Best Way to Archive Paper Documents: 5 Expert Tips Back

In this post, we offer you five tips designed to help you archive important paper documents more effectively. At Secure Storage Services, we believe there is a direct connection between the profitability and efficiency of your business and how effectively you manage your documents. That’s why document archiving is one of the core pillars of our business. This is particularly important for ‘document-intensive’ companies, such as those in law, accountancy, finance, healthcare, and other regulated industries, where regulatory requirements and compliance are critical.

One of the most important aspects of document management is archiving documents. Many organisations will be legally required to archive client documentation until the Statute of limitations has expired. This is because certain documents, such as legal documents, tax records and confidential information, may be needed during legal proceedings at a later date. Many of you may also choose to archive documents as part of your overall document retention policy, which can be agreed upon on a voluntary basis.

If you do not follow good practices when it comes to effective document archiving, you may encounter legal problems, dissatisfied customers, and bottlenecks in your business. You can avoid this by following many of the ‘best practice’ recommendations that follow.

Tip #1: File Purge

Each document you retain must be archived for good reasons. These reasons are typically outlined in your ‘Document Retention Policy’. If you maintain all non-essential documentation, you will make life extremely difficult for yourself and your customers.

We thus recommend you purge all non-essential documentation at the outset. For instance, you may choose to purge documents that you are not legally required to retain. However, we recommend you ensure documents are purged safely, efficiently and securely. We also recommend investing in the services of a reputable off site shredding company. You will be supplied with a ‘certificate of destruction’ following the completion of the destruction process. As recently as 2025, many businesses also utilise digital tracking systems that flag files due for destruction, ensuring data protection compliance and minimising the risk of retaining documents longer than necessary.

Tip #2: Ensure retention periods meet legal requirements

Ensure retention timelines follow those set out by law or retention requirements in industry regulations. Many professionals are required to retain archived documents for a minimum of seven years. It is thus essential that you do not hold documents for a period less than that prescribed by these laws or industry regulations. A failure to keep documents within the limits prescribed by law could result in you receiving a substantial fine.

It’s equally important not to store physical documents for an excessively lengthy period. This typically means you waste your money by holding onto documents when you are not required to do so. To ensure records are kept for the right amount of time, ensure you have your ‘document retention policy’ reviewed by a solicitor and an archiving professional. This may save you a substantial amount of money in the long term. Today, specific sectors, such as healthcare and finance, are shifting towards digital document archiving requirements, and many companies are adopting compliance-certified systems that automate retention schedules.

Tip #3: Choose storage space wisely

Whilst the vast majority of archived documents are not recalled before destruction, you must still take reasonable steps to ensure documents are not damaged during the agreed retention period. This means documents must be stored in a safe and secure environment. Paper documents are particularly vulnerable to damage and theft.

We recommend investing in an off site document storage service. Here, your documents will be stored on high-density shelving units. This will protect your files from moisture and dust. Your documents will also benefit from 24/7 CCTV coverage, climate control and fire detection/protection systems. Modern facilities now also include IoT-based humidity monitoring and ISO 27001/BS 10008 certification, providing reassurance that your records are maintained in accordance with the highest compliance standards. This not only helps with long term preservation but can also reduce storage costs for smaller businesses that lack physical space on site.

Tip #4: Ensure documents are easily retrieved

When you invest in document archiving services, one factor that’s usually taken into consideration is document retrieval. Often, when documents must be retrieved, they must be retrieved quickly. This means it is essential to consider the issue of easy access before you implement a document archiving system.

When you invest in offsite document archiving, you can rest assured that document retrieval is not a concern. This is because the service provider will take care of this on your behalf by barcoding documents and the boxes they are stored in. Many document archiving companies also offer you a super-quick ‘scan on demand’ service. This allows you to access archived documents within hours rather than days. In 2025, some providers will also utilise RFID tracking for faster file location and secure client portals, providing you with digital access to scanned documents almost instantly. This saves valuable time for organisations that need to access regularly.

Tip #5: Digitise paper documents

This tip builds on tip #4 above. When documents are considered ‘active,’ you may benefit from having them digitised. Digitising essential documents will allow you to access these documents within seconds. We recommend you seek out the services of a document scanning company. This company will digitise physical documents using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology. This allows your digitised documents to be located using a simple keyword search. In recent years, OCR has been enhanced by electronic archiving tools such as Intelligent Document Processing (IDP), which uses AI to classify, tag, and extract data, making digital archives even easier to search and manage securely. These digitised files are typically stored within electronic storage or cloud-based systems with zero-trust security and full audit trails. This not only ensures they are easily retrievable but also protects against risks such as losing data or records falling into the wrong hands during natural disasters.

Useful Links

• Advice for formulating a document retention policy
• Document storage tips for start-ups
• What is records management?
• UK ICO guidance on document retention and data protection
• ISO 15489 Records Management Standards