If you own a company, you know just how many documents your business generates on a daily basis. Even with so much being digital these days, there’s still a need for physical paper documents. At the very least, even if everything is digital throughout your business, you should still keep physical copies of important contracts, receipts and documents for a certain period of time.
That includes tax documents, employee contracts and more. But if you don’t have the room on site to store all those documents, you will need a viable solution that can store them safely off-site. Safety and security are vital to the confidentiality of your documents, which is why you need to partner with a trusted off-site document storage provider.
Using a storage container to hold your documents is a great idea, as it can keep your valuables dry and safe from theft. You can’t afford to lose documentation due to ethical and legal repercussions. Here are the top reasons why an off-site records storage facility is a great idea for your business.
Free Up Space
Filing cabinets chock full of documents and records take up a huge amount of space that could otherwise be better utilized by employees and equipment. The typical large cabinet needs 15 square feet of space in order to be fully accessible by your employees, so you can see how much room this takes up.
Free up space by storing your documents off site instead of on site.
Ensures Privacy
In order to ensure secure corporate records management, you need a robust security system with surveillance cameras and locks. This is especially important if you store sensitive customer information or U.S. government security clearances. You can’t just stick that stuff in an unlocked filing cabinet.
When you use an offsite document storage company, you can rely on their knowledge, expertise, and resources to ensure your sensitive documents are not damaged and remain far away from curious eyes.
Improves Business Continuity
If a fire or natural disaster such as a flood or tornado were to hit your building, your precious records would be destroyed. The disaster recovery efforts alone can be difficult if not impossible without proper offsite data storage.
Because off-site storage units are fortified and built to withstand extreme temperatures and weather events, your documents would likely be preserved. As such, disaster recovery would go more quickly and smoothly, with little disturbance to productivity and business continuity. With climate controlled storage units, you can ensure valuable client and company data remains protected from damage.
Improves Cost Efficiency
Offsite storage is much more cost efficient than onsite storage solutions. You’ll save money on this solution rather than choosing portable storage or even leasing additional office space. With offsite solutions, you just have to pay for exactly what you need. If you were to lease additional office space or rent a self-storage unit, you don’t have the same flexibility and variety. Plus, when your business eventually outgrows the storage space, you then have to scramble to locate additional offsite storage, which is a burden to your bottom line and your productivity.
Improves Time Efficiency
Saving time is the name of the game, especially as you manage a growing business where it never seems like there are enough hours in the day. Your employees won’t have to waste time boxing up files or searching through them to find what they need. Did you know that U.S. managers spend four weeks a year searching for files or waiting on mis-filed, mis-labeled, or lost papers?
With offsite storage facilities, you can lower the amount of time you and your employees waste looking for lost records. This is because you will have easy access to all confidential documents electronically, even though the paper files are still kept securely in the unit. You can’t say that about your own messy filing cabinet where you’re paying people to search aimlessly for stuff!
Ensures Compliance
Because there are many federal laws in place regulating the secure accessibility and management of data, you must do all you can to remain in compliance with those laws so you never have to face legal action. Can you really risk a breach at this stage in your business? Rely on the tight security of offsite document storage facilities to ensure the proper preservation and maintenance of records.
Medical providers in particular have to worry about this. Federal law stipulates that medical records must be kept and maintained for many years, but not only that, they have to be stored confidentially. If you are a healthcare provider, it’s wise to select a HIPAA-compliant document storage business that is proven to be reliable.
Similarly, financial institutions such as banks as well as investment planners and accountants must keep records for a specific period of time prior to being destroyed. Law firms, too, have to maintain confidentiality in their record keeping.
As you can see, offsite document storage is a superior option over storing your important documents on site. Of course, you must do your research and choose the most reliable offsite storage provider possible to gain all the many benefits listed above as well as peace of mind.
Contact Mobile Storage Solutions
We are your one-stop-shop for safe, secure, reliable off-site storage units in any size. Get your free quote when you call us today at 224-249-5792 or complete our online form. We offer a variety of solutions for off-site document storage throughout the Greater Chicago area. Our team would be happy to chat with you to go over which unit would be best for your unique needs and budget.
