How long.

[ptonsparky]

I’m having the office help clear out old paper files by turning them into PDFs.

How long do you keep vendor and customer history? A Regular customer’s history I have no problem with but what about the one and done? Seven for tax purposes but she found one from 2003.

 

[sameguy]

Not that I know it if it's good for the Feds it's probably good for you.
Real old one could be used for cold calls.
Ask your lawyer

 

[Coppersmith]

I've seen contractors that had piles of Banker Boxes stored in their warehouse with every scrap of paper they ever generated e.g. "Invoices 1978-1983".

 

[gadfly56]

I have natural pack-rat tendencies, which my wife finds charming (not!). The usual reason to dump old files is because there's no room to store them. Converting them to PDF's removes that excuse. Some people say keeping them could hurt you if someone for some reason brought a lawsuit. Then, the "I can't recall" response isn't workable. On the other hand, for commercial/industrial, if you left your sticker on equipment and a new owner wants some troubleshooting or new work done, the floor plans and riser might be right handy to have.

 

[jim dungar]

On the other hand, for commercial/industrial, if you left your sticker on equipment and a new owner wants some troubleshooting or new work done, the floor plans and riser might be right handy to have.

Drawings and parts list may be valuable, but I never saw the point in keeping paper like 'Homer called, didn't leave message' and 'fax transmittal confirmed' after the project has closed.

 

[brian john]

We are pretty much digital but every four years we have Iron Mountain come by and shred documents unrelated to taxes.

 

[gadfly56]

Drawings and parts list may be valuable, but I never saw the point in keeping paper like 'Homer called, didn't leave message' and 'fax transmittal confirmed' after the project has closed.

Yes, I can certainly see that. Contract stuff, work orders, invoices, submittals, drawings and calculations are good to save. Same for job site reports, interim inspections and meeting minutes. I've been informed that meeting minutes are legal documents. Failure to contest something put in the minutes in a timely fashion can force you to comply with something you never intended to do.