How long do you save merchant copies, etc.?

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Sherry Lee

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I wondered how long you store your credit card merchant copies and settlement reports? I've never shredded any and finally called NOVA - they advised me to keep them for six months (for both).

Has anyone had any incident that they needed them for a period of time longer than that?
 
I'm surprised no one has answered this. You do take credit cards, I assume.

Is my question not clear??

Once you charge and your little machine spits out that small white copy, what do you do with it? Where do you store these? And for how long do you keep them??

I'm really curious! Thanks!!
 
Well I read your post immediately and asked the accounts dept (wife - Pat) how long she keeps them.

Suppose laws are different here but she said that customer has 6 months to query a transaction but that all business transactions should be kept for, wait for it - FIVE YEARS!!!. Or, ideally, FOREVER!

But then she is a hoarder and all those shoe boxes in the loft stuffed full of merchant copies and till receipts will one day be brought out like old photos!
 
We have to keep them for seven years, they take up a surprising amount of space!
 
Sherry Lee said:
Once you charge and your little machine spits out that small white copy, what do you do with it? Where do you store these? And for how long do you keep them??
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My first thought was "How long does it take the IRS to get around to asking for an audit, whether a random one or otherwise? At year's end, after all my business with the accountant is finished, I'm keeping mine in a box in the basement labeled by year, until I find out the answer to this.

Good question, Sherry. When in doubt, don't throw it out!! You'll need it immediately after you do. It's that Murphy's Law thing.
 
I haven't a clue what the requirement for storage is but I'd almost be willing to bet that it is spelled out in the fineprint of our Merchant Agreement. I'd also not be too trusting of verbal interpretations by the processor's CSR.

I had a recent event where I had to resurrect many CC slips that went back over 5 years ago as part of a civil case and Grand Jury investigation. I'm sure glad that the records were available.

All that being said, I have ours back to the day we opened but then I also have my income tax returns back to 1973.
 
Thanks for responding - I YEARNED for your replies!! :D

My confusion also lies in the fact that the accountant told me that papers for TAX purposes need to be saved for seven years......but I'd think that once six months passed, a customer would have 'disputed' by then.

But as Val said, once it's tossed, that's when it will haunt!

Thank goodness for shoe boxes it sounds like! Geeeeeeese!
 
I keep everything forever.

It really annoys me that now my bank is no longer returning my checks (I had to make a deal with them for an "e statement" in order to view my account online!) - I get a kick out of looking back at a old checks from the early eighties and even before - it is like a snapshot of who you were back then...

I guess it's the Andy Warhol in me that makes me want to keep all this stuff - a few years ago I had to convince myself that it was "OK" to throw away certain personal records (like the water bills!).

I am hopeless - but I do firmly believe in the Murphy's Law that if I ever were to throw away shop records that is precisely when I would need them!
 
It's a pain, but a Records Retention Program is something every business could benefit from. Simply a list (preferably digital so it can be searched) of all the types of documents you have, where they are stored and how long they need to be kept. The hard part is finding out all the legal requirements for length of retention. But once it's done it's pretty easy to use and keep up with and you never have to worry about whether you're keeping too much or too little. See your accountant/attorney, and there are also books on the subject.
 
Paul N said:
Strange, considering that they will let you dispute a charge only within a 60 day period!
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Exactly. But that's not the only thing I find strange about these credit cards. They're raking in big bucks, and still charge me for all their different reward programs!
 
I have kept all of mine from the beginning. About 15 years. The old CC terminal receipts have faded to a point that they are no longer readable. You can still read the signature though.

Remember the old three part copies with the onion skin pages and the mechanical imprinter? I still have mine.
 
We keep everything for 7 years.

Each day, we staple our store copies of the days slips and credit card signed paperwork to Lifesavers daily closing report, along with the daily powerpay batch settlement report. These get put in order by day and each month goes in a little folder. At the end of the year, the 12 folders go in a file box.

We find it very helpful when balancing with bank statements, and in case of a possible chargeback. In some extreme cases, I believe they can chargeback a full year. Chargebacks can also be appealed and disputed multiple times, stretching the process out for many months.
 
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