Tips for employers: How to keep up with recordkeeping

The things that keep every employer up at night are surely recordkeeping requirements. With large penalties that can reach even 3 million dollars, employers carry a heavy burden of paperwork and recordkeeping on their shoulders every day. And if you run a small business that burden can become even heavier because you don’t have enough staff to manage HR functions. Besides the fact that it will help you work efficiently and meet legal requirements, setting up the right record keeping system will also strengthen customer and staff relationship. Technology can be a great ally in this constant fight, and the good news is that you can choose the record keeping system that suits you. Nevertheless, there are various specific regulations and practices that you need to become familiar with because they represent the base for business records maintenance.

Of course, we remember you

Everyone knows that every company should keep the files (paper or electronic) for every project and every client. If you don’t keep a record of the business agreements you’ve made and the work you’ve done you could fall into a number of legal difficulties, but there is also a question of trust and reliability. If you keep these records organized and ready, you can put them to use again as a preparation for future projects and save up time. A good idea would be to include notes about clients preferences or any other individual elements. If you want to keep your clients you need to show that you remember them, and for that, you need only to set aside some time once a week to keep their records organized.

Signers Keepers

Signature on a dotted line is a holy word in a world of business. No matter if you provide a service or a product, there should always be a signed contract between you and the person or company, suppliers, distributors, etc. Same goes for your employees where you need to draw up their contracts. We saw in the section above how important is to keep clients records, now let's see what employee records we need to keep with us.

• workers needed

When you’re in the need of new workers, you usually post the advertisement for that spot. According to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), you must keep the record of that advertisement for one year.

•workers applied

The Same amount of keeping time goes for all the job applications you receive. Here ADEA teams up with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. This is mandatory for temporary and seasonal workers, too.

•workers qualification

Yes, that vast sea of applicants resumes must be also kept for one year, per the ADA and ADEA. The good news is that you don’t have to keep the unsolicited ones.

• workers fired

It seems that there’s nothing more complicated than firing an employee. You can get rid of the unqualified worker, but ADA and Title VII will make you keep his termination record for one year after the termination date.

• workers performance

Of course, the reason why you fired a certain employee should also be locked away as evidence. As a courtesy of The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) every employee’s performance evaluations must be kept for two years.

•workers hired

Back to square one, where it all began. Another requirement from FLSA is to keep all of the employment contracts for three years.

Hurt on the job

This is the part of business records that requires your most serious attention. When it comes to illness or injury of your employees, it’s not just about the need to keep those records for five years. The most important thing is how to deal with that kind of situation because it can cost you time and money and even result with a legal suit. And even if you succeed to take care of everything, keeping the record of this is also complicated. It’s best to seek professional help and find experienced companies like Withstand Lawyers which will help you deal with these situations in the most convenient way. There are many elements of this procedure like wages, treatment expenses, and a lump sum that have to be taken care of by professionals.

Larger the sum of money, larger the explanations

Taking care of your customers and employees documentations leaves you with the accounting and tax records. If your business has complicated financial records this could turn into a nightmare. This is a good time to make the technology become your ally. There are a number of business accounting software such as QuickBooks that can take care of your financial statements with a click of a button. Nevertheless, you will require some accounting knowledge in order to use this software correctly. You need to get acquainted with terms like journal entries, credits, and debits, but it’s still much easier than keeping records by spreadsheet or by hand.

Keeping the right business records help you drive your enterprise forward by telling the story of your company. That’s why it’s important to make them correct and available as long as it’s required. The technology is of great help in this process, but it’s always good to have a hard copy, too.