To maintain effective document organization, you are going to have to determine which documents you need and which you need to get rid of. Knowing how to get rid of sensitive documents will help you to safeguard your confidential information from ending up in the wrong hands. Below is a guide to help you to efficiently destroy your confidential documents.
Create a Document Retention Policy: Before getting rid of documents, you will need to determine which documents need to be kept and for how long. To do this, mark each document with a destruction date. This way you will know when you can destroy a document.
The Documents You Need to Keep: Many organizations have retention policies that require documents to be held for a set amount of time. Such documents that you are going to want to hold on to include medical records and legal documents. You should also hold on to tax returns for any future audits that may come up. Other documents you want to keep include deeds and titles, property records and contractual agreements .
The Documents You Don’t Need: Many documents only need to be kept for a short period of time. Such documents may include invoices, voided checks, W2s and proof of purchases. ATM receipts, deposit slips and expired warranties also don’t need to be kept for a long period of time. Your organization should regularly destroy unneeded documents. Make this part of your office routine.
Shredding: One effective way to destroy documents is shredding. Shredding your documents, will ensure that they are no longer legible, further ensuring that information can no longer be extracted from them.
Burning: Burning, like shredding, will also ensure that your documents are no longer legible. To safely do this, burn your old documents in a furnace or incinerator. This method will completely destroy your old documents.
Let Biel’s Take Care of It: If your organization is unsure of what to do with documents, Biel’s is here to help. Biel’s will customize a document management solution that best works for your company. We can also efficiently destroy any unneeded old documents, so you don’t have to worry about them!
For more information, contact Biel’s.