A working area and an archive need not be the same
While collecting documents, you track what arrived and what is missing. After handover, you need to know what your accountant received. An archive should let you find and open an invoice years later. Check which of these jobs your storage service actually supports.
For example, a downloaded computer file may be a useful working copy, not the only place to keep it. An email link to a supplier portal may let you obtain a document today, but stop working after cancellation. For each location, clarify what you actually have there and what its availability depends on.
HeyRup holds working copies for sorting and handover with a three-month retention period. It is not a long-term archive. Sending a document to your accountant also does not itself establish how long or under what conditions they will retain it.
Agree responsibility and the ability to take over
Explicitly agree with your accountant where required records are retained, who has access and what happens when the relationship ends. Specific duties and retention periods can vary by document type and business circumstances; do not apply one random number from a general guide to all files.
Access should not depend on one colleague holding the password to an account created with their personal address. If they leave or are unavailable, you need to take over both administration and the data. Find out in advance what exports a provider offers and exactly what they contain.
Your agreement should answer three questions: where the originals are, how you take them over when the administrator changes, and how you check they open. “Everything is stored somewhere” is not enough when you need a particular invoice.
Synchronisation does not replace a recovery test
When files synchronise automatically between computer and cloud, accidental deletion or an incorrect change may propagate to both. For long-term availability, establish whether history, backup or another recovery method exists and how long the provider makes it available.
Do not stop at a green icon beside a folder. Use a harmless sample to test that you can restore and open an older file. Check any export too: does it contain the actual PDFs, or only links into an account that may later be unavailable?
An extra copy helps when you know who manages it, where it came from, and who can access it. Without that information, it is easy to lose track of versions and expose sensitive documents to more people than necessary.
Four questions using an actual document
Choose an older invoice you know exists. Can you find it by supplier or purchase? Does the original open in readable form? Can you identify the correct company and any corrected version? Can an authorised person do the same when you are unavailable?
If any answer is unclear, you have a specific improvement task. You may need better names, substitute access or missing originals. You do not have to change the entire accounting system immediately.
An archive is not defined by gigabytes or beautifully aligned folders. It is defined by reaching the document in the situation for which you kept it.