Retention of Accounting Records and other documents

Purchase invoices and supplier documentation
Document	Retention Period	Reason for retention period
Payments cash book or record of payments	Six years from the end of the financial year in which the transaction was made	Companies Act/Charities Act
Purchase ledger		Companies Act/Charities Act
Invoice – revenue		Companies Act/Charities Act
Petty cash records		Companies Act/Charities Act and HMRC
Invoice – capital item	10 years	Companies Act/Charities Act and HMRC
Successful quotations for capital expenditure	Permanently	Commercial considerations

Income/Monies received
Document	Retention period	Reason for retention period
Bank paying in counterfoils	Six years from the end of the financial year in which the transaction was made	Companies Act/Charities Act
Bank statements		Companies Act/Charities Act
Remittance advice		Companies Act/Charities Act
Bank reconciliations		Companies Act/Charities Act
Receipts cash book		Companies Act/Charities Act and HMRC
Sales ledger		Companies Act/Charities Act and HMRC
Correspondence re donations/subscriptions		Companies Act/Charities Act
Deeds of covenant/Gift Aid declarations	Six years after the last payment made. 12 years if payments outstanding or dispute regarding the deed	Data Protection Act
Legacies	Six years after the estate has been wound up	Data Protection Act

Personal Information
Personal Data/Post Book/Mail Order/Enquires/e-mails	Immediately after processing or when no longer needed if the law allows. Memberships held on computer not renewed. 2 years from end of the financial year	General Data Protection Regulations

Retention of Accounting Records and other documents

Insurance documents
Document	Retention period	Reason for retention period
Policies	Three years after lapse	Data Protection Act
Claims correspondence	Three years after settlement	Data Protection Act
Employers Liability insurance certificate	40 years	Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance Regulations) 1998
Accident reports and relevant correspondence	Three years after settlement	Data Protection Act

Other documents
Document	Retention period	Reason for retention period
Trustees/director/governor minutes of meetings and decisions made as resolutions in writing	Minimum 10 years from the date of the meeting or from the date of passing a resolution in writing	Data Protection Act, Companies Act, Charities
Minutes of general meetings and members’ resolutions passed other than at a general meeting	Historical Purposes Permanently Minimum 10 years after the date of themeeting/resolution/decision	Gloucestershire Family History Society, Companies Act, Charities Act
Annual accounts and annual review	Permanently	Data Protection Act
Major agreements of historical significance	Permanently	Data Protection Act
Investment certificates	Permanently	Companies Act, Charities Act
Health and safety records	Three years for general records. Permanently for records relating to hazardous substances	Personal injury actions must be commenced within three years of injury. However industrial injuries not capable of detection within that period (e.g.Asbestos) the time period may be substantially extended
Investment ledger	Permanently	Companies Act, Charities Act, Commercial
Fixed assets register	Permanently	Companies Act, Charities Act, Commercial
Contracts with customers, suppliers or agents, licensing agreements, rental/hire purchase agreements, indemnities and guarantees and other contracts	Six years after expiry ot termination of the contract. If the contract is executed as a deed, the limitation period is twelve years	Limitations Act 1980
Leases	12 years after the lease and liabilities under the lease have terminated	Limitations Act 1981