Paper, Digital or Both! 4 Tips on How to Archive Your Data

“Are you spending your time on the right things? Because time is all you have.”

– Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

How much time do you spend looking for documents, or worse, worrying about making sure you have the proper documents for your personal and business life?

So many people get caught between the “paper or digital” question, and then end up either doing neither, or if they do both, there is not a clear understanding of how and where to archive their important data. It’s 2022. You don’t have to choose! You can have it all - keep reading for how to get there.

This is Part 2 of our CLARITY series, “Physical and Digital Spaces.” Purpose and Time (Part 1) of the series is closely related to this one, since, as the quote above states, time is all you have. Who wants to spend it looking for data when it should be right at your fingertips?

This week I’m going to share a couple of tips and tools that have worked VERY well for me and my clients.

Why You Need to Keep Your Data Close and Secure

Sooooo, why should you care about archiving your data? Here are just a few examples of why it’s important to have a good, system for your important documents:

1. Insurance Claims:
   If you have a loss that is covered by insurance,  you will have to show proof of the value of the item insured; your home, car, personal belongings including furniture, jewelry, appliances and the like. You will have a MUCH better chance of recovering your value if you have proof.

2. Tax Return Support:
   You could save thousands on your taxes by providing the proper data (contracts, receipts, etc) to your tax preparer. Being able to access this quickly helps ensure accuracy of your return and also helps in case you are audited.
   

3. Estates, Wills, Trusts, Property Records:
   So much confusion is eliminated if you have a clear understanding, and the documents to support what you own, and how your ownership is vested. It is also much easier on your loved ones if you do this before you pass away, or in the event you become incapacitated.
   

4. Medical and Vital records:
   Having these in digital form (to the extent possible) can be life-saving. I have digital images of my kid’s and husband’s passports just in case there is an issue while anyone is traveling internationally. With a click of the mouse, I can email a full, clear, color copy of the passport to the embassy, airline, hotel, or whomever needs it. I also have medical data saved in case there is a true emergency.

Again, these are just a few examples. Now I want to share some ways to get control of this and really save time!

4 Steps to Archiving Important Documents

STEP 1: Do an inventory of what you need to organize.
You can use this Document Organization Checklist (DOC) to get started. Note which records are paper, digital, or both.

STEP 2: Setup a clear, secure digital filing system
Cloud-based is preferred so you can access your data from anywhere. The checklist in step 1 is a good outline for organization.

STEP 3: Setup your paper files according to the same categories as your digital files.
Shred anything you no longer need (receipts from 10 years ago?) Remember, the IRS now accepts most digital receipts as support for your taxes. This includes credit card charges and digital bank statements.

STEP 4: Choose your digitization tool!
You can use a normal scanner, or my favorite “scanner in your pocket” phone app - Genius Scan. Check out these links for the  Apple iOs app, and the Google (Android) app. With this app, you can scan a single, or even multiple pages right from your phone, convert into a PDF, email it to yourself, someone else, or save it directly to your Google Drive, DropBox and other cloud-services. SO CONVENIENT! I have used this app for years and share it with everyone! 

A couple more favorite hacks: If you need to keep photos of items (such as personal belongings in your home for insurance support), create a photo album in your phone for these items, and save the photos (or tag them on a Android) to that album. You can always delete photos of things you don’t have anymore, or donate. Speaking of donating, I have a lot of albums on my phone, including photos of things I have donated, which is great tax support (if needed), but actually it saves me time looking for stuff that I forgot I gave away😅!

If you use QuickBooks Online, remember you can forward any email with a receipt (either in the body or as an attachment) directly to your QBO file. This is an awesome feature since it will attach the PDF directly to the transaction. Check out this post and short video of how this works.