What should I be keeping on file?

A company should be archiving all bookkeeping material, pay slips, invoices, receipts and memos. It is advisable to attach any relevant documents to all memos which might not have been made in writing. All employment contracts should also be filed. All minutes must be archived and things such as shareholders’ loans to the company, decisions on share issues and decisions on taking out loans should be recorded openly in the minutes. When the company attempts to activate costs, it is important to document these and archive them on file.

Remember to get signatures on minutes.  When writing minutes, a chairman, secretary and protocol inspector must be chosen. The people present must be marked so in the minutes.

Archiving is the responsibility of the company’s management. Data can be archived in a paperless manner as long as the rules for this method are followed. With the exception of balance sheet books, all bookkeeping material can be stored in this way.

Documents of the financial year, correspondence on business transactions as well as any other bookkeeping material that confirms business transactions must be archived in Finland for a minimum of 6 years from the end of year in which the fiscal year has ended. In order to establish the connection between supporting documents and accounting records with ease, the supporting documentation must be archived in a systematic manner.

Accounting books such as balance sheets, balance sheet breakdowns, ledger books and diaries, as well as other accounting books and chart of accounts with the marking for how long it was run for must be kept for at least 10 years after the end of the financial year. The material must be stored in a systematic manner.

If a company stops its operations, the owner of the trade name, the responsible members of the Board of Directors, or other institutions of the board or reporting entities shall ensure that the bookkeeping data is maintained and stored properly. The registration authority must be notified of who has the responsibility for archiving the company’s bookkeeping in the company.

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