[Editor's Note: For businesses, secure document storage is critically important. The best thing you can do is get yourself a fireproof file cabinet that can keep your documents secure in case of a fire. Check out Office Depot for a huge selection of fire safe file cabinets.]
If you run a business, even a small one from home then you need to ensure you look after and keep all of your critical documents such as invoices and bills in a safe place. Not only that, UK law states that some documents need to be kept for up to six years.
Many people, however, when asked where their last year’s accounts are will happily just point to a shelve, take you to their garage or simply ruffle through their drawers to get you the information you need. Put simply, they’re not stored anywhere safe and could be lost or stolen very easily.
Company documents are important and storing them safely is a legal requirement, not just a good idea. You should, the, consider putting them somewhere safe so that they cannot be simply picked up and taken out of the building, lost when someone decides to tidy up and burned to a crisp in a freak accident.
Here are some options to keep your documents safe:
- Off-site storage – For larger companies this can be a great option. Very often a local storage company will offer a weekly or monthly pick-up service. You provide all your documents in a set format and they will take them to their secure storage facility.
- Digital storage – This is becoming ever more popular, although the legality of digital-only documents is still in some doubt. A ‘belts and braces’ option would be to store your paper documents somewhere after first digitising them in some way. If you do this then you should really store your digital versions in a different place to the paper ones – spread the risk.
- On-site storage – Realistically, this is the most common and cost effective way of storing your document. Simply keep them in one place in a secure position in the building. But don’t just leave them in a simple filing cabinet, make sure you put them where they cannot be found easily and is secure.
Obviously there are greater risks to your paper documents than theft – the most common being fire. You should therefore consider a robust fire safe. You should also consider the possibility of heat damage and choose your safe accordingly.
Author: Alan Trescott
Alan Trescott is the marketing manager at The Safe Supermarket. He helps businesses looking to secure their valuable documents and important information. If you have a document storage need and want to discuss it with them, check out the website which has many examples of the Phoenix Safe range.
Alan also deals with more specialised requirements for example high rated fire safes for more robust storage of documents and important paperwork.
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