Retention Period |
|
---|---|
Accident reports and claims (settled cases) |
7 years |
Accounts payable ledgers and schedules |
7 years |
Accounts receivable ledgers and schedules |
7 years |
Audit reports of accountants |
Permanently |
Bank reconciliations |
1 year |
Capital stock and bond records; ledgers; transfer registers, stubs showing issues, record of interest coupons, options, etc. |
Permanently |
Cash books |
Permanently |
Charts of accounts |
Permanently |
Checks (cancelled but see exception below) |
7 years |
Checks (cancelled for important payments, i.e., taxes, purchases of property, special contracts, etc. – checks should be filed with the papers pertaining to the underlying transaction) |
Permanently |
Contracts and leases (expired) |
7 years |
Contracts and leases still in effect |
Permanently |
Correspondence (routine) with customers or vendors (non-email) |
1 year |
Correspondence (general) (non-email) |
3 years |
Correspondence (legal and important matters only) (non-email) |
Permanently |
Deeds, mortgages, and bills of sale |
Permanently |
Depreciation schedules |
Permanently |
Duplicate deposit slips |
1 year |
Employee personnel records (after termination) |
3 years |
Employment applications |
3 years |
Expense analyses and expense distribution schedules |
7 years |
Financial statements (end-of-year, other months optional) |
Permanently |
General and private ledgers (and end-of-year trial balances) |
Permanently |
Insurance policies (expired) |
3 years |
Insurance records, current accident reports, claims, policies, etc. |
Permanently |
Intellectual property/trade secrets |
Permanently |
Internal audit reports (in some situations, longer retention periods may be desirable) |
3 years |
Internal reports (miscellaneous) |
3 years |
Inventories of products, materials, and supplies |
7 years |
Invoices to customers |
7 years |
Invoices from vendors |
7 years |
Journals |
Permanently |
Legal documents |
Consult with |
Marketing documents |
3 years |
Minute books of directors and stockholders, including by-laws and charter |
Permanently |
Notes receivable ledgers and schedules |
7 years |
Option records (expired) |
7 years |
Payroll records and summaries, including payments to pensioners |
7 years |
Petty cash vouchers |
3 years |
Physical inventory tags |
3 years |
Plant cost ledgers |
7 years |
Press releases and publicly filed documents |
Permanently |
Property appraisals by outside appraisers |
Permanently |
Property records – including costs, depreciation reserves, end-of-year trial balances, depreciation schedules, blueprints and plans |
Permanently |
Purchase orders (except purchasing department copy) |
1 year |
Receiving sheets |
1 year |
Requisitions |
1 year |
Sales records |
7 years |
Savings bond registration records of employees |
3 years |
Scrap and salvage records (inventories, sales, etc.) |
7 years |
Stenographer’s notebooks |
1 year |
Stock and bond certificates (cancelled) |
7 years |
Stockroom withdrawal forms |
1 year |
Subsidiary ledgers |
7 years |
Tax returns and worksheets, revenue agents’ reports, and other documents relating to determination of income tax liability |
Permanently |
Time books |
7 years |
Trade mark registrations |
Permanently |
Voucher register and schedules |
7 years |
Vouchers for payments to vendors, employees, etc. (includes allowances and reimbursement of employees, officers, etc., for travel and entertainment expenses) |
7 years |