Record Keeping and Business Owners

By Gary Alexander, Senior Attorney

Proper corporate record keeping is an integral part of a successful business. Some of the advantages of establishing and implementing a successful business record-keeping policy are as follows
Monitoring the progress of your business; items of your inventory that are selling and those that are not;
Preparing business financial statements, which are needed when dealing with banks and other credit suppliers;
Preparing and providing evidentiary support for tax returns; and
Providing the foundation of a successful claim or lawsuit, whether you are bringing or defending an action.
Maryland law requires businesses, whether for profit or not, to
preserve a business record for three years from the date it was created.
A business may keep a copy of
the original business record to comply with the law. For the purposes of this law, a “business record” consists of a book of account, cancelled check, document, letter, payroll, production report or voucher. Even after three years, businesses must still retain a copy of the minute book of the corporation and any record of sale or other transaction that involves a weapon or poison that can be used in committing a crime.
It is easier to maintain a good record-keeping system if you set up a proper recording system from the beginning. For assistance in establishing and implementing a record-keeping policy, or for any of your other business needs, contact an attorney.