank Statements 7 years
Contracts As long as current, then archive Depreciation Records Life of the business plus 3 years
Employment Records Life of the business plus 3 years
Entertainment Records 3 years if writing them off
Expense Records 3 years if writing them off
Income Tax Records Permanent (you never know when you might need to refer to them)
Investment Documents 6 years after the filing deadline in year of sale
Inventory Records Life of business plus 3 years
Journals and Ledgers Life of business plus 3 years
Mortgages Until paid or property is sold
Will and Codicils Indefinitely
A group of Professional Organizers in the San Francisco Bay Area wrote a book (now out of print) entitled Organizing Solutions. It includes the following helpful questions about decision-making regarding saving and throwing paper. This could be a helpful list for you. Please note that, not only is the list for tossing the longer one, but also that 80 percent of papers filed are NEVER referenced again!!
Guidelines for Saving Guidelines for Tossing-
Is this the only copy? Is it a duplicate? Would replicating this be difficult? What is its date? Will I need this information again soon? Do I need this or simply want it? Am I required by law to keep this? How often will I refer to this information? Is this an integral part of a client or project file? Is this information current and relevant to my work life? Will this add something new to the material I already have on hand? Do I have time to read this? Does someone else have this information? How likely am I to refer to this again? Happy Organizing! © 2000, Bunky Lundberg. All rights reserved
