ACCOUNTING FOR FINANCIAL RECORDS 2
Paper clutter is a major problem, whether for a business or a personal work space at home (Mary Emma Allen & Yvonne Russel of http://www.homebiznotes.com/). A business usually has a records maintenance system which schedules when files are to be discarded or destroyed. Also, there are staff to do all the work. For your personal work space or your home business, you have to do it yourself. You have to know when and what to discard.
In the previous post, we listed documents which must be kept permanently. Here is a list of records which must be kept for a certain period:
Bank Reconciliations = 1 year
Bank Statements = 3 years
Contracts, Leases = 7 years
Supporting Documents for Taxes = 10 years.
Image from Microsoft Clipart
Thanks, Ren, for mentioning Home Biz Notes. Organization is a necessity for a home business, as well as any other. I have to admit, I do have a challenge with organizing as the many facets of my life and business overlap. I have made a determined effort to throw out the junk mail (both postal and e-mail) as soon as it arrives rather than letting it pile up and thinking I’ll get to it “later.”