Management Plans and Procedures Retention
Management plans, procedures, and other administrative documents can become vital resources for consulting many countless years into the future. Even if major elements of your business have changed, you may need to keep a record of how processes, policy, and procedure were dealt with in the past in order to perform a comparative analysis.
Additionally, management and administrative documentation can become relevant evidence in legal cases. Lawsuits regarding discrimination, non-disclosure, wrongful termination and other cause-of-actions can often be examined by closely scrutinizing documented work policies.
As such, most managerial and administrative documents are considered irreplaceable, and the general recommendation is to hold onto them forever, whether in digital or paper form.
Suggested Retention Duration for Select Managerial/Admin Documents
| Document Type | Suggested Minimum Retention |
| Corporate charter and bylaws | Permanently |
| Strategic plans | Permanently |
| Organizational charts | Permanently |
| Mission/vision statements | Permanently |
| Patents and related papers | Permanently |
| Copyrights, trademarks | Permanently |
| Administrative Correspondence* | 3 years |
| *(Important memos, emails and other correspondence regarding strategy, services, programs, policies, procedures, planning and other such materials) | |
| General/Routine Correspondence | 1 year |
| Legal Correspondence | Permanently |
| Asset appraisals | Permanently |
| Property records including cost reports, depreciation schedules | Permanently |
| Deeds, mortgages, bills of sale | 7 years after property sale or transfer |
| Internal audit reports | 3 years |
| Employee evaluations | 3 years following termination |
| Training Manuals | Permanently |
| Sales records | 7 years |
| Year-end statements | Permanently |
Other Documents
For retention schedules for other types of documents, consult the similar tables provided in the corresponding sections:
- Corporate Records
- Financial Records
- Business Taxes Records
- Personnel Records
- Contracts
- Donor Records
Important note: These lists were written to serve as general guidelines and not as a replacement for expert opinion. Consult your CPA or a New York business attorney for specific advice on best practices and legal compliance requirements.
