ATTENTION vs. RETENTION

Paper files today are ever growing due to the increase in technology speed and the low cost of entry. Almost any modern office can print at an efficient enough level to rapidly create, or recreate, a paper file or record. These technologies create efficiencies, but also can grow file duplication and increase physical storage requirements. It ultimately leads to customers asking, “what do I really need to scan?”.

The true answer can always be found best by asking your accountant and lawyer, but looking at a file room full of drawers and inherited paper files can be overwhelming. To get started, we find it easiest to classify the paper files into the following categories: ATTENTION DOCUMENTS vs. RETENTION DOCUMENTS.

First up are ATTENTION DOCUMENTS. Identifying what are the key documents in the filing room that get the most ATTENTION. These documents tend to be the bottleneck of an efficient filing system. ATTENTION documents are documents that are referenced by 1 or more people weekly/monthly, and the ATTENTION won’t necessarily come from just internal. These documents may also be requested externally often by clients and customers. ATTENTION DOCUMENTS are typically the first document that customers might scan. An example of an ATTENTION DOCUMENT may be an employee health license or corrective action documentation. It may also be signed vendor contracts, scheduled financial reports, and inventory audits. Scanning ATTENTION DOCUMENTS to digital helps customers limit physical file room access, giving them a positive return on investment (ROI) for scanning expenses. 

RETENTION DOCUMENTS are industry standard and legally mandated documents that are stored on due to obligation . These retained documents are important to confirm with your certified account and attorney. The most common example RETENTION DOCUMENTS are medical records. Costs of maintaining these physically or digitally tend to be overhead expenses within the organization, sometimes generating little to none return on investment (ROI). RETENTION DOCUMENTS can be classified as either long term or short term. Companies with high RETENTION DOCUMENT requirements find it important to scan RETENTION DOCUMENTS to ease the demand of physical real estate square footage, which can come at high costs. 

All the remaining documents in your file room may be considered supporting documentation to these ATTENTION and RETENTION DOCUMENTS. It’s important to identify the miscellaneous corresponding documents and make company policy under the proper professional advice.

If you need help with ATTENTION or RETENTION DOCUMENT scanning, we’d like to help.