Record Keeping

Record Keeping Software for Business

Tossing out old business information can seem like a huge mistake, but keeping every piece of information for as long as you are in business can create a tangled mountain of information if you are in business for longer than ten years or so. Software solutions for business help streamline your business in part by optimizing your business processes, but they also help make your files and information better organized.

The length of time that you need to keep company information differs depending on the information. For example, you probably want to keep specific job information for much longer. You can learn from successes and failures, and access old jobs and matrix information in your apparel ERP to recreate an order, again and again, and revisit jobs for clients at the touch of a button. You don’t necessarily have to hold onto other types of information indefinitely, though.

If you have employees, then the IRS recommends that you keep all of their tax records for at least four years past the date when those taxes were paid or were due. Choose the later date of the two.

While you don’t need to keep all drafts, it is recommended you use some form of record keeping technology to keep the final copy of your business income return and supporting documents indefinitely. With a good commercial screen printing system, you can store these in one easy-to-access place.

While general business ledgers should be kept permanently, documents such as accounts payable, receivable ledgers, invoices and similar documents should be kept for about seven years. Cancelled checks can also be destroyed about seven years after the fact.

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