For most people, the same procedure repeats every year. You are relieved to have completed the annual financial statements or the tax return and sent them off to the responsible authorities. Then the folders and receipts come back from the tax advisor or the accounting department, and suddenly space in the office or home office becomes scarce.
The good news first: there are no legal regulations that say you must keep your files and documents at home or at your business premises. You can therefore store them elsewhere yourself without reservation or commission a professional storage service such as, for example, BOXIE24 to store the files for you.
The bad news is that you must take legally prescribed measures and security precautions and, in most cases, comply with these for up to ten years.
Authorities and their representatives are particularly concerned that the files and documents remain in such a condition that a proper audit trail can be traced.
Below, we give you an overview of how you can store your files securely and in accordance with the regulations and laws in Germany.
Which legal obligations must you fulfill when storing files?
The preparations for proper file storage are made more difficult by the fact that you have to satisfy several laws and authorities at the same time. Here are some of the laws and regulations that deal with the storage of documents:
German Fiscal Code § 147 Regulations for the retention of records
The German Fiscal Code is central to German tax law and not only specifies how taxes and duties in Germany are calculated and collected, but also how long and under what conditions the basis for them must be kept.
§ 147 of the AO not only specifies what is generally considered to be records and documents subject to retention, but also that these must be kept sensibly organized during storage and kept legible at all times.
German Commercial Code § 257 Retention of records retention periods
In addition to tax law, German commercial law, which regulates the business activities of merchants, also has a lot to say about storing files and documents. Private individuals who do not run their own business are rarely affected by the Commercial Code. However, note that even occasional selling of items on the internet can mean you are regarded as a trader.
The HG stipulates that documents must be kept securely and in an orderly manner. This includes ensuring that the room or the building in which the documents are stored is protected from destructive influences such as fire, water, and moisture. It must also be ensured that the writing on the paper used does not fade. The documents must be in such a condition that official experts can inspect them at any time.
Principles for proper keeping and retention of books, records, and documents in electronic form as well as for data access (G0BD)
Die GoBD is a regulatory specification of the Bundesministerium der Finanzen that prescribes to the Bundesländer which measures must be taken when storing files. The authorities in the Bundesländer then pass these regulations on to taxpayers. The GoBD primarily concerns EDV storage, but also the receipts on which tax calculation, income tax, and VAT are based.
EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
The DSVGO is the newest law that deals with file and data storage and was introduced in 2016 in all member states of the European Union. The regulation specifies how personal data, physical and digital, must be kept and stored. In doing so, the DSVGO also places particularly great importance on the secure disposal of the relevant data.
How long do you have to keep files and documents?
The different laws and regulations have in common that they all prescribe professional storage, which requires that representatives of the authorities can inspect them at any time without difficulty. However, when it comes to the prescribed storage period, these vary.
To make things a little easier for those affected in this bureaucratic jungle, the rule is that the shortest prescribed storage period is regarded as sufficient.
Here is an overview table of the most common documents and files, and how long they must be kept at a minimum according to the different regulations:
Retention obligation for private individuals
| Documents | 1 year | 2 years | 3 years | 6 years | 10 years | Unlimited |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salary statement, monthly | X | |||||
| Salary statement, annual | Until the pension application | |||||
| Tradesperson invoices, receipts, vouchers | X | |||||
| Bank statements, insurance policies | X | |||||
| Tax documents, income under 500.000 € | X | |||||
| Tax documents, income over 500.000 € | X | |||||
| Tax assessments | X |
The retention periods for private individuals begin at the end of the calendar year in which the invoice was issued or the contract was signed.
Retention obligation for businesses
| Documents | 6 years | 8 years | 10 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billing vouchers | X | ||
| Declarations of assignment | X | ||
| File notes | X | ||
| Employee insurance policies | X | ||
| Order quotations | X | ||
| Outgoing invoices | X | ||
| Field service expense reports | X | ||
| Bank receipts | X | ||
| Bank guarantees | X | ||
| Operating cost invoices | X | ||
| Entertainment expense records | X | ||
| Balance sheets & interim balance sheets | X | ||
| Accounting vouchers | X | ||
| Loan documents | X | ||
| Debtors list | X | ||
| Import documents | X | ||
| Incoming invoices | X | ||
| Emails & faxes, letters | X | ||
| Emails & faxes, invoices | X | ||
| Export documents | X | ||
| Consignment notes | X | ||
| Payroll lists | X | ||
| Business reports | X | ||
| Gift records | X | ||
| Profit and loss statements | X | ||
| Land register extracts | X | ||
| Commercial books | X | ||
| Commercial register extracts | X | ||
| Inventories | X | ||
| Annual financial statements | X | ||
| Cash books | X | ||
| Charts of accounts & registers | X | ||
| Credit documents | X | ||
| Inventory bookkeeping | X | ||
| Delivery notes | X | ||
| Wage records | X | ||
| Payment orders | X | ||
| Rental documents | X | ||
| Price lists | X | ||
| Litigation files | X | ||
| Travel expense reports | X | ||
| Representation expenses | X | ||
| Damage documents | X | ||
| Donation certificates | X | ||
| Tax returns & assessments | X | ||
| Telephone cost records | X | ||
| Overtime lists | X | ||
| Liabilities | X | ||
| Sales books | X | ||
| Asset register | X | ||
| Shipping and freight documents | X | ||
| Insurance contribution statements | X | ||
| Contracts | X | ||
| Goods received goods issued books | X | ||
| Payment instructions | X | ||
| Customs receipts | X |
The retention period for companies and freelancers/self employed persons begins at the end of the calendar year in which the last entry was made in the commercial register, the inventory was drawn up, the opening balance sheet or the annual financial statements were finalized. For commercial or business letters, the period begins at the end of the year in which they were sent. For accounting vouchers, the end of the calendar year in which they were issued applies.
Who could benefit the most from external archiving of documents?
The larger the bookkeeping, the greater the space requirement for the accumulation of receipts and invoices. What matters here is not how large the business is, but how the bookkeeping is organized and how many individual invoices and receipts are issued or received in daily operations.
Those who receive and issue many invoices digitally will need fewer file folders and less shelf space than businesses that depend on paper receipts and physical documentation. New systems such as the electronic receipt also reduce the amount of paper accumulated in the office.
The traders and companies in Germany that still depend on bookkeeping with paper receipts and benefit most from external storage of files include:
- Architects
- Construction companies
- Retail companies
- Research institutes
- Healthcare, including homeopathy
- Lawyers
- Tax and business consultants as well as accountants
In most cases, these are companies that have designed their operations only for office and or treatment activities. With tax advisors and accountants, the fact is added that all their clients use the firm for their tax audits and thus add further file folders, receipts, and documentation.
The accumulation of accounting records and documentation can easily lead to a lack of space, restrict the working area, and become a real threat to workplace safety for yourself and your employees.
Purchasing or renting external storage space offers the only way to create space without circumventing regulatory requirements.
Selfstorage, especially options such as Full Service Storage, offers inexpensive outsourcing options to store your file folder collection professionally and in accordance with legal requirements.
Before you look for a storage solution, however, you must first find out how much space you actually need.
How can the right size for a file storage facility be determined?
To calculate the need for storage space, you have to choose between several storage options.
For one thing, you can store your files on shelves or in filing cabinets intended specifically for this purpose. As a rule, you have to provide the shelves and storage compartments yourself, which you then set up in the Selfstorage unit. Also note the special ISO 11799 requirements that you must comply with for these open solutions. More on this below.
Another option is crates, boxes, and cartons that can easily be stacked vertically and therefore ensure maximum use of space. Here it is important to note that cardboard has only a limited lifespan and may not offer the best protection for your files, especially if you want to keep them in it for ten years.
Crates and storage boxes with lids offer a secure and dust free storage solution. You can often buy these from professional Full Service providers or even rent them. Plastic boxes also make it easier to determine the required size of the storage area. You can fit around six wide or ten narrow binders in a rented box of size 60 cm x 40 cm x 37 cm.
If you choose file cartons, these come in the size 41 cm x 33 cm x 34 cm and hold 5 wide binders.
To calculate space for shelf storage, you should take a look at the number of your binders. A A4 standard binder measures 32 cm (H) x 28,5 cm (W) x 8 cm (D). You can insert between 600 and 800 sheets in it. On one meter of shelving, you can then store about 12 binders.
Regardless of whether you want to store your binders on shelves, in filing cabinets, or in cartons, you must also consider the following:
- How often do you need to consult the files?
- Does the file archive have to be regularly expanded or extended due to new binders, or do you want to rent a larger storage area right away to avoid further relocations?
- How do you best organize your file archive so that you can find everything again as needed?
Therefore organize your files and documents in such a way that you can find and consult them at any time, especially if the tax office is on your doorstep.
Who has access to your file archive?
While storing your documents in your own home or office always lets you keep track of who has access to or insight into the archive, the question arises with external storage: Who besides me can view the files?
File storage facilities and archives contain sensitive information. As a rule, this concerns not only your own company but everyone who comes into contact with you and does business with you.
That is why it is important that, before externally outsourcing your documents, you inform yourself about security at your storage location.
With professional Selfstorage and Full Service Storage providers, in principle only you and the persons authorized by you have access to your documents.
If you have chosen Selfstorage, you should ensure that you secure your file archive with a reliable lock. You should also ensure that your landlord uses security logs. These should record who entered your archive area, when, and for what reason. Ideally, this information should be available to you at any time, for example via an online portal.
In the case of Full Service Storage, this security log is already standard practice. In addition, with this form of storage the general public has no access to the storage units.
The perfect solution for storing files to avoid damage
When choosing a Selfstorage or Full Service solution, you must pay particular attention to whether the provider also offers suitable storage facilities that are appropriate for storing paper.
Paper produced today has, in principle, a lifespan of at least 50 years. The prerequisite, however, is that it is kept under appropriate conditions.
Therefore find an external archive location that is familiar with the correct storage methods for papers and documents, or even specializes in them.
In doing so, it is not only the paper that is threatened by deterioration, but also the print. Therefore avoid rooms with excessive humidity, large temperature fluctuations, and exposure to UV rays from sunlight.
The Internationale Organisation für Normung (ISO) has issued a standard that defines optimal storage of archival material. According to ISO 11799, collections consisting of paper should be kept under the following retention conditions:
- Temperatures should not exceed 21° C.
- Relative humidity should be between 30 and 55 %.
- Storage locations should not be in the immediate vicinity of industrial facilities that emit harmful gases and dust. If this cannot be avoided, special filter systems should regulate the air.
- Storage rooms must be equipped with special fire protection.
- Special safety measures such as, for example, raised shelves or pallets, leak detectors, and sealed windows and doors must be present in areas with an increased risk of environmental disasters such as flooding.
Also make sure that natural enemies of paper such as rodents, beetles, silverfish, and woodworms cannot enter your archive and destroy it. Therefore, before concluding the rental contract, check that your future storage location is clean, offers suitable climatic conditions, and follows good housekeeping rules.
How much does storing documents cost?
The costs for external storage of your file archive depend on several factors:
The size of the rented area
The larger your archive, the more square meters you need. As a rule, however, the price per m² becomes cheaper the more space you rent.
The length of the rental contract
The longer you commit to renting a storage room, the cheaper the monthly or weekly rent usually becomes. Further discounts are available from many Selfstorage or Full Service providers if you pay for a longer period in advance.
The location of your archive
Selfstorage in German major cities such as Berlin, München, Hamburg, Frankfurt, or Stuttgart is generally more expensive to rent than in smaller cities such as Münster or Wustermark. In Berlin, storage rent for 1 m² starts at around € 100 per month. In Münster, the same area costs around € 70 per month.
Additional services and ancillary costs
In addition to the rent itself, there may be additional costs for, for example, transport, security, and climate control of your storage unit. Additional services, including secure file destruction, will also be charged to you. With Full Service Storage, however, the price for transport, both collection and return delivery, is usually included in the rental price.
Specialized storage
As you have probably already realized, specific conditions and requirements are demanded for file storage and are regulated by law. If you want to spare yourself the effort of ensuring and checking every individual legal requirement yourself, simply commission a Selfstorage company specialized in file storage to keep them.
What does the file storage process look like in practice?
If you have decided on external file storage with, for example, a Full Service provider, you can expect the following handling of logistics and storage:
Measure the files and documents to be stored and determine the number of crates and shelves you need for storage.
↓
Call your selected Selfstorage or Full Service provider to order the storage unit and the storage crates. If you want to obtain packing material yourself, do that now.
↓
The crates are delivered to you. Pack them with your documents according to a system that you and your employees can track at any time. Rented crates are fitted with a barcode, which makes it easier to locate the right storage box again later during a return delivery.
↓
At an agreed time, your crates are collected by trained staff and transported safely to the storage area you have rented.
↓
The crates are stored securely according to the barcode in perfect climatic conditions and are guarded around the clock.
↓
If you need a partial or complete return delivery, simply call your Full Service provider. As a rule, the required documents are sent back to you within 24 hours.
