Dispose of Contracts
How to Dispose of Contracts
Contracts are some of the most sensitive documents that exist in the business world. They often outline financial and legal information that could easily damage any related parties if they fell into the wrong hands.
Close protection of existing contracts is recommended, and complete destruction of cancelled or fulfilled contracts is suggested following seven years after their final expiration.
Destruction of Paper Documents
All paper contracts and document materials must be shredded according to best security practices. Standard shredding creates paper strips roughly 3” x 5/8” in diameter. Some companies like PROSHRED® have specialized equipment that goes above-and-beyond these standards to ensure complete impossibility of reassembly.
Fine or microfine shreds are recommended to fully protect the information held within the contract or document. These shreds correspond to 1” x 3/8” or 1/2” x 1/8”, respectively. This level of shredding is only achievable using industrial single-shaft rotary grinder systems equipped with the proper screen.
Remaining paper shreds also commingle with other documents until they are deposited and permanently destroyed at a recycling facility.
Transparency is crucial during this process to prove chain of custody for each document. Employees can deposit sensitive materials in secure disposed material boxes that are only accessible by document security personnel. This personnel can empty the contents of the secure bins, boxes or consoles into a locked roll cart.
The roll carts are brought to a shredding truck where they are remotely dumped by a lifting arm into the shredding compartment. Available video feeds allow clients to witness the final descent of the documents into the shredding mechanism.
A certificate of destruction is provided to ensure transparency and placate any concerns regarding liability for the security of the materials.
Digital Files
Digital files must be completely destroyed. Merely deleting them often leaves traces that can be retrieved, allowing hackers and data thieves to recover the information.
All sensitive digital information, including contracts, should be stored on encrypted hard drives or servers. Removable media like a USB thumb drive is not recommended. Transfer across email or storage on publicly-accessible domains is also not recommended unless there are specific security measures in place to ensure that only the necessary parties have access.
When it comes time to remove the sensitive data or files, many security experts recommend more than just “wiping” the memory. Destruction using powerful magnets, pierce and tear machines or punching machines is the only way to be confident about the data destruction.
Companies like PROSHRED® perform hard drive destruction services that work almost identically to the paper shredding process described above. All destruction is done on-site, with a transparent chain of custody and certified documentation of the destroyed data.
Other Documents
Consult the similar tables provided in the corresponding sections to learn more about suggested retention periods for other types of documents:
- Corporate Records
- Financial Records
- Business Taxes Records
- Personnel Records
- Management Plans and Procedures
- Donor Records
Important note: These lists were written to serve as a general guideline. Consult your CPA or a New York business attorney for specific advice on best practices and legal compliance requirements.
What People Are Saying About PROSHRED®
Service was timely and good. Got job done for less than estimate. Great job!
Joy Edwards10/28/2015Great price for the service--timely, efficient and courteous staff,
Bob Bird10/28/2015Just call and make an appointment. They come right to your door. Everything is shredded right then and there in front of you. No waiting;... read moreJust call and make an appointment. They come right to your door. Everything is shredded right then and there in front of you. No waiting; nothing to get rid of. read less
Y Dav10/28/2014Not only were they right on time, but the professionalism, care , and courtesy were top notch! The pricing is very competitive, and with the... read moreNot only were they right on time, but the professionalism, care , and courtesy were top notch! The pricing is very competitive, and with the extraordinary service iPROSHRED is well worth using! read less
Frederick Shapiro3/24/2019I am one of the chairs of the North Castle Recycling Committee. Each year we have a Zero Waste Day and we look for... read moreI am one of the chairs of the North Castle Recycling Committee. Each year we have a Zero Waste Day and we look for a shredding company that will provide shredding for a community event. This year we invited ProShred.ProShred was fantastic. They came early and left only when their truck was full. The truck operator was professional, patient and pleasant to our town residents. From my first call where I had the pleasure of speaking with Ms. Latoya Banfield, Sales & Operations Manager, to the end of the event, ProShred really provided an excellent service. Ms. Banfield was always available by phone or by email. She handled all issues and our event went so smoothly.I recommend ProShred as a shredding company for your professional or personal needs, as well as for a community event. I have every confidence in ProShred. read less
Beth Pollack10/28/2014Hi,Great experience! Same day service, called in the morning spoke to a very friendly and helpful receptionist. Drove to their Elmsford location and was greeted... read moreHi,Great experience! Same day service, called in the morning spoke to a very friendly and helpful receptionist. Drove to their Elmsford location and was greeted by a very friendly Branch Manager Steve Rivalsi. Eveybody at the location was super friendly and helpful, highly recommend this company and their services. Also, very inexpensive, will be back with more loads and will be sure to use in the future.Thank you!Best,Philip Van DeusenMunder Skiles read less
Philip Van Deusen5/28/2020quick and efficient, up front about cost, courteous, and professional, they showed up as scheduled and were done quickly, very helpful and overall, a very... read morequick and efficient, up front about cost, courteous, and professional, they showed up as scheduled and were done quickly, very helpful and overall, a very positive experience read less
Angelfire Storm10/28/2014Super nice and accommodating during the pandemic. Bin was left outside on ramp and we talked from 10 feet away. Drive up, drop your shredding,... read moreSuper nice and accommodating during the pandemic. Bin was left outside on ramp and we talked from 10 feet away. Drive up, drop your shredding, drive away. So easy! Thanks to Steve who was so nice. read less
Marti Golon4/28/2020I am one of the chairs of the North Castle Recycling Committee. Each year we have a Zero Waste Day and we look for... read moreI am one of the chairs of the North Castle Recycling Committee. Each year we have a Zero Waste Day and we look for a shredding company that will provide shredding for a community event. This year we invited ProShred. ProShred was fantastic. They came early and left only when their truck was full. The truck operator was professional, patient and pleasant to our town residents. From my first call where I had the pleasure of speaking with Ms. Latoya Banfield, Sales & Operations Manager, to the end of the event, ProShred really provided an excellent service. Ms. Banfield was always available by phone or by email. She handled all issues and our event went so smoothly.I recommend ProShred as a shredding company for your professional or personal needs, as well as for a community event. I have every confidence in ProShred. read less
Beth Pollack9/24/2014I received great service. I was moving and had a large quantity of documents that needed to be shredded. I called and made an... read moreI received great service. I was moving and had a large quantity of documents that needed to be shredded. I called and made an appointment for drop-off. They were ready and waiting when I arrived, helped me unload the papers from my car and put the empty boxes back in the car for me. I was in and out in a few minutes. Much quicker and more efficient than trying to shred a large quantity of documents at home on a slow shredder. Well worth the cost.I highly recommend their service. read less
Craig Beardsley6/28/2020ProShred was up front about cost. Showed up with very professional employees and made our process painless. Highly recommend.
Produccion Pablo Alarcon9/24/2014I needed to have papers shredded very quickly because of an upcoming move. I called PROSHRED and spoke to the manager, Steve. He was professional,... read moreI needed to have papers shredded very quickly because of an upcoming move. I called PROSHRED and spoke to the manager, Steve. He was professional, courteous and friendly.He explained the process to me sufficiently. Everything was done quickly and efficiently. I was in and out in no time.I would definitely recommend PROSHRED and thank you Steve!!! read less
Diane Brown5/28/2020Steve and Elva were great, easy to deal with! Thank you!
Lisa Bleyzer7/28/2020Great experience with Branch Manager Chris Wallace and shredder technicians Paul and Carlos, who kept me informed by phone as to when they would arrive... read moreGreat experience with Branch Manager Chris Wallace and shredder technicians Paul and Carlos, who kept me informed by phone as to when they would arrive and were professional, patient and personable. I was very happy with the way they handled everything and pricing was fair and reasonable, exactly as quoted. I will use again! read less
Joan W1/24/2019Have been using this company for the past 3 years....excellent service and great professionalism! they've come to my office and we have also gone to... read moreHave been using this company for the past 3 years....excellent service and great professionalism! they've come to my office and we have also gone to them to drop things off to shred! read less
Viraj Gadkar4/28/2020
