This is not legal advice.
It is practical operations guidance: how to avoid losing evidence and how to keep retention enforceable.
Start here:
Retention is a retrieval problem
Retention policies fail when:
- documents are scattered across tools
- ownership is unclear
- versions are overwritten
If you cannot retrieve evidence, retention is meaningless.
Practical retention categories
Most teams benefit from explicit categories like:
- contracts and amendments
- invoices and payment proof
- procurement evidence (RFQs, quotes, comparisons, POs)
- receiving evidence (GRNs, delivery notes, exceptions)
Retention periods depend on your policy and obligations.
The system requirement is the same: evidence must be retrievable and versioned.
Next steps
If you want retention to be enforceable, implement structure: