subject: What Does A Professional Records Management Company Do? [print this page] Business records retention is an important part of the business process as the Internal Revenue Service requires all records to be maintained and available for a minimum of seven years following the filing of a tax return. For a business to pay the minimal income tax on profit and returns, the company must itemize each allowed expense and depreciate each piece of equipment, claim property taxes paid and other business deductions. Filing the tax return is just the first part of the long process of filing corporate taxes, the real challenge is how to keep up with the paperwork after the filing is completed.
A professional records management company streamlines the effort required to maintain years of business and tax records. After filing the very long and extremely heavy tax return, then the business principals, owners and stockholders want to know that the tax document and the accompanying supporting paperwork is accessible and easily retrieved in case of a corporate audit by the Internal Revenue Service. The records management company will store the records in a digital version, as well as place the physical paper version in a safe, clean and dry environment.
Owning a digital copy of the tax return is very convenient for business records retention as it allows the auditor and the corporate tax professionals quick and easy access to the needed records in a fast and timely dispensation. Unfortunately, in the event of an Internal Revenue Service audit, this digital edition will not meet the burden of proof requirement for a receipt. The IRS requires the physical receipt for the item as it was first purchased, even if that receipt was written on the back of an envelope or on a brown paper wrapper.
This is where the professional records management service becomes the hero of the day. When the documents are stored in a professional records management service, they are stored in a controlled environment. This protects them from pests, rodents, rain, mildew, damp, sunshine, dust and even accidentally being tossed in the trash by a too exuberant cleaning lady. Each record is boxed, sealed and tagged to prevent exposure from the elements and intrusion or meddling by any criminal hired for corporate espionage. What would the competition give to know just where that special sauce was manufactured by McDonald's? You can be assured when the documents are placed with a professional records management company the opposition will never know.
