How to Set Up a Records System for a New Business

New businesses rarely think about records until they are drowning in them: contracts in email, receipts in a shoebox, client details in three spreadsheets and a phone. Setting up a simple system in the first month takes a day and saves you from that. You do not need anything elaborate. You need a few decisions, written down and followed.

Step 1: list what you will need to keep

Most businesses have the same broad categories:

• Company and legal — registration, ownership, governing documents, licences, insurance policies.
• Finance — invoices issued and received, bank statements, receipts, tax filings.
• Clients or customers — who they are, what you agreed, what you delivered, what was said.
• Suppliers and contracts — agreements, renewal dates, contacts.
• People — if you employ anyone: contracts, payroll, absence, reviews. Sensitive, so restricted.
• Assets and property — equipment, leases, warranties, maintenance.

Step 2: decide the unit of work

This is the decision that shapes everything. What is the "thing" your business handles? A client, a project, a property, a matter, an order. Make that the main unit of your records, and put everything about one of them in one place: the key facts, the documents, the correspondence, the tasks and dates. Records organised by type of document (all contracts here, all emails there) make it hard to see one piece of work whole. The difference is explained in records management vs document management.

Step 3: pick one home, and ban the rest

Choose where records live: one system, not four. Then agree what does not count as a record-keeping place: personal inboxes, desktops, phones, chat apps. Things can arrive there, but they are filed to the proper place the same day. A case-based tool, a well-structured shared drive or an accounting package for finance can all work; what fails is having no single answer to "where is it?".

Step 4: set the conventions early

• Naming — a simple pattern for files, such as date first. See file naming conventions people actually follow.
• Key facts as structured fields — dates, amounts, status, the responsible person — so you can filter and report later.
• Status words — a short fixed list, used by everyone.

Step 5: decide who can see what

Even with two people, decide now. Finance and personnel records should be restricted. Client files visible to those working on them. It is far easier to start closed than to lock things down after you have grown.

Step 6: set retention from day one

For each category, write how long you keep it and what starts the clock: the end of a financial year, the end of a contract, an employee leaving. Minimums vary by country, so check your jurisdiction. Start from a records retention schedule template.

Step 7: protect it

• Individual accounts with two-factor authentication.
• Encrypted devices.
• Backups that you have actually tested by restoring something.

Step 8: write it on one page

Categories, where each lives, naming, who has access, retention, backups. One page. Give it to everyone who joins. Review it every year. The system does not need to be clever; it needs to be the same for everyone.