Every organisation manages numerous documents with mandatory retention periods. Complying with these rules is essential to avoid legal risks. Incomplete or missing information can lead to complex legal proceedings and potential penalties. By implementing an effective document management system, you can minimise these risks. A differentiated approach ensures that each document is properly stored and destroyed on time according to the applicable regulations. This way, your organisation remains compliant and operationally efficient.
Retention period of documents
Please be aware that these retention periods are based on the Dutch legislation.
Retention period legislation
Properly structuring and storing documents is a time-consuming task. Even with an organised archive, the question often remains: can the information be easily retrieved later? For organisations still working with paper archives, this not only creates a space issue, but also makes it difficult to ensure compliance with legal retention periods.
Digital archiving may seem like the perfect solution, but without proper document management, files can quickly become scattered and oversight is lost. How can you ensure that your organisation complies with legal retention periods while also working more efficiently?
Keep in mind that there are many exceptions to the general retention rules. Certain parts of a file must be retained for a shorter period, while others need to be kept longer. Click below and read our blog for the most up-to-date retention periods.
There are many types of documents, each with its own legal retention requirement. Here are a few examples of retention periods:
- Financial documents: 7 years.
- Medical records: 20 years after the last update.
- Personnel files: Up to 7 years after termination of employment.
- Legal case files: 5 years after the case is closed.
Differentiated approach
We advise organisations to first map out the information they manage and identify the categories within it. A differentiated approach helps to efficiently structure and manage documents. With the right software, you can easily assign retention periods to different document types.
In the AIR application, this process is intuitive and effective. Together with a consultant, you can determine which document types exist within your organization and which retention periods should be linked to them. Once a retention period expires, the software automatically generates a list of documents that can be safely and securely destroyed. This way, your archive remains up-to-date, compliant, and manageable.
Storage in Our Secure Archive Facility
To save costs, less current files that are rarely accessed are securely stored in our secure archive facility. If a file is needed, it can be requested at any time of the day through our software with Scanning on Demand. This way, you only digitise what is really necessary, without incurring unnecessary costs.
This way, you only digitise what is really necessary, without incurring unnecessary costs. When registering these files, a retention period can be immediately set. This allows you to implement a structured destruction policy for paper archives as well. Each year, the software easily generates an overview of files for which the retention period has expired, so they can be securely and confidentially destroyed.
Cost-efficient
By using the differentiated approach, you handle the documentation in a cost-efficient manner and can easily manage the retention periods of the documents. This ensures that documents are not kept longer than necessary, no information is lost, and you can always retrieve the right information. Such an investment will certainly pay off in the long term.
The different retention periods for the archive are determined by you, based on legal or business retention requirements. These are then incorporated into the software and processes, so you are always aware when the retention period has expired. If desired, we can include this in our destruction policy.
