Going completely paperless in trust accounting is not always a feasible expectation. As an agency there are documents that must be available in hardcopy, however, we can all work towards ensuring we only print those documents that are necessary, and make a conscious effort to minimise our amount of unnecessary printing – both for ourselves and for the environment.
NSW legislation states that ‘records must be in visible form and kept for a period of 3 years’. There is some discrepancy in opinion of what actually constitutes a ‘visible form’. Is it a hardcopy document or is it visible by being online? There are arguments both ways so we have detailed a rough guideline of when and when not to print.
When going paperless is an option…
Firstly let’s look at the areas in which we can look at going paperless. With the integration of online software accounting systems, the opportunities to go paperless have increased. So where you can, try and benefit from these available options in your software.
- Everyday communications:
Ask yourself, do you really need to print that email or can you get by reading it on your screen? Is it a document that needs to be saved and filed? If not, then don’t print.
- When saving change of details or keeping copies:
Your online accounting software has storage features within them (and which you are paying for), so make use of this facility when you can!
For information such as change of bank details and relevant landlord or tenant details, keep an online backup as opposed to a hardcopy. As per our last backing up blogs, keeping an online backup of all invoices is recommended as an alternative storage option.
When storing relevant property information in your software, be sure to store them against the relevant property to minimise any future headaches and tracking down missing files. Having an efficient filing system from the start will make your long term trust accounting a lot easer!
When paperless just isn’t possible…
The realty of trust accounting is that we do need paper copies of documents for filing, to sign and for EOM processes. If we try and contain our printing to these core activities, then we are helping the environment to the best of our industry’s ability.
End of Month
End of Month is where hard-copies are most vital for a few reasons.
- Licensees need to sign source documents such as cashbooks, ledgers, trial balance, bank reconciliation and bank statements.
- If audited, your auditor will request to see deposit slips, cheque butts, EFT transfers and EOM documents in a physical form to ensure that correct trust accounting processes are being followed.
Note that it is possible to sign EOM documents and scan back into your cloud, however you need to be diligent in ensuring the date stamp on the saved document shows it was signed within the prescribed time frame according to your states legislation. For this reason and to avoid any costly mistakes, many agencies continue to print these documents in hardcopy.
When hard copy backups are a blessing?
Having hardcopy backups ensure that you do not proceed to destroy everything around you in a fit of desperation.
Having hardcopy backups will enable you to restore your data manually. The occurrence of actually losing every piece of information is quite low – but it can, and does happen.
When in doubt….
As they always say, when in doubt, it is better to err on the side of caution. If it’s a pertinent piece of information, print. If not, don’t.
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~ Jane Morgan is the Director of End of Month Angels, a consultancy firm specialising in Trust Accounting. Jane knows the legislative requirements of running a successful Real Estate office through her 19 years industry experience. Don’t trust just anyone with your trust accounting, trust End of Month Angels and get back to what you do best – growing your business.