Determining which financial documents to shred depends on the age of the document. For example, some documents may be worth holding on to for at least seven years or more. This includes tax records that may come in handy during tax audits. But, other documents like credit card offers should be shredded immediately. Otherwise, accounts can be opened under your name. While you should always use a secure financial document shredding company, like Secure Shredding and Recycling in Beaumont, it is important to know the appropriate time to shred certain files. Use this guide to help determine what documents to shred and how long to hold onto them.
Seven Years
Some financial documents are worth keeping for an extended period. This includes important files and records that prove your ownership of an asset or account. You should hold on to stock certificates, deeds to your home, auto titles, and other important information in case you need to transfer ownership. Whether you are a business owner or a residential homeowner, make sure to keep your documents and digital files safe. A safety deposit box or other locked filing cabinet can help you to keep your files organized and out of danger.
One Year
Some documents should only be held on to for a short time. This includes bank statements, medical bills, and other payments that can be disputed by a company. Receipts for large purchases may also be worth holding on to for up to a year. Whether you have a digital copy or a hard copy, hold on to these documents until any confusion has been resolved. Once you have ensured that your payment or billing information is correct and you have tended to any bills or non-tax-related statements, it is time to shred your financial documents.
Immediately
Some financial documents are not worth cluttering your office space. But, these can still include personal information that can be misused in the wrong hands. Shred any receipts after purchasing gas, groceries, office supplies, or making an ATM transaction as soon as possible. Paper copies of paid bills should also be securely disposed of, as long as it is not a payment that can be disputed. Simply throwing these documents away leaves your information vulnerable to fraud. Instead, let our financial document shredding company ensure that your files are safely destroyed.
Never
While many documents have set shelf lives, some documents are worth holding on to for the long run. These are important files regarding personal information that is valid until the account owner has passed away. Keep these files stored safely in paper documents or digital formats indefinitely. This includes:
- Social Security Cards
- Powers of Attorney
- Inheritance, Marriage, or Adoption Documents
- Wills
- Birth Certificates
These are just a few examples of documents you should not destroy. While many of these documents do not include financial account information, they may be essential to your financial matters. If you have questions about whether or not you should hold on to specific files, consult with your financial advisor or our document shredding company in Beaumont for guidance.
Get in Touch With Our Financial Document Shredding Company in Beaumont Today
Searching for safe financial document shredding from a trustworthy company in Beaumont? Look no further than Secure Shredding and Recycling. With a variety of services from onsite or mobile shredding to hard drive destruction, we make sure that your important financial documents are securely disposed of. Give us a call today at 1-833-747-3399 to learn more about our shredding process or about safe document disposal. Or, you can reach out to us by email with questions or for a free quote. Let us help you securely and conveniently destroy your financial records!
If you manage a business or organization, you know how quickly and easily sensitive information can pile up. New hire documents, client papers, insurance forms, tax information—it all has to go somewhere. In some cases, it may end up in filing cabinets that don’t offer much protection. Other times it may spill outside of storage and become easily accessible to any passersby. Understanding the importance of these documents and the damage they can cause, it’s best to have a strategy in place for keeping them out of the wrong hands. At Secure Shredding & Recycling, we specialize in keeping our clients’ information safe. If your organization could benefit from regular or one-time document shredding services, we’re ready to help. No job is too large or too small for us! Learn why our document destruction services can pay off big in the long run.
What Do You Have to Lose?
If you haven’t been properly managing your organization’s sensitive data, the answer is a lot. This information has the power to upend lives and make businesses incredibly vulnerable if it falls into the wrong hands. Identity thieves will often go as far as dumpster diving to find compromising information.
And their targets aren’t only limited to paper documents. They may also scan dump sites for hard drives, microchips, laptops, PC towers, servers, DVDs, CDs, X-rays, and photo negatives. Even older technology such as micro-fiche, backup tapes (VHS, Betamax, cassette), and floppy disks could leave you vulnerable.
So, what can you do to keep yourself, your clients, and your business safe from these threats? When you choose Secure Shredding and Recycling, we can safely eliminate documents and devices like those mentioned above so you can rest easy knowing that your data is secure. Even if you only need one-time document shredding or device destruction services, we can get it done. And if you decide that your organization could use regular services, we can do that, too. And, the best part about choosing us is that we can perform these services without disrupting your business.
How the Process Works
If you select our mobile shredding service, we travel to you and shred your materials on your property. Simply gather up the things you want to be destroyed, and we transfer them to locked containers. From there, the containers are loaded onto our mobile shredding vehicle and the contents are destroyed. And you can observe the entire process, from start to finish.
But, if you don’t feel the need to watch the process, you can also choose our offsite option. With this process, we send a Secure Shredding & Recycling vehicle truck to your location. Next, we collect your materials and then bring them to our off-site shredding facility for destruction. And again, you can choose one-time document shredding and device destruction or ongoing services. We want you to get the services that suit your needs best.
Could Your Organization Benefit From One-Time Document Shredding and Device Destruction or Ongoing Services?
If your organization could benefit from one-time document shredding and device destruction or ongoing services, get in touch with us! Our professionals can dispose of these materials safely and securely. Call us at 225-751-8535 or contact us online to get started. Let us put your mind at ease and keep your information secure.