Developing a retention policy may be difficult for some business owners. They may not know what is important to keep and what can be thrown away. Thankfully, there are a few important documents that every business should keep in their retention process near New York City. Continue reading for a list of the important documents you want to keep and make sure are stored safely.

Corporate Documents

Businesses need to keep the official documents that mark them as a legitimate business. These documents would include incorporation materials, as well as the corporate rules, constitution, and any other important documents from official meetings.

Licenses, Copyrights, Etc.

If your business has licensing or insurances that qualify it for business, then you must retain these files. These documents are essential to your business’s function because customers will most likely want to see copies of them. The same goes for any patents or copyrights that protect the business’s or employees’ inventions or work. By including these documents in the retention process, the business’s or employees’ rights are better protected.

Tax Records

It is an accepted rule that most tax records should be kept for up to seven years. By retaining these files, your business can be prepared in the event of an audit or claims issues. If you are ever unsure of what to keep or how long to keep it, then ask your tax specialist or record retention service for more information.

Receipts

Keeping receipts is essential for businesses. These receipts—purchase and sold receipts—can help during tax season or in the event of an audit. They can also help if there is ever a disagreement between a business and a vendor about services rendered.

Property Documents

Some property documents may be necessary to keep on a business’s property, but others should be safely stored away with a retention service. Any important documents involving mortgages or lease information can be retained with the rest of your business’s documents.

Before you start your relocation in New York City, you should figure out an estimate of your moving costs . By determining the general cost of your corporate relocation, you can better plan out your company’s move.

Watch the short video for some tips on how to estimate relocation costs. The most important suggestion is to call multiple moving companies. Make sure the companies you call are experienced in corporate relocation and offer the services you require. Get all of the estimates in writing and start comparing. Do not choose the least expensive or most expensive option. Look for the services your corporate relocation will require and choose the moving company that is most qualified to offer that.

When the time comes for an office relocation in New York City , there are some common moving and storage mistakes that can really set a business back. Keep your business running during the relocation, and call your corporate relocation specialist for help.

Mistake #1: Not Planning Ahead

With any type of move, you should be planning well in advance. During a corporate relocation, though, you have so many moving parts in the business that you should be planning even sooner. Be sure to book your moving company right away. You need a qualified and experienced relocation specialist who can help your office prepare. Make a few different lists of what is essential to continue day-to-day business and what items can be packed and stored before and after the move. Get your employees in on the move, and make sure they all understand what needs to be done ahead of time.

Mistake #2: Not Moving Essentials First

In order to make your corporate relocation as smooth as possible for the business side, then you need to make sure essential items are moved and installed right away. Many businesses find that after a relocation, the office is in disarray and no one is able to figure out what needs to be done. Mark your furniture, appliances, and necessary file cabinets as necessities that need to stay accessible for employees.

Mistake #3: Not Moving Electronics Correctly

Much of a business’s livelihood comes from its access to digital files, online content, and communication appliances, such as fax machines and telephones. If these technological appliances are moved incorrectly, then the business will suffer. If the electronics are uninstalled and/or unplugged in a way that creates a mess of cords, then employees will spend more time fixing the situation than working. Make sure to label every cord and take a picture of where they go in the back of the appliance. This will save some time after the office relocation.

Whether one office is moving near NYC, or there is an entire corporate relocation, there are a few reasons a business may need to move its company building. Businesses need to remain flexible and able to change with the market. They are able to do this effectively with trained commercial movers .

Better Growth Opportunities

Some businesses, especially smaller businesses, may find that their customer and employee market has shifted elsewhere. Maybe they have poor access to skilled employees, or their business is located in a less-than-desirable neighborhood. No matter the reason, when a company can say that business will be much more profitable after a move, then that company should start looking for real estate and calling the commercial movers.

Cheaper Real Estate

Whether a company wishes to conduct a full corporate relocation, or they want to shift the bulk of their operations elsewhere, when a well-priced piece of real estate pops up, they need to buy it quickly. Real estate is always a smart investment, especially if a company is already looking to relocate or open a new branch.

On the other hand, a company may wish to relocate because their current real estate location is becoming too high to pay. If a company can find better rent prices, they may need to relocate simply to save money and regain profits.

Building Renovations

Sometimes, a company may relocate its headquarters or franchise building temporarily. The current building may be undergoing renovations to update the technology, or there might be faults within the building that need to be fixed. There are many reasons a building may be in need of renovations, but it can affect a company either way. A temporary location needs to be found to accommodate the business and employees. Commercial movers need to be called who can handle sensitive materials, such as computer relocations and file retention. These same movers need to be relied on to move the materials back to the newly-renovated building, and the company can resume business as usual.

When looking for record retention in NYC , there are a few key elements you should look for to keep your documents well-protected. When storing your physical documents for record retention, corporate moving companies should offer full storage services. These services, such as climate control, will make sure your documents are protected against environmental issues as well as theft.

• Corporate moving and storage companies should employ software that labels and tracks all boxes and documents submitted for file retention.
• The software should maintain a full history of each item in storage. You can check the inventory online to be sure only approved personnel has opened a box or accessed an item within the box.
• Climate-controlled storage should be offered for all sensitive materials that require environmental control.
• A personal manager should be assigned to your account. You would receive quick and helpful information as you request it.
• Look for an experienced, insured, and licensed storage company, skilled in record retention and storage.

During corporate relocations, your business will most likely be moving computers along with other office equipment. Computer relocation in NYC needs to be handled with care. If you have hired commercial movers , then follow their directions about how best to protect your computers.

Watch the video for some helpful ways to keep your computer safe during a computer relocation. As one of the hosts in the video suggest, if you have kept the original packaging, then your computer will probably have the best protection. If you do not have the original packaging, then do everything you can to stabilize the computer and keep it from jostling during the move. You can wrap it in a blanket, bubble wrap, or a specialty box. Be sure to check all of the components before you start the computer up at your new destination. Sometimes, parts can shift during a move.

During an office relocation in NYC, you must be thorough and organized while packing important documents. Whether these files are going into storage for record retention, or they are accompanying the office moving, they need to be handled with care.

Trash Old Documents

Before you start going through filing cabinets, purchase a reliable, heavy duty paper shredder. If you use a paper shredding company, then follow their rules when trashing old documents. Next, you’ll want to go through your filing cabinets one drawer at a time. If you have any documents you will need immediately before, during, or after the move, put those aside in a secure folder or box. Find old or unimportant documents and shred them. On any tax, bank statements, or sensitive documents, you should double check that you are within the appropriate timeframe to discard them. If you can consolidate information and documents, then do so and shred the extras.

Buy Packing Supplies

There are file-sized boxes made specifically to hold and transport file folders and documents. Purchase these moving boxes, as well as colored labels or colored markers, from your corporate moving company. If you need other types of storage or moving boxes, you can find those with corporate moving companies, as well. There are bankers’ boxes, storage drawers, boxes made for hanging files, and magazine boxes, among several others. If you are unsure of what kind of box you need, ask your moving and storage company what they suggest.

Label and Transfer Documents

As you go through your documents, separate them by subject and year. Try to keep the same subject documents—taxes, rent or mortgage, credit statements, etc.—separate from each other. Each subject will go into its own box, which you will label with a specific color. If you have more than one box for each subject, the colored labels will help you to keep track of all the documents during an office relocation. Keep a detailed inventory of each box and its contents.

Electronics are a big part of any office, so it’s par for the course that a corporate move will involve packaging up lots of valuable and sensitive electronic devices. This underscores the importance of hiring a reputable corporate relocation service in NYC , since you are putting high-dollar equipment and devices in their hands. In the days leading up to the move, however, you can gain peace of mind by packing up office electronics yourself. Here are some quick tips to help you pack away office electronics.

• If the original packaging is not available, sturdy moving boxes are the next best option
• Never exceed the maximum weight of a box when packing electronic equipment; use as many boxes as necessary instead of trying to consolidate your electronics into a couple heavy boxes that are likely to fall apart during the move
• Use small colored stickers to keep cords and small parts organized so you know which items belong to which electronics
• Wrap electronics in clean paper to prevent damage caused by dust
• Make an inventory of all electronics, cords, and components inside each box to help you quickly identify the items you need when you get settled in your new space

Even if you don’t run a highly sophisticated technology company, your office still relies on a host of IT services and equipment to keep things running smoothly. That’s one of the reasons why corporate relocations are more complicated than residential moves. Watch this video for tips on how to prepare for the IT aspect of moving into a new office.

There’s a lot of planning that goes into an office move, but you can make sure things go as smoothly as possible on the day of the move by hiring commercial movers in NYC to handle the heavy lifting. Not only will this free up your employees to worry about more important things involved with the relocation, but commercial movers are also better equipped to make sure that your office furniture, electronics, and important documents arrive at your new space in the same condition they left your old office.

Whether your business is growing or downsizing, moving into a new office can be a major ordeal for organizations of any size. Although corporate moving companies in NYC take a lot of the work out of commercial relocations, there’s still quite a lot for you to do on your end before you can get settled into your new space. In the months and weeks leading up to the move, it’s important that you get organized to make the transition easy and minimize the stress for your employees. Organizing your office will also make it easier on the corporate movers you hire, which can save time and money. Here are some office organization tips to help you prepare for your corporate relocation.

Get Rid of Unwanted Furniture

After you find a new office space, assess your current office furniture and decide what you’re bringing to the new location and what you can part with. If you are moving into a smaller office, you might not have room for large conference tables and executive desks. Or if you’re moving into a bigger space, you might decide your existing furniture doesn’t go with the look and feel of your new office. Regardless, try to get rid of as much furniture as you can in the weeks leading up to the move to streamline and expedite the entire process.

Consolidate and Separate Important Documents

If you have a lot of paper documents in your office, you’ll need to decide which documents are coming to the new office and which can be shredded. If space is a concern in your new office, consider placing your documents in a record retention facility so you have access to the files you need without taking up valuable floor space in your new office.

Organize Your Staff

As important as it is that your office is organized and ready for the move, it’s just as important that your staff is organized. Hand out boxes, markers, and moving tape so your staff can easily box up their personal belongings and have everything ready for the movers when they arrive. Also make sure you go over the game plan with your staff so they know what the logistics of the move will entail.