Knowledge Center
Learn more about the benefits of using a records center, what to store and protect and records management laws.
Records Center Benefits
Using our records center:- provides maximum efficiency and use of space – five times as many records can be stored per square foot in a records center as in equivalent office space
- provides orderly arrangement and control of records
- employs procedures that ensure prompt and efficient handling of records, including fast and easy box and folder retrieval
- provides physical security and protection against damage or destruction due to natural or other disasters
- protects confidential records from unauthorized access
- provides systematic legal disposition of records that have reached the end of their retention period
- ensures that records are destroyed only with appropriate authorization
This information excerpted from "What Is a Records Center?" © 2006 ARMA International, www.arma.org. Used with permission.
What to Store and Protect?
There are many reasons to retain the records needed to conduct your business. For example, the legal and regulatory environment requires you to retain records pertaining to taxes, payroll, employee benefits, quality control, test data, and so on. The business environment demands that you carefully protect your corporate papers, patents, and other proprietary information.
Active files stored at your business location support day-to-day operations. Inactive files can be more effectively stored at a Records Center to ensure they are protected for as long as required. The secure storage services offered by Off-Site Records Management can help you retain and manage all your records. Following is a partial list of the kinds of records that businesses must retain and manage.
- Employee expenses
- Invoices and vouchers
- Depreciation schedules
- Accounts payable ledger
- Accounts receivable ledger
- Balance sheets
- Trial balance
- General ledgers
- Journal entries
- Payroll checks
- Time cards
- W-2, W-4, 1099
- Bank statements
- Accident/Injury reports and logs
- Certificate of incorporation
- Historical records
- Bylaws
- Board of Directors meeting minutes
- Shareholder meeting minutes
- Dividend records
- Annual reports
- Employee files
- Patents and trademarks
- Product engineering
- Quality control records
- Franchise/Income tax
Records Management Laws
Numerous data privacy regulations require you to protect certain customer and employee information when it is discarded. Other laws require secure handling and disposal of information to ensure protection of your company's trade secrets. See the following summaries of key laws and regulations, and examples of information you must protect to ensure compliance.
Protect Your Customer & Employee Information
Protect Your Competitive Edge
