What Documents Should You Shred?

At some point, you will need to get rid of important documents and papers that contain sensitive information like:

• Client information
• Employee records
• Medical records
• Tax records
• Credit card statements

Stacking them in a corner of your home office, or under your bed, only works for so long. Eventually you will need to toss out those old tax returns, pay stubs, receipts and other once-important papers.

Why Shredding Documents is Important

If you are a business owner, the first question you should make sure your employees know is, “What business documents should be shredded?” The next thing your employees should be able to answer is, “Why is document shredding important?”

If your employees are properly trained, they will be able to answer those questions and will protect your customers’ data. To make it easier on everyone, contact Carolina Shred, a paper shredding service for lock boxes for files and documents that are no longer needed.

Documents You Need To Shred

Tax returns — The FTC suggests you keep these documents forever, even though the Internal Revenue Service recommends most people keep them for three years after filing.

Birth and death certificates, Social Security cards, marriage and divorce papers — No surprise here, the FTC recommends saving these important documents and locking them in a secure place.

Auto titles and property deeds — Keep these documents as long as you own the vehicle or property.

Pay stubs — Shred these after comparing them to your annual W-2 form.

Bank statements and medical bills — These also can be shredded after filing your taxes each year.

Credit card and utility bills — Shred these after paying them, just make sure you have your account numbers on hand.

Sales receipts — Shred them immediately unless you need them for rebates, warranties or tax purposes.

Junk mail and anything else that doesn't have your name, address or personal information — Recycle or toss them in the trash. Give your shredder a rest.

Protect Sensitive Information

Protecting your companies sensitive information is becoming more and more important.  Carolina Shred offers regularly scheduled, one-time purges, and other document and hard drive shredding for the greater Charlotte area.  Schedule your shredding service today.