How Often Should a Business Have Documents Shredded?
Every business creates documents containing information that should not simply be thrown into the regular trash or recycling bin. Customer information, employee records, financial documents, contracts, invoices, account information, and other confidential paperwork can create unnecessary risk when they are no longer needed.
That leads to an important question: How often should a business have documents professionally shredded?
There is no single schedule that works for every company. The right shredding frequency depends on how much paper your business generates, the type of information you handle, your available storage space, and your document retention requirements.
At Time Shred Services, we offer flexible shredding options so businesses can choose a schedule that works for them.
Start With a Document Retention Policy
Before deciding how often to shred, businesses should determine how long different types of records need to be retained.
Some documents may only be needed for a short period, while tax, employment, legal, medical, financial, or other business records may need to be kept for longer periods. Your retention requirements may depend on your industry and applicable laws and regulations.
Once a document reaches the end of its required retention period and is no longer needed, it should be securely destroyed rather than allowed to accumulate indefinitely.
A written document retention and destruction policy can help employees know what to keep, how long to keep it, and when to destroy it.
One-Time Shredding vs. Scheduled Shredding
For some businesses, one-time shredding is the best option.
If you only accumulate confidential documents occasionally, you can simply call Time Shred Services when you have enough material to destroy. One-time shredding is also ideal for an annual records purge, office cleanout, relocation, or destruction of old archived files.
Businesses that regularly generate confidential paperwork may benefit from scheduled shredding service.
With scheduled service, secure locked collection containers can be placed in convenient locations throughout your office. Employees place documents into the containers instead of throwing them into wastebaskets or recycling bins. Time Shred Services then arrives on a predetermined schedule to securely shred the documents.
How Often Should Scheduled Shredding Take Place?
The answer depends largely on the amount of paper your company generates.
A smaller office may only require shredding every four, eight, or twelve weeks. A larger organization or a business that produces significant amounts of confidential paperwork may need service every two weeks, weekly, or even more frequently.
The goal is to establish a schedule that prevents secure containers from overflowing while avoiding unnecessary pickups.
At Time Shred Services, we can help determine an appropriate schedule based on your actual volume. And if your needs change, your shredding schedule can change with them.
Don’t Wait Until You Have a Mountain of Paper
One common mistake is allowing old records to accumulate for years simply because no one has made a decision about what to do with them.
Eventually, filing cabinets, storage rooms, closets, and offices become filled with records the business no longer needs.
Regular shredding helps prevent that problem.
Instead of waiting until you have hundreds of boxes of old documents, incorporating secure destruction into your normal business routine can make managing confidential information much easier.
Consider a “Shred-All” Policy
Employees do not always know whether a piece of paper contains confidential information.
Rather than asking employees to make that decision every time they throw something away, many businesses choose a simple approach: if a document is no longer needed, place it in the secure shredding container.
This can simplify employee training and reduce the chance that sensitive information ends up in the regular trash.
Your Shredding Schedule Should Be Flexible
Your business may generate different amounts of paperwork at different times of the year.
An accounting firm may have heavier volumes during tax season. A medical office may periodically purge patient records that have reached the end of their retention period. A law firm may close a large number of files at once. A company moving to a new location may suddenly have hundreds of boxes that need to be reviewed and destroyed.
That is why your shredding program should not be one-size-fits-all.
Time Shred Services offers both one-time and ongoing shredding services, allowing you to choose the option that makes sense for your organization.
We Come to You and Shred On-Site
With Time Shred Services, your confidential documents can be destroyed right at your location.
Our staff places your documents into a secure 96-gallon shredding bin. The bin is wheeled directly to our mobile shredding truck, mechanically lifted, and emptied into the shredder. Your documents are immediately destroyed, and you can watch the shredding process on the truck’s video monitor.
A Certificate of Destruction is provided, and the shredded paper is recycled.
Let Time Shred Help Determine the Right Schedule
Whether you need shredding once a year, every few months, monthly, weekly, or on another schedule, the important thing is to have a consistent and secure process for destroying documents you no longer need.
Time Shred Services makes professional shredding simple.
We offer one-time and scheduled shredding for businesses throughout New York City, Long Island, Westchester, New Jersey, and the surrounding area.
We are a local shredding company with the equipment and resources to handle everything from a few boxes to large corporate shredding programs.
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