storing scanned documents

[schirallicpa]

trying to move away from keeping paper copies of every thing.  those of you that keep electronic scanned copies of documents, what is your method of storing items?  Are you keeping a thumbdrive full of client docs?  are you keeping it all on your PC?  is it in a cloud?  (which I still don't entirely trust).  I am thinking down the road a couple years when someone has an audit or needs a document, how do you have your files indexed in order to find what your looking for.  

 

Just looking for some ideas.  thanks.

[Abby Normal]

All on the computer, backed up to an offsite server. Organized by client last name with subfolders for years and a permanent folder I chose to call Misc. Some subfolders under each year for payroll or whatever is needed to keep things organized.

Welcome to the 21st century! We started this in a very rudimentary way around 2003 and it's evolved continually since then and now all of our internal forms (billing sheets, jog sheets, time sheets, etc.) that we used to fill out by hand and scan are now spreadsheet files that we print to PDF when completed in a 'to be processed' folder, so the office manager can prepare the invoices and attach the pdf in QuickBooks. Then move the PDF out of to be processed to our business records folder.

We keep no paper records, except signed original legal documents, POAs and efile signature forms.

[Margaret CPA in OH]

I do exactly as Abby Normal except I no longer have employees. I began doing this 5-6 years ago and am down to 2 file drawers where I keep those POA's, etc.  and an empty file folder for each client to be used if they provide working paper copies until I scan and return them.  My back up is BackBlaze.  I love this whole set up and it will be so much easier to close up shop as Abby Normal is doing.

[schirallicpa]

3 hours ago, Abby Normal said:

Welcome to the 21st century! 

 

thanks!

 

[schirallicpa]

i'm still laughing - we are so behind the electronic times.......

 

[Catherine]

I do pretty much what Abby and Margaret do.  Scan everything.  Drake (which I have used since the 2012 filing season debacle) will print every tax form to their "DDM" (Drake Document Manager) choosing the right folder automatically.  All backed up to the cloud (we use iDrive; my partners use BackBlaze).  The only paper kept are client original docs (until returned), POA's, 8879-series, disclosure authorizations (for clients who want us to send returns to their financial advisors, for example), engagement letters.  The occasional reference copy of something or other that we never bothered to scan.  8879-series are kept in ONE folder, all together, by year.  One for feds, one for state(s).  That way if the IRS ever walks in and wants to see them all, we would hand 'em one folder to paw through rather than have to get someone to go through every client folder fetching them out.  After three years, those get scanned in one swell foop then shredded.