RECORDS RETENTION

To conform with state and federal records retention statues referred to in guidelines issued by the Financial Managers Society, accounting managers are tasked with keeping procurement and expense records for set periods of time, after which they can be destroyed.

In many cases, these records don't exist. For example, orders placed over the Internet using vendor shopping cart programs generally do not qualify as Purchase Orders....unless they are issued by a buyer, identified as such, and can meet statutory audit and record retention standards.

"A Purchase Order (PO) is a commercial document issued by a buyer, to a seller, indicating types, quantities, and agreed prices for products or services the seller will provide to the buyer. Sending a PO to a supplier constitutes a legal offer to buy products or services. Acceptance of a PO by a seller usually forms a one-off contract between the buyer and seller, so no contract exists until the PO is accepted."  [Wikipedia]

To accommodate basic state and federal records retention requirements, Purchasing Assistant^™ archives the following records:

• Product requisitions, 3 year; 

• Purchase Orders, 3 years; 

• Proof / receipt of delivery, 3 years;

• Paid bills and invoices, 3 years (after date of payment);

• Stockroom withdrawal requests, 3 year; 

• Inventory status reports, 3 years; 

• Scrap / salvage records (supplies - forms), 3 years; 

• Leases, and contracts, 3 years; 

• Accounts Payable supporting data, 3 years.

Transaction records processed through Purchasing Assistant^™  can be accessed online for up to 3 years, after which they are available upon request from the system's administrator for up to 10 years.