Document Shredding – Scan in and Save Space

When it’s time to clear out your old confidential documents, you need a document shredding service that’s secure.

Scanning printed documents and removing the originals for shredding is a great way of cutting down on storage space whilst ensuring that the document is kept indefinitely.

How long to store?

There are no exact rules on how long to keep office documents, but many law firms, solicitors, estate agents and NHS Trusts may keep hard copies for many years. In relation to GDPR, any Personally Identifiable Data (PID) must only be kept as long as necessary. Anything relating to an invoice or money must be kept for at least 7 years.

GDPR and Documents

Your company must be transparent with everyone you hold data for. A privacy policy will help outline how customer data will be retained and controlled by an organisation. It really depends whether the data will be required in the future. For example, with tenancy agreements, they may need to be referred to years after the tenant has moved out. Scanning and sending the originals for document shredding is a robust method of keeping the document for years to come.

Organising your data storage

This is where scanning and saving the files is the perfect way to retain the information. You must however ensure that the electronic location of the file is secure, preferably on a server and backed up by cloud storage.

The great news is that storing electronically is an easy way of archiving and retrieving a document in the future, especially if your filing system is fool proof. It’s useful to have a document management system and plan in place too so that older documents can be archived and stored. This admin task may be carried out during your quietest time of year. Appoint someone to be in control of data and manage it effectively and other employees can then turn to this person with any queries. After this you can arrange for a document shredding professional to come and dispose of all paper material. Many companies prefer an on-site document shredding service, so they can witness first hand all the confidential materials being disposed of.

Don’t forget emails

If employees have got into the habit of printing emails, steer them to the electronic way of filing. Archiving folders are available on Microsoft Outlook, but it’s good practice to periodically sift through your own inbox, remove attachments from emails and delete anything that is irrelevant or duplicated. You’ll free up storage space and your mind will benefit from a clear, organised inbox.

If you’re thinking of removing old paper files and require a secure document shredding service, then please contact The Shredding Alliance for a quote today.