Business Documents and Records Management
The life cycle of a record
Records move from creation to current use, to semi-current storage, to disposal - either destruction or permanent preservation. A candidate must understand why records are classified (by function, by retention period, by confidentiality) and how a retention schedule works: it names each record series and states how long it is kept and what happens afterwards. Retention periods are driven by statute, contract, audit needs, and operational need - take the longest applicable period.
Filing systems and indexing
Know the difference between alphabetic, numeric, chronological, and subject filing, and their strengths: numeric filing scales well and supports confidentiality; alphabetic is intuitive but prone to misfiling similar names. Cross-referencing prevents an item being filed in only one place when it is needed from two. Indexing is the map that lets you retrieve without searching every folder.
Traps to watch
- Confusing retention (how long kept) with disposal (what happens at the end).
- Assuming all records may be destroyed once scanned - digitisation does not automatically authorise destruction of originals.
- Filing by first name rather than surname in an alphabetic system.
- Ignoring confidentiality classification when granting access.
- Treating email as exempt from records management - it is a record like any other.
Worked example
A firm receives a customer contract. Classify it as a contract record, index it under the customer name and contract number, set retention at the contract term plus the statutory limitation period, mark access as restricted, and schedule review at the end of retention rather than automatic destruction.
Rule of thumb
If you cannot say where a record is, how long it stays, and who may see it, the system has failed.