Organizing and Managing Important Business Documents

Who is (are) the gatekeeper(s) to important business documents and information for your company?

Are important business documents and information retained, compiled, and stored in a secure central location or are they retained/managed across business units and stored across various storage mediums.

These may include business documents and information that establish or reflect subsequent changes to the legal entity, are required to open a business bank account, necessary to apply for a line of credit, business funding, or take out a business loan, or be presented as part of a due diligence audit for an investor or M&A process.

Over the life of your business, you may amass a collection of documents and information (even some you may think are trivial) that not only need to be properly retained/stored but are easily accessible and can be presented with reasonable turnaround.

Build a checklist of important business documents and information you have amassed and/or may have been asked to compile and present in the past. Use that checklist to verify important business documents and information are being properly retained, stored, and are easily accessible.

Know your gatekeepers and make sure both you and your gatekeepers are aligned on what business documents and information they possess and/or are responsible for managing/retaining.

Digitize, where possible, any legacy (hard copy) documents and information for easy access while properly retaining and securely storing originals.

Utilize a centralized storage solution with appropriate levels of security and granular level permissions to manage important business documents and information while limiting access to only those who require specific access.

Be proactive, not reactive!