Document storage and retention
Where documents live, attaching them to records, organizing what is not attached, and thinking about retention before you need to.
How-toFor Bookkeepers, Business owners, Firm staff
Attached versus stored
A document attached to a transaction travels with it permanently — open a bill from three years ago and the invoice is there. That is where most documents belong, because the question you will eventually ask is about the transaction, not about the file.
Document Storage is for what has no single transaction: loan agreements, leases, insurance policies, tax returns, entity formation documents, prior-year workpapers, and the reports you have issued.
Retention
Retention requirements are a tax and legal question, and they vary by document type, jurisdiction, and circumstance. Confirm the specifics with your preparer.
Reasonable defaults to discuss with them:
- Tax returns and the records supporting them — several years past filing, longer in some circumstances.
- Payroll records — several years, with some employment records longer.
- Fixed asset records — for the life of the asset plus the retention period after disposal.
- Contracts and leases — for the term plus a statutory period afterwards.
- Bank statements and reconciliations — with the year's accounting records.
Common questions
Attachments are part of the record's support and are retained with it. If a document was attached in error — the wrong invoice on a bill — attach the correct one and note the correction rather than expecting the original to disappear.
Storage limits depend on your plan. The screen shows current usage, and the practical constraint for most businesses is organization rather than volume.
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