Finding space for your belongings can be difficult at the best of times but for business owners, the added surplus of documents, excess merchandise or equipment can be overwhelming. With space at a premium, more and more businesses are looking for off-site solutions to their storage needs.
Let’s look at the facts…
According to FSB, 99.9% of UK businesses are classed as SME (small to medium enterprises), the total business population grew by a staggering 200,000 (3.5%) between 2018 and 2019. Unsurprisingly, with a growth in the number of UK businesses, the evolution of space-saving office alternatives such as hot-desking, flexible working and co-working spaces has evolved.
But what does this mean for all your work belongings and paperwork? Cloud storage solutions provide an online alternative for some document storage issues but did you know there are certain documents that need to be kept in their original paper format? For example:
- VAT receipts and paperwork need to be held for 6 years
- PAYE records should be kept for 3 years
- Inland Revenue and taxation documents need to be kept for 6 years
Failure to produce certain documents within a set timeframe may be punishable by charges or a tax penalty for negligence. HMRC, for example, will fine £3,000 pounds and remove an individual from the position of Company Director if they are found to be negligent with documents.
So, what can business owners do?
Ensuring you comply with accounting or recording standards is important for small business owners, especially if you don’t have the luxury of an in-house accountant. So, what can you do? The solution is simple: consider an off-site document storage solution. Below we uncover the 5 ways in which small business self storage can not only save you time and money but how Hogleaze Storage can help deliver peace of mind for business owners.
1. Security
Keeping your business documents on-site, in a locked filing cabinet, not only leaves you at risk should there be a fire, theft or flood but what about human error? Offices often have several employees who access business documents at any given time, meaning that misplaced papers are an inevitable occurrence.
If you have private client or customer data stored in your records, choosing to store your documents at a storage unit with secure access may give not only you, as a business owner, but your clients and customers peace of mind.
2. Space Saving
As well as making your workplace look chaotic, filing cabinets and storage units take up valuable office space. With space in high demand, you can utilise every square foot of your office or home office and store bulky boxes of paperwork in a reliable document storage unit.
We understand that business storage is not a ‘one size fits all’ predicament and that’s why at Hogleaze Storage we have a range of different sized business storage units available to fit your particular needs and budget.
Maintaining a clear physical space also allows you to concentrate on your time and objectives more efficiently. Read our article on the benefits of becoming a minimalist.
3. Accessibility
Are you finding it hard to locate 2019’s tax papers? Perhaps you have an in-house or unexpected audit and need to provide documentation at the drop of a hat? Keeping business documents in a secure business self storage unit not only covers you against business risks and costly legislation, but it allows business owners to access and locate their documents efficiently.
It’s important to have access to your records at a moments notice and so, as well as providing 24/7 access to our units at Dorchester and flexible access at Weymouth, Hogleaze offer:
• Key fob entry access
• Trolleys to make moving your goods easy
• No need to book an appointment, just drop in during our business hours to speak with a member of our team
Are you looking for ways to get your documents in order? Read our article on storage ideas for 2020.
4. Efficiency
Filing, sorting and locating paperwork not only takes up valuable company time but it’s also a drain on resources when you need to employ staff to manage those documents.
Storing your business documents off-site allows your staff to perform their actual job rather than constantly filing or searching for documents. For extra efficiency, Hogleaze Storage offers storage racks which allow you to make the best use of the space and access your documents and boxes much more easily as they are not stacked on top of each other.
5. Compliance
We are all faced with an ever-increasing volume of records, including emails and traditional paper documents. Legislation and regulation covering records management is so complex and far-reaching that compliance can become a major challenge.
Business storage units are an indispensable solution for minimising business risks and non-compliance when it comes to the destruction of information before the end of its legally required retention period.
Is business storage the solution for you?
To sum up, business self storage can not only save you time, money and energy but also give peace of mind that you are legally covered and compliant with UK regulations and legislation. As specialists in document storage, Hogleaze offers the best quality and affordability in Dorset.
To find out how Hogleaze Storage can help with your business storage needs today, please call our helpful and friendly team on 01305 830000 (Weymouth) or 01305 889777 (Dorchester), or fill in our online form. We are now offering zero deposits at both our Dorchester and Weymouth sites.
Follow us on Facebook to keep up to date with our latest news and offers.