Whether you manage a high-volume law firm, a small doctor’s office, or a chain of retail stores, you need a strategic, comprehensive records retention and document management policy. Without one, your business could be at risk of lost, damaged, or stolen files and costly compliance fines, reputational damage, and operational bottlenecks. To prevent this, our experts have made it our mission to help our clients avoid these seven common document management mistakes.
Relying on Self-Storage or Onsite Storage
Renting a storage unit may seem like a cost-effective solution, but you could end up facing lost, stolen, or damaged documents. Paper and electronic records can quickly be damaged by Arizona’s intense heat, Monsoon rains, humidity, dust, and pests. Your best solution is to use a dedicated, secure document storage facility that is gated, access-controlled, and protected from fire, flood, and pests.
Neglecting to Create Formal Record Retention and Destruction Policy
Keeping everything forever is a recipe for disaster. You’ll not only increase storage costs unnecessarily, but important documents will be harder to find, and you’ll have a greater risk of legal liability during an audit or if you’re served with a lawsuit. You should work with a consultant to establish a comprehensive, company-wide document retention and destruction policy to ensure you’re keeping documents only as long as required.
Failing to Take Advantage of Digital Storage Solutions
It’s important to store hard copies of certain records, like ones that have a physical signature. However, many documents can be digitized and stored on a drive or in the cloud. This will make it easier to find documents instantly, and will significantly reduce storage space and costs.
Being Sloppy About Indexing
You’ll waste time, increase employee labor and stress, and potentially incur added fines or fees if documents aren’t indexed properly. Document storage best practices include a standardized barcode indexing system and a centralized records management system to ensure authorized personnel can quickly search for boxes, files, and boxes using keywords.
Storing Multiple Types of Documents in the Same Box
When you store a variety of different types of records in the same box, you mix ones that have different lifespans. This makes it harder to separate records when they reach the end of their lifecycle, making document shredding and destruction a more complicated, time-consuming, and expensive process. Instead, sort and pack files and boxes by document type and destruction year.
Overlooking Compliance and Privacy Laws
Arizona law mandates specific compliance and privacy regulations for certain industries. Failing to abide by these rules makes you vulnerable to fines, fees, and breach of client trust. Make sure you partner with a document storage facility that hires staff who is trained in chain of custody, HIPPA regulations, and other protocols.
Skipping Regular Records Audits
Skipping audits can result in messy, disorganized records and inflated storage fees. Regular audits allow you to purge old, unnecessary documents and schedule document destruction services for ones outside the retention period. This frees up space, reduces storage costs, and makes it easier to find what you need when you need it.
At Citizens Business Archives, we offer customized, proactive records storage solutions to businesses of all sizes, across all industries. To get a quote or more records management tips, call us today at (520) 882-4434 or contact us online.
