Tax season is upon us and for many tax accounting firms, you are busy with a lot of paper containing sensitive client information. These tax accounting documents and files can be W-2’s, 1099’s, bank statements, medical bills, and business expense receipts, to name a few, that your clients collect year-round as they prepare to file their taxes. If any of these documents got into the wrong hands, your clients’ personal information could be used for identity fraud, and you could face large fines. It’s important as their tax-preparer to make them feel confident in your business practices, knowing their confidential documents are safe and will be destroyed properly when the time comes.

How to Ensure Total Client Data Protection

In today’s world, identity theft is a serious threat, so you want to take all precautions to keep your client’s personal information safe. When managing tax accounting documentation, it’s important to have strict guidelines in place for proper storage and managing secure destruction so that you’re following all state and federal regulations. This would include paper copies and back up copies stored on CD’s or DVD’s. Part of your data management processes should include secure shredding and data destruction. Having documents shredded by a professional and reliable company is the only way to ensure total client data protection. You may also establish a shred-all policy so that there’s no question to your staff which papers should be shredded. This helps reduce the risk of potential data breaches.

What Type of Tax Documents Are Shredded?

There are a variety of tax documents that should be shredded. Depending on the types of taxes being filed, personal or business, there can be numerous personal files and business documents to protect. Here are a few examples,

Personal Documents to Shred

• Bank Statements
• Paycheck Stubs
• W-2’s
• Retirement contribution statements
• Medical Bills
• Wage Garnishments
• Property Records
• Income Tax Returns

Business Documents to Shred

• Deposit Slips
• Petty Cash Vouchers
• Expired Insurance Policies
• Expense Receipts
• Plant Cost Ledgers
• Payroll Records
• Depreciation Schedules
• Tax Returns & Worksheets
• Financial Statements

Note: It’s always best to consult with tax professionals or an attorney on specific retention periods.

Scheduling Your Shredding Service

There are several types of document shredding services to consider, depending on your needs. Routine services may include placing consoles or bins around your office to collect paper used throughout daily business practices. They are emptied by a professional shredding company to be shredded. BWS offers shredding frequencies to fit the needs of all accounting firm sizes. Additionally, if you have a lot of files being stored at your office or a storage facility, scheduling a cleanout or purge service can take care of destroying a large amount of documents at one time. At BWS, we have state-of-the-art shred trucks equipped for high volume shredding capacity and hard drive destruction with the ability to watch it all being destroyed by viewing the on-board camera.

BWS, Inc. provides top-notch, reliable shredding services in Baltimore, MD and the surrounding DMV area, including Delaware, Washington D.C., Virginia, and parts of West Virginia. We are the most trusted partner for document shredding in the mid-Atlantic. Our clients range from a wide variety of industries, including Tax Accounting Firms, Health Care, Government, Real Estate, and more. Contact us today for a quote in minutes. Our specialized customer care team will work with you on the best option that fits your needs and your budget.

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