Post Tax Season Document Destruction

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Tax season requires the generation and collection of a lot of confidential and financial information for both businesses and individuals. This can lead to some high-security risks if that information is compromised. These include tax fraud, identity theft (SSN, Personally Identifiable Information), access to your banking information, and more. To reduce the risk of security breaches, schedule your document destruction today!

Retention Requirements

On average, important tax documents should be kept for a minimum of 3 years, and for many business records 7 years or more after filing. Making sure your documents are stored in a safe and secure location for that amount of time is the best way to prevent any security breaches. Augusta Data Storage offers records management and records storage services that can keep your information secure. Make sure to always discuss your tax or accounting professional’s explicit instructions on your obligations for records retention policies. 

Did you know....Important tax documents should be kept for a minimum of 3 years, and for many business records 7 years or more after filing.

Most of us have heard of the three-year rule when it comes to financial documents and documents associated with your tax filings. But what happens after 3 years? And what about all the other documents that you collect throughout the year to document things, but may not need after filing taxes (think individual pay stubs, monthly bank statements, bills, contracts, medical records and other files), how long should you keep those items on hand? 

Keep files that are considered “vital documents” indefinitely. This includes documents such as birth certificates, passports, mortgage documents, insurance records and more. 

Financial records that don’t fall under the “long-term storage” umbrella can pose a potential risk to your personal information. Experts recommend shredding most “regular” financial documents within 30-45 days. This includes things like receipts, credit card statements and deposit and withdrawal records. 

Read more for some “general rules of thumb” for personal record-keeping.

Secure Destruction

What do you do with information that is no longer useful? Augusta Data Storage offers secure records destruction services. Once your archives have reached the end of their retention period, it is important to securely destroy documents to avoid the risk of security breaches. Tax season is a great time to check your retention logs for potential purge shredding needs. Find out which document shredding option is best for your business here

Document Shredding OptionsMobile Shredding: Great for our scheduled shredding servicesPlant-Based Shredding: Best for large scale purge projects.Drop-Off Shredding: Great for small batch one-time shredding.

Mobile Shredding

Our mobile shredding services provide the ultimate convenience. We bring our mobile shredding truck to your office or facility to shred your paper documents on-site. No boxing or transportation, necessary! 

Many businesses prefer on-site shredding because  they can see their confidential information being disposed of themselves. Our mobile shred trucks have video feeds inside the shredder so that you can watch your items being destroyed, in real time. 

Plant Based Shredding

Plant-based, off-site shredding services are performed at the Augusta Data Storage facility. We will pick-up your documents and deliver them safely and securely to our facility. Our document shredding plant is equipped with state of the art shred technology that allows us to shred 10,000 lbs of documents per hour. Plant-based shredding services are recommended for one-time large-scale bulk shredding or record purge projects. 

Drop Off Shredding

Looking for a one-time, small batch shredding service? Drop-off shredding is your best option. Our drop-off shredding services offer the same level of security as our scheduled services and are billed by the pound, subject to a minimum service charge. This service is best for smaller batches or residential customers. 

What do I need to do to prepare my documents for secure shredding?

As information security threats increase, more businesses and consumers are adopting secure shredding as the number one way to protect their hard-copy information. When dropping items into our secure shred bins or preparing for a purge project, be sure you’ve done the following:

  • Be Careful with your Clips – Be sure to remove any large clips from your documents before their arrival!
  • Folders vs. Binders – We do accept documents in folders with tabs or small prongs, but we don’t accept items residing within ringed binders. Be sure to remove all papers from any large binders, and never place binders into shred bins.
  • Plan ahead – Plan your pickup or purge 3-5 days in advance to allow our team to schedule your appointment.

Get the full scoop: “Tips to Help You Prepare For Secure Shredding Service”.

How do I find the best shredding company in my area? 

Finding a trusted partner to handle secure shredding of your confidential records requires due diligence on the part of the customer. It’s important that you are taking a variety of factors into consideration when choosing a vendor, not just price or availability.

If you are considering partnering with a secure destruction company for the first time, or you are on the hunt for a new vendor in the coming year, here are a few things to consider about the process.

  • Is your partner providing you with tools and resources for secure paper collection in the time between scheduled secure shredding?
  • Is anyone from your organization keeping up with the best practices for managing and maintaining secure destruction services? 
  • When vetting your vendors for secure destruction, it’s worth looking for those who hold certifications specific to document destruction. 

Get the full scoop: “Consider More Than Cost When Choosing A Secure Shredding Partner”.

What are the risks of shredding documents myself? 

For many offices, it is common to have an extra box or trashcan near the printer or in a central location in the office to collect items for shredding. After the recycling bin is filled, the office admin or a member of the maintenance staff shreds the papers with a small, desktop shredder and recycles the scraps. A solution that seems safe for your information and for the environment, but is it really?

In the event of a data breach within your organization, would you be protected by these processes? What is the actual cost of your internal employees maintaining these systems in-house? Is it all really worth the cost savings? Here are a few points to consider.

  • Time
  • Open Collection Receptacles
  • Lack of Tracking
  • Employee Error
  • Equipment & Process Maintenance

Get the full scoop: “5 Ways In-House Shredding Can Cost You”

Want to get an inside look at our purge shredding processes? Learn more here and get a closer look at how the process unfolds. 

Ready to beat the breach and work to protect your information? Contact our team of Records Management Professionals today to find out more about our shredding, purging, and information management services.