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Resource Center - Helpful Facts: Records Retention

Here’s a guide to help you determine what records to keep
and for how long:

Keep Permanently

• Audit reports of accountants
• Cash books, charts of accounts
• Cancelled checks for important payments
• Contracts and leases still in effect
• Correspondence on legal and other important matters
• Deeds
• Mortgages and bills of sale
• Depreciation schedules
• Financial statements (end-of-year)
• General and private ledgers (and end-of-year trial balances)
• Insurance records, current accident reports, claims, policies
• Journals
• Minutes books of directors and stockholders meetings
• Property appraisals by outside appraisers
• Property records
• Tax returns and worksheets, revenue agents' reports and other documents relating to determination of income tax liability

Keep Seven Years

• Accident reports and claims
• Accounts payable ledgers and schedules
• Accounts receivable ledgers and schedules
• Cancelled checks
• Expired contracts and leases
• Expense analysis and expense distribution schedules
• Inventories of products, materials and supplies
• Invoices to customers
• Notes receivable ledgers and schedules
• Expired option records
• Payroll records and summaries, including payment to pensioners
• Plant cost ledgers
• Purchasing department copies of purchase orders
• Sales records - Cancelled stock and bond certificates
• Subsidiary ledgers
• Time books
• Voucher register and schedules
• Voucher for payments to vendors, employees, etc.

Keep Three Years

• General correspondence
• Employee personnel records (after termination)
•  Employment applications
• Expired insurance policies
• Internal audit reports
• Internal reports
• Petty cash vouchers
• Physical inventory tags
• Savings bond registration records of employees

Keep One Year

• Bank reconciliations
• Correspondence with customers or vendors
• Duplicate deposit slips
• Purchase orders (except purchasing department copies)
• Receiving sheets
• Requisitions
• Stenographer's notebooks
• Stockroom withdrawal forms