What is the life cycle of a document?
The life cycle begins once a document is created or received in an organization to its use or distribution and then to its final stage, storage or destruction. The life cycle of documents applies to both hard copy and electronic records. The term document is replaced with the term record in this article.
"A record is recorded information, regardless of medium or characteristics, made or received by an organization in pursuance of legal obligation or in the transaction of business."
We can arrange records in three categories: active, semi-active and inactive.
The reference activity scale will help you position the record in its right place throughout the cycle. Records are assets and have value to the business. Some records may have a short lived shelf life while other records may be retained for certain period of time or permanently. Ask yourself these questions. How often do you refer to it? What is the value of the record to your organization?
The value of the record will have an impact on what you will do with the record, keep or toss, and is determined by the administrative, operational, legal, fiscal, reference, scholarly, or historic/archival purpose. Once the value of the record is zero, it is of no further use to the company.
The active phase relates to the record being consulted frequently and supports the business activities on a regular basis.
The semi-active record, which is referred to on occasion, is removed from the active phase/ files and is considered to be part of the inactive phase. It still may be kept to fulfill regulatory obligations.
The inactive record is rarely referred to. Some records will be kept for a determined period of time while others will be kept permanently. The permanent record is kept for future reference, either for legal, historical or scholarly purposes, for the entire life of the company and sometimes beyond ownership.
The selection of a classification system will ensure ease of access and retrieval of your business records for the right purpose and at the right time.
Francine Renaud
Records Management Consultant
http://www.timeouttoorganize.com/
Tel: 250-763-3988 Toll Free: 1-888-763-3988
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Overview of Records Management
organizations.
Major objectives are:
•Recordkeeping compliance including legal, fiscal and administrative obligations
•Timely access and retrieval of records
•Reduction of storage costs due to retention periods and disposition of documents no longer needed
Records: recorded information in any format made or received by an organization for business activities, legal or administrative.
Our benefits and solutions:
•Automated systems reduce time associated with complex document retrieval
•Compliance with legal requirements for recordkeeping reduces risks
•Ease of quick access and retrieval of documents increases productivity
•Effective systems contribute to profitability and efficiency
•Expedition of tasks which rely on timely availability reduce labour costs
•Identification of vital records and protection of records ensure recovery due to disaster
•Retention schedules help ensure what to keep and how long to keep
•Storage space is minimized due to the disposition of documents and helps reduce costs
Francine Renaud Records
Management Consultant
http://www.timeouttoorganize.com/
Tel: 250-763-3988
Toll Free: 1-888-763-3988
Why and how you should manage your documents
You are on the phone with a client and you are asked to find a document. How long does it take you to find that document and other documents related to that topic or document, either electronic or paper copy? Do you have several revisions of this copy? Have you kept a copy of the last revision? Did you keep all of the revisions? Is it necessary to keep all of the drafts? Should you keep only the final approved copy and designate it as the official record kept and secured with access privileges?
Where are the documents needed for you to address a question from any outside partners, a client, a colleague, administration or the government?
Did it take you more that 15 seconds? The more time it takes, the more frustrated the situation can become and the consequences can even be serious.
What message are you sending out! Disorganization and mismanagement of documents can send the wrong impression about your business and attention may be given to the lack of good business practices.
Businesses, small and large, are responsible for their business activities and must protect their documents.
If you are organized and your documents, in any format, are easy to retrieve, the benefits are many. You avoid embarrassment, you look good in front of your clients, and your work day is less stressful. Clients value your sense of good business practices and you infuse confidence in your business relations.
If any government body is requesting any document, especially for e-discovery in case of litigation, you can feel confident about the retrieval of all documents and avoid possible fines and penalties.
How do you resolve this dilemma? A classification system will assist you and ensure that you are following a prescribed form of access and retrieval of documents. The arrangement of your documents can be organized to suit your industry and needs for access and retrieval. The retention schedules will be the blueprint to all of your documents and will be incorporated into the classification system.
There are studies in existence, which prove that companies still own paper documents. Some documents are considered legal in paper format only. Some businesses keep only paper documents while others prefer to scan or create documents electronically. If you have electronic records, you may even print off copies from those files. A manual system or a combination of a manual and automated system is available and can tie both the paper and electronic documents to a particular business topic or function. Therefore, all documents can be found with ease.
Francine Renaud
Records Management Consultant
http://www.timeouttoorganize.com/
Tel: 250-763-3988
Toll Free: 1-888-763-3988
Did it take you more that 15 seconds? The more time it takes, the more frustrated the situation can become and the consequences can even be serious.
What message are you sending out! Disorganization and mismanagement of documents can send the wrong impression about your business and attention may be given to the lack of good business practices.
Businesses, small and large, are responsible for their business activities and must protect their documents.
If you are organized and your documents, in any format, are easy to retrieve, the benefits are many. You avoid embarrassment, you look good in front of your clients, and your work day is less stressful. Clients value your sense of good business practices and you infuse confidence in your business relations.
If any government body is requesting any document, especially for e-discovery in case of litigation, you can feel confident about the retrieval of all documents and avoid possible fines and penalties.
How do you resolve this dilemma? A classification system will assist you and ensure that you are following a prescribed form of access and retrieval of documents. The arrangement of your documents can be organized to suit your industry and needs for access and retrieval. The retention schedules will be the blueprint to all of your documents and will be incorporated into the classification system.
There are studies in existence, which prove that companies still own paper documents. Some documents are considered legal in paper format only. Some businesses keep only paper documents while others prefer to scan or create documents electronically. If you have electronic records, you may even print off copies from those files. A manual system or a combination of a manual and automated system is available and can tie both the paper and electronic documents to a particular business topic or function. Therefore, all documents can be found with ease.
Francine Renaud
Records Management Consultant
http://www.timeouttoorganize.com/
Tel: 250-763-3988
Toll Free: 1-888-763-3988
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Start up of a new business documents
As you begin to embark in the start up of a new business, your documents are a valuable asset to your company. Not only do they document your business transactions and activities, they contain vital records which are crucial to the recovery of your business in case of any disaster. Other documents may have a legal, fiscal or historical value and must be kept for certain periods of time. Companies must be responsible for access to their documents and must be compliant with legal recordkeeping requirements , no matter the size of the company.
It is important to consider organizing your documents as quickly as possible if you are to access the records effectively, in a readable format and in a timely manner.
Paper records continue to thrive in most offices. Even though many companies work with electronic records, paper documents are a result of documents which originate in hard copy for various reasons or are printed from electronic records.
When starting up, many of us do not realize how quickly we accumulate records. A record is recorded information in any format. This can become a serious problem even within a year of the start up of your business.
Tracking and easy access to your documents will depend on the system you implement. It is important to identify the documents according to your business functions, select a classification system suited to your industry for filing purposes, either for paper based and/or electronic records, and store your documents, onsite or offsite. More to come on storage in the near future.
Francine Renaud
Records Management Consultant
http://www.timeouttoorganize.com/
Tel: 250-763-3988
Toll Free: 1-888-763-3988
It is important to consider organizing your documents as quickly as possible if you are to access the records effectively, in a readable format and in a timely manner.
Paper records continue to thrive in most offices. Even though many companies work with electronic records, paper documents are a result of documents which originate in hard copy for various reasons or are printed from electronic records.
When starting up, many of us do not realize how quickly we accumulate records. A record is recorded information in any format. This can become a serious problem even within a year of the start up of your business.
Tracking and easy access to your documents will depend on the system you implement. It is important to identify the documents according to your business functions, select a classification system suited to your industry for filing purposes, either for paper based and/or electronic records, and store your documents, onsite or offsite. More to come on storage in the near future.
Francine Renaud
Records Management Consultant
http://www.timeouttoorganize.com/
Tel: 250-763-3988
Toll Free: 1-888-763-3988
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Business Management Solutions in Kelowna
Business Management Solutions
Computerized Business Document Management Systems
At Time Out to Organize we have found that any business, small or medium size, can benefit from an automated system.
Various levels of automation software programs exist and can be applied to meet a partial or full records management program.
Paper based documents continue to be a part of the workplace environment as well as electronic records. For the more complex and difficult retrieval of records, automation is recommended.
A consultation on various tools for automation and the level of implementation needed for your records management program is available upon request.
Francine Renaud
Records Management Consultant
http://www.timeouttoorganize.com/
Tel: 250-763-3988
Toll Free: 1-888-763-3988
Computerized Business Document Management Systems
At Time Out to Organize we have found that any business, small or medium size, can benefit from an automated system.
Various levels of automation software programs exist and can be applied to meet a partial or full records management program.
Paper based documents continue to be a part of the workplace environment as well as electronic records. For the more complex and difficult retrieval of records, automation is recommended.
A consultation on various tools for automation and the level of implementation needed for your records management program is available upon request.
Francine Renaud
Records Management Consultant
http://www.timeouttoorganize.com/
Tel: 250-763-3988
Toll Free: 1-888-763-3988
Retention and Disposition Schedules in Kelowna
Records retention schedules will provide you with the blueprint to your documents.
We will provide you with a timetable of how long to keep or when to dispose of your business documents.
This will ensure that legal, fiscal, historical and administrative recordkeeping requirements are met.
Francine Renaud
Records Management Consultant
http://www.timeouttoorganize.com/
Tel: 250-763-3988
Toll Free: 1-888-763-3988
We will provide you with a timetable of how long to keep or when to dispose of your business documents.
This will ensure that legal, fiscal, historical and administrative recordkeeping requirements are met.
Francine Renaud
Records Management Consultant
http://www.timeouttoorganize.com/
Tel: 250-763-3988
Toll Free: 1-888-763-3988
Storage and Security in Kelowna
Safety and security measures are an important aspect of the management of corporate records for long term retention.
Offsite storage in a records center provides conditions which are suitable for the safety and integrity of the records kept for longer periods of time. Records which need to be safeguarded from damage or disasters are preferably stored in record centers or other offsite locations.
Access privileges to records can be ascertained and the process for password access or other security measures can be coordinated with the retention and disposition schedules. Archived records, in any format, must be available to be read for future consultation in case of litigation or other legal obligation.
Francine Renaud
Records Management Consultant
http://www.timeouttoorganize.com/
Tel: 250-763-3988
Toll Free: 1-888-763-3988
Offsite storage in a records center provides conditions which are suitable for the safety and integrity of the records kept for longer periods of time. Records which need to be safeguarded from damage or disasters are preferably stored in record centers or other offsite locations.
Access privileges to records can be ascertained and the process for password access or other security measures can be coordinated with the retention and disposition schedules. Archived records, in any format, must be available to be read for future consultation in case of litigation or other legal obligation.
Francine Renaud
Records Management Consultant
http://www.timeouttoorganize.com/
Tel: 250-763-3988
Toll Free: 1-888-763-3988
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