As practice shows, in almost any modern domestic enterprise, the largest amount of documentation is generated by accounting. Of course, this is understandable: it is in this department that people work with money, and each such operation needs an official fixation on paper. In addition, the statutory period is set for the storage of primary documents in the organization, which means that getting rid of “pieces of paper” just doesn’t work, you will have to store them for at least several years and only then destroy it. By the way, the process of getting rid of waste paper is also not easy, it has a number of specific features. About all this - further.
Documents, documents ...
If you cite statistics on the number of documentation produced, it turns out that in almost all modern domestic enterprises, accounting is a source of 80-90% of paper documents. They need to be stored for a reason. Restrictions determine not only what is the minimum storage period for primary accounting documents (usually varies from five years to a decade), but also in what conditions these objects should be located. At the same time, it should be remembered that there is a division into documentation for temporary storage and permanent.
However, as practice shows, far from every company, managers are interested in understanding the intricacies of what are the deadlines for storing primary documents. To save yourself from a headache, you can use the services of specialized archival companies. In such a company they know exactly what type of documents how much time needs to be stored, in what conditions, under which rules. In addition, such an organization has the technical capacity to destroy the documents entrusted with storage when the deadlines expire. It is really convenient, but it costs money. If you want to save, then you will have to allocate a special room for the archive and delve into what is the shelf life of the primary accounting documents in the organization according to the law.
I want - I don't want
The problem, by the way, does not arise from scratch. Current laws establish the storage periods for primary accounting documents, and they must be respected within any enterprise. From the law it follows that any existing legal entity is entrusted with the obligation to preserve documentation. This means that the form of activity does not play a role - whether it is a private entrepreneur, doing business alone, or a large concern, you still have to take care of storing the financial statements and other documentation. It is important to study the legislation with regard to the established storage periods for electronic primary documents, paper, so that in case of a conflict with the contractor or during verification by the controlling authority, they will not be in an uncomfortable position. In addition, failure to comply with the statutory time intervals can provoke a considerable fine during the audit. The current legislation contains regulations governing the minimum storage period of primary accounting documents. It is important that the business is safe, and the conduct of business in our country is distinguished by legality, compliance with established rules.
The 125th federal law adopted in October 2004 tells us about the shelf life of electronic primary paper documents now. Based on the name, it is dedicated to archives and the proper conduct of business. It is in this official document that the features of storage of official papers produced by accounting are considered. Here you can find both features that allow you to distinguish between temporary and permanent storage documentation, as well as terms typical for a particular type of paper.
Who does it apply to?
Responsibilities for observing the minimum storage periods of primary documents are assigned to:
- local government authorities;
- government agencies;
- entrepreneurs;
- enterprises;
- persons conducting entrepreneurial activities.
Compliance with the law will have to apply to archival documentation, including relating to personnel. All time period specified by law should be in a safe place. In addition to federal laws, the features of the storage periods of primary documents and accounting registers are touched upon in a number of regulatory documents operating both on the territory of the country as a whole and in each individual region. However, the most important document is the 125th law mentioned above, which provides a complete list of documentation governing the duration of storage of accounting papers.
Law number 129
In 1996, a federal law on accounting features was issued. It states that the accounting department can form its documentation on paper, as well as using various machine tools. At the same time, the firm must necessarily make copies of documentation on paper independently so that all participants in the operations have access to data about them. If the regulatory body requests access to the documentation, company representatives are required to provide one. Both prosecutors and court representatives have the right to do so.
Creation, storage in compliance with the storage periods of primary accounting documents, provision upon request must comply with the forms established in regulatory enactments. Documents must be sent to the requestor in paper form. If this is allowed by the capabilities of the machines used in the work, if all participants agree, reporting can be sent in electronic form. It is also permitted by the applicable laws of our country.
We store according to the rules
The 129th federal law mentions the mandatory observance of the storage periods of primary accounting documents. In particular, article 17 mentions that any legal entity must necessarily keep such documentation, including registers and reports. The duration of the time period is established by the rules governing archival affairs at the state level. The duration of this period cannot be less than 5 years.
A special period of storage of primary documents is set for documentation and some other categories that regulate accounting policies (programs used on machines that process information, working chart of accounts). Of course, the duration here is also five years (in some cases this period can be set longer), but the period begins to count from the moment when the company resorted to this document for the last time. The head of a legal entity is the person who is legally responsible for the storage of all required documentation in compliance with time intervals. This means that any educated and responsible boss must know the period of storage of primary documents in accounting if he wants to keep the situation in the company under his control.
As practice shows, many organizations regularly conduct an inventory of official documentation, and local regulatory acts establish the persons responsible for the storage of documents with whom the inspection authorities actually interact when monitoring compliance with the archiving rules.
Creation and storage: all by the rules
Based on current legislation, accountants can generate both primary documentation and consolidated not only on paper, but also in electronic form; in this case, the obligation to create paper copies rests with the legal entity, and upon request from the interested person, the inspection body, the company is obliged to send paper documents to the address as soon as possible. Compilation and storage should be carried out in the form established by applicable regulations.
About what is the shelf life of primary documents in accounting, the procedure for this process, tells the list of documentation that examines the typical management papers that are formed during the work of any enterprise. These were established in 2010 in a document approved by the Ministry of Finance and the Rosarchive. In addition, it is necessary to take into account the requirements of the Tax Code, which regulates that every citizen of our country is responsible for the four-year preservation of accounting documents. This applies to securities related to the expense, income component, as well as confirming the payment of taxes.
We approach the matter wisely
Correct organization of the process in compliance with the storage periods of primary accounting documents requires a professional approach, the involvement of personnel responsible for accounting documentation, processing of archive information about the organization of the work process itself. Currently, there are practically no places for specialized training in archiving, so finding a really high-quality specialist is often not easy. On the other hand, progressive legislation requires that the storage periods of primary accounting documents be maintained, otherwise you may encounter categorically unpleasant fines. The best option for a fairly large document flow is to create a department in the company’s staff responsible for archival storage and ensure regular training of personnel responsible for documentation of internal resources. This will allow you to keep under control the innovations established in the laws, and to comply with all requirements.
An alternative option, which also allows you to take into account the storage period of primary documents and observe it in your work activities, is a collaboration with an intermediary who takes upon himself the obligation to preserve the client's securities. However, choosing an archive company for yourself is also not an easy task. It is necessary to carefully analyze all available options in order to give preference to a reliable company and not to worry that it can close and the building burns down.
Features of storing some types of documentation
As follows from the current legislation, the primary documentation must be transferred to the archive, as well as registers, statements and balance sheets. All these categories of official documentation should be kept in accounting rooms until they are sent to the archive, and the legal entity must ensure all conditions for the safety of papers: cabinets must be closed, fire and other safety must be observed. Inside the enterprise, a special document is assigned to the person responsible for the safety of the documentation.
If strict reporting forms are used at the enterprise, according to the law, these documents must be kept in a safe or in a special cabinet, a room that is closed and guarantees the safety of documentation. The primary documentation of the current time period, processed manually, should be collected taking into account the chronology of the registers, which are then sent to the archive for permanent storage.
What else to look for?
When storing bank statements, cash orders and advance reports, it is necessary to save all the documentation taking into account the chronology and bind for joint systematic storage. Some specific categories of documents (shift reports, work orders) can be stored without binding, but filed in folders so that nothing is lost and is not used for dishonest purposes.
The preservation of the documentation, as well as the timely sending of it to the archive, is primarily the responsibility of the chief accountant, although, if necessary, local regulations may contain delegation of authority to another person. The issuance of primary documentation, reporting, balance sheets is possible only in certain cases, if there is an official order of the chief accountant. In general, structural units do not have access to accounting documents. The seizure of documentation is possible only if there is a specialized request from the inquiry bodies, the court or other instances that have the appropriate powers under the law. In this case, it is necessary to provide an official decree drawn up in compliance with the law. Upon seizure, it is necessary to draw up a protocol, one of the copies of which is transferred to the representative of the organization against signature.
The shelf life of primary documents is shown in the table below.
Workflow Features
The term “workflow” is applied to a set of factors related to the movement of documentation from the moment of creation of the paper until its transfer to archiving. Schedule development is the responsibility of the chief accountant, although at some enterprises it is delegated to a document management specialist. However, as practice shows, the most correct is the inclusion of such a schedule in the accounting policies of the organization, which is then approved by a specially issued order signed by the chief officer of the company.
Using the schedule, you can coordinate organizational processes and simplify the planning task at the enterprise. The workflow schedule of the primary documentation is a list of executors, the time intervals within which the papers should be sent to the accounting department, as well as the time period for which the accountants process them. Be sure to describe the reporting periods, including balance sheets. Often, the accounting policy contains regulation of the periods of storage of primary documents, moreover, this period is either equated to the one established by law, or it is assigned large if required by the specifics of the company. When the annual reports are submitted, the documentation is prepared in the prescribed manner and transferred to archival storage. At the same time, they take into account that in the future it may be necessary to extract useful data from the volume transferred to storage. For this, the division of cases into folders is accepted, the grouping is explained by the content. Be sure to assign a relevant title to each folder.
Features of case storage
All documentation generated during the course of the enterprise’s activities, as mentioned above, is divided into those intended for temporary storage and permanent. When transferring papers to the archive, each of these categories must be handed over separately, without mixing official papers in one folder. In this case, copies must be stored separately from the originals. Also, in separate folders, you will have to sort the documentation showing the statements, plans for the year and for quarters, for months. One thing should contain one piece of documentation.
To group one case, you can use documents generated for one period (quarter, year, month). The exception is the so-called transitional categories - for example, personal files, the closure of which is not timed to coincide with the calendar year. If the case contains documentation generated over several months, it is necessary to separate each month from others with a special sheet, fixing on it what period the block following it documents. In this case, it is allowed to group up to 250 sheets in one case. The folder may be 4 cm or less in thickness.
What else to look for?
As can be seen from the rules of maintaining the archive, if the documentation has annexes, those (regardless of when they were drawn up) should join the documentation that they accompany. In general, the sequence for the archive of accounting documentation is very important, therefore, it must be strictly observed. As a rule, statements are first posted, then explanatory notes, followed by a balance sheet supplemented by attached documents.
When organizing the storage of personal accounts of company employees, it is necessary to allocate a separate case for this, in which the documentation is laid out over the years with strict observance of the chronology. The annual correspondence is formed into folders indicating the calendar year and also systematized in accordance with the dates. Each request should be followed by an answer to it.
Some features
The storage periods prescribed in the Tax Code may differ from those standards that are specified in the laws governing the activities of accounting. , – , . , . 2000 , . , , , .
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