Storing your paper administration: what do you keep for how long, and where?
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by Verpakkingdeals.nl
6 min reading time
Receipts, invoices, and annual reports are scattered everywhere until no one knows what's where anymore. This is how you determine what to keep, for how long, and how to store it so you never have to search for it again.
You probably have a pile somewhere. A drawer full of receipts, a binder from 2019, a box no one remembers what's in it. As long as you're not looking for anything, that's fine. It only becomes annoying when the accountant asks for an invoice from three years ago, or when you move and have to take three boxes of paper, half of which could have been thrown away.
Cleaning up paper administration involves two questions that often intertwine: what should you keep, and how do you store it so you can find it again. The first question is a matter of looking up rules. The second is a matter of boxes, markers, and half an hour of discipline.
What the Tax Authorities expect from entrepreneurs
If you have a business, there's a statutory retention period. The Tax Authorities state that you must retain your basic records for 7 years. For records concerning real estate, a longer period applies: 10 years.
The Tax Authorities consider this basic administration to include, among other things, the general ledger, debtor and creditor administration, inventory administration, purchase and sales administration, payroll administration, and data relevant for the taxation of third parties. This is precisely the kind of paper that gets lost most quickly in practice.
Two things to keep in mind. First: these are the tax rules, and other retention periods may apply, for example, from your industry or from agreements with customers. Second: the rules may change. For your situation, always check belastingdienst.nl or consult your accountant — we sell boxes, not tax advice.
If you are a private individual, the retention obligation does not apply, but there are practical terms worth considering: warranty certificates as long as the warranty lasts, purchase receipts for expensive items as long as you own them, and annual overviews from banks and insurance companies as long as your tax return for that year can still be corrected.
Sort by year, not by type
The classic mistake is sorting by subject: one folder for invoices, one for bank statements, one for insurance. That works fine as long as everything is current, but it makes cleaning up impossible. Because when can that folder be thrown away? Never, because there's always something recent in it.
Therefore, sort primarily by fiscal year, and only within that by type. One box per year. When the retention period for that year expires, the entire box is discarded at once — without you having to re-evaluate each sheet. That's the whole point: you want to do the thinking once, not every year.
This works well in practice:
One box per fiscal year, with the year prominently displayed on two sides.
Within the box, four or five covers: purchases, sales, bank, payroll, other.
On the lid, the year AND the date when the box can be discarded.
Keep the current year separate, in a tray on your desk instead of in the cupboard.
What to store it in
For annual boxes, you want something sturdy that you can stack and that will survive a move. For smaller quantities — a single year as a freelancer, or loose files — a smaller box will suffice.
Do not place boxes of paper directly on a concrete floor in a shed or garage. Cardboard absorbs moisture, and paper deteriorates quickly as a result. A shelf, a pallet, or even a few empty boxes underneath is enough. Also, do not stack higher than three or four boxes: cardboard that is under pressure for months will collapse.
Labeling so you still understand it in five years
A box without text is a box you'll have to open. Always write on two sides, not just on the lid — boxes are rarely left as you put them down. Use a permanent marker that won't bleed on cardboard and will still be legible after a few years.
On each label, include at least three things: the fiscal year, what's inside, and the month and year the box can be discarded. The latter is the most important rule in this entire article. A box labeled "2019 — administration — discard after 01-2027" will never need to be opened again to make a decision.
Tape shut and send to your accountant
An archive box doesn't need to be airtight, but one strip of tape across the seam keeps dust out and prevents the box from opening when lifted. If something needs to go to your bookkeeper or accountant, use an envelope that can withstand a bit of rough handling.
Take an afternoon, put everything on the floor, and sort it by year. Anything you can't place goes into an "unknown" box that you only open if someone specifically asks for it. Paper that has no retention period and that you don't need for anything can be thrown away — properly destroy anything with personal data or bank details instead of simply putting it in the paper bin.
If you do this right once, maintenance thereafter is five minutes a year: add a new box, remove the oldest box.
Source for retention periods: Tax Authorities, 'How long must you retain data?' (belastingdienst.nl). This article provides general information and is not tax advice; check your own situation with the Tax Authorities or your accountant.
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