TaxmanHog wrote:

(snipped)

- quote -

hear HEAR! I have one client under an IA right now, and
we're just waiting for 2007 to come and go. And then..
there's 2008! (grin)

ChEAr$,
Harlan Lunsford, EA n LA

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- quote -

I like that idea! Since we generally have some loose papers
in the files, and sometimes undated loose papers, this
sounds like a good solution.

We have just started using different colored folders this
year--blue for corporate returns, red for personal--and we
really like that method.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I had asked a couple of
years ago about how to keep tax info together for
processing. Using interoffice correspondence envelopes to
keep the tax info together while the returns are being
processed was suggested by someone. That worked great!

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I'm not sure if 200+/- returns qualifies as "small" but we
have always done them that way. We do keep some stuff
floating from one year to the next--stock info, rental
property info, etc. We keep an entire copy of the return.
We have been known to lose computer info in a crash and even
with backups we don't trust them completely.

Since we don't really have a "clerk" per se, it is whoever
is there does the filing. <G
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clj1219[at]aol.com wrote:

- quote -

I store them by client name, not by year.

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"clj1219[at]aol.com" <clj1219[at]aol.com> wrote:

- quote -

You mean you have one folder for all the returns your office
did in 2001, another for 2002, and so on? Either those are
huge folders, or you have a small practice.

I have never worked in an office that kept returns sorted by
year. They were always sorted by client.

--
D.F. Manno
dfm2a3l0t2[at]spymac.com
"The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives
and the dream will never die."

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<clj1219[at]aol.com> wrote:

- quote -

It's a matter of how much time you or your clerks have in
maintaining the files.

Destruction of aged files, especially dormant clients could
get tedious, on the other hand with the active clients, you
probably find it convenient having five years of their
information at your finger tips.

Taken from a large volume production, like the service
centers, their files are stored by "LIST YEAR", then 100
documents in a block of work, so many blocks in a day, then
broken down by tax form and tax class and service center
code.

This scheme makes it possible to pull for destruction entire
racks of documents which have aged past statute, (Assessment
& Collection), those returns which might still be of
interest would accounts with collection issues unresolved.

Speaking of which, how many of you keep your clients return
information when you know they owe a balance due on filing
or were assessed, and as far as you know the liability
remains unpaid, remember the 10 year collection statute
should be of concerning in your aging rule.

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clj1219[at]aol.com wrote:

- quote -

I've done it both ways and I suppose my current method is a
hybrid. I use different colored file folders for each tax
year. The most recent 2 - 3 years are grouped by client
(alphabetically) in hanging folders. Each year the oldest
year's returns are removed and filed in a box for that year.
These are stored, pending eventual destruction a few years
later.

Many clients also have a "permanent file" (typically with
escrow statements and other "basis" information) that
remains in the client's hanging folder.

MTW

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clj1219[at]aol.com wrote:

- quote -

Good grief, I have always "bundled" each clients return data
together, in a file folder prominently marked with their
name(s). I even ask which colour file folder they would
like. Amazing how many people like purple, which I hate.

Notice, I said "return data", which is not to say complete
returns. If a 1040 has se tax on it, and there's just one
schedule c, no need to keep the actual se form. there's a
bunch of forms which can be trashed, esp if their results is
only figure on an itnervening form.

I keep forms/schedules as long as I think they might matter,
and at least five years' worth of data. printed bank
account numbers get blacked out immediately. Signature
forms for e filing only kept for the requisite three years.
A year's grouping is stapled at the top; on the border for
years ending with "0" or "5"; one inch further for years
ending with "1" or "2", and so forth. This keeps the files
from bulging.

Result is that I only use three file drawers for active
clients.

ChEAr$,
Harlan Lunsford, EA in LA

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My question is for the preparers out there. We are always
wanting a better or easier way to do things in our office
(isn't everyone). The suggestion has come up about keeping
3-5 years tax returns for a client together in one folder.
Currently, we store them by year. The suggestion to bundle
returns for filing/storage was made with the comment that
"all accounting offices do this and why we don't is beyond
me".

Does everyone else bundle the clients returns together like
that?

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