Record keeping in Singapore: A complete guide 2025

The length of time you should keep a document depends on the action, expense, or event which the document records. Generally, you must keep your records that support an item of income, deduction or credit shown on your tax return until the period of limitations for that tax return runs out. In addition, improper record-keeping may constitute an income tax offence that results in the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) disallowing your company’s expense claims and capital allowances. Pension and retirement plans might fall under both IRS and Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) rules. You might want to permanently keep records for employees who receive pension or retirement plan benefits from your company plan to protect yourself if the employee files a claim many years after retirement. Requirements and laws for retaining records on employees who are injured in the workplace vary by state, and you should check with the responsible state agency for guidelines on keeping these records.

How long should I keep business documents?

• Many banks and credit card issuers offer electronic statements now, so you may not need to keep paper copies on hand, which will cut down on excess clutter.
• When in doubt, it’s better to be safe than sorry and hang onto records longer than you need to.
• The responsibility to substantiate entries, deductions, and statements made on your tax returns is known as the burden of proof.
• Just like your services and marketing activities may have Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), your internal document filing process needs its own SOP.
• Recycling companies and stores like UPS and FedEx will shred paper for free or for a fee, and since they mix your papers with others from multiple customers, this can be a secure option.
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Plus, as your business grows, keeping every important document as a paper file can become cumbersome. Our best expert advice on how to grow your business — from attracting new customers to keeping existing customers happy and having the capital to do it. When in doubt, it’s better to be safe than sorry Accounts Payable Management and hang onto records longer than you need to. For a full list of supporting business documents to keep, consult the IRS.

Financial Documents: What To Save And What You Can Throw Away

• You must keep PAYE records for three years from the end of the tax year to which they relate.
• A financial life necessarily involves a significant amount of documentation—from monthly bank statements to insurance documents to the various materials required to file your taxes.
• You can use provisional or estimated figures if you cannot recreate all your records.
• Your CPA, outsourced accounting service or tax attorney may recommend a different approach for your record retention based on the rules of your industry and the specific needs of your business.

Organizing your physical and cloud-based storage and developing a DRP is the best way to ensure your organization complies with recordkeeping standards. Review all guidelines carefully and come up with a plan that’s easy to implement and stick with. Whether you store your documents in paper form or digitally depends on a number of factors, including your industry and your business processes. For instance, healthcare and financial organizations must meet stringent privacy laws that impact how you store digital documents.

Responsibility for keeping and maintaining business records

If keeping other documents around longer term makes you anxious, you can opt to scan them to create electronic copies and then dispose of the original paper documents. If you’re like many of us, the amount of paper that enters your home is hard to handle at times. From mail to receipts to documents, it’s a challenge to keep it all organized. While many businesses are moving toward paperless systems, it doesn’t feel that way when you look at the piles of financial papers cash flow in your home. “We moved to cloud accounting because we wanted to study the growth of the business going back over 10 years and the expenses and profitability.

Clearing your home of piles of old, useless paperwork is a wonderful feeling, but don’t scrap it with your weekly garbage collection. Most of these documents contain personal information you don’t want how long to keep company records to have exposed. If you’d like to move toward less paper, there are plenty of digital storage options. “Cloud accounting is the most revolutionary thing to happen in the accountancy world for some time,” he says. “With good cloud software, your accountant is effectively on hand 24/7. With the advancement of technology, company records can now be digitised, making it easier and cheaper to store.