Paperwork and Record-Keeping

• 1Do you think the government should compensate you for dealing with the added paperwork and record-keeping it requires of your business?
• 1aWhat do you think would be a fair per hour amount to claim for your time and efforts?
• 1bIf the decision were made to reimburse you, what do you think would be a fair per hour amount to claim for your time and effort?
• 2Who does your business’s personnel paperwork and record-keeping? Is it:?
• 2aWhat is the approximate hourly cost of such a person, including benefits, or of the firm hired?
• 2bAre the business’s personnel records kept on paper, electronically, or both?
• 2cAfter an employee leaves, how long do you keep those records before getting rid of them?
• 2dTwo years after an employee leaves, how accessible are their records? Are they:?
• 2eHow do you dispose of personnel records that are on paper? Do you:?
• 2fHow do you dispose of electronic personnel records? Do you:?
• 2gDo you secure and limit access to personnel records?
• 3Who does your business’s financial paperwork and record-keeping? Is it:?
• 3aWhat is the approximate hourly cost of such a person, including benefits, or of the firm hired?
• 3bAre the business’s financial records kept on paper, electronically, or both?
• 3cHow long do you keep those records before getting rid of them?
• 3dIf you need a financial record that is two years old, how accessible is it?
• 3eHow do you dispose of financial records that are on paper? Do you:?
• 3fHow do you dispose of electronic financial records? Do you:?
• 4Who does your business’s maintenance paperwork and record-keeping? Is it:?
• 4aWhat is the approximate hourly cost of such a person, including benefits, or of the firm hired?
• 4bAre the business’s maintenance records kept on paper, electronically, or both?
• 4cHow long do you keep those records before getting rid of them?
• 4dIf you need a maintenance record that is two years old, how accessible is it? Is it:?
• 5Who does your business’s license and permit paperwork and record-keeping? Is it:?
• 5aWhat is the approximate hourly cost of such a person, including benefits, or of the firm hired?
• 5bAre the business’s license and permit records kept on paper, electronically, or both?
• 5cAfter they expire, how long do you keep those records before getting rid of them?
• 5dIf you wanted to retrieve a license or permit that expired two years ago, how accessible is it? Is it:?
• 6Who does your business’s purchases paperwork and record-keeping? Is it:?
• 6aWhat is the approximate hourly cost of such a person, including benefits, or of the firm hired?
• 6bAre records of your purchases kept on paper, electronically, or both?
• 6cHow long do you keep those records before getting rid of them?
• 6dIf you wanted to retrieve a purchase record that is two years old, how accessible is it? Is it:?
• 7Who does your business’s paperwork and record-keeping for government information requests? Is it:?
• 7aWhat is the approximate hourly cost of such a person, including benefits, or of the firm hired?
• 7bAre copies of those information requests kept on paper, electronically, or both?
• 7cHow long do you keep those records before getting rid of them?
• 7dIf you wanted to retrieve a government information request that was made two years ago, how accessible is it? Is it:?
• 8Who does your business’s customer or client paperwork and record-keeping? Is it:?
• 8aWhat is the approximate hourly cost of such a person, including benefits, or of the firm hired?
• 8bAre copies of those information requests kept on paper, electronically, or both?
• 8cHow long after someone stops being a customer or client do you keep those records before getting rid of them?
• 8dIf you wanted to retrieve a customer or client record that was two years old, how accessible is it? Is it:?
• 8eHow do you dispose of customer or client records that are on paper? Do you:?
• 8fHow do you dispose of electronic customer or client records? Do you:?
• 8gDo you secure and limit access to customer or client records?
• 9Who does your business’s tax records? Is it:?
• 9aWhat is the approximate hourly cost of such a person, including benefits, or of the firm hired?
• 9bAre your tax records kept on paper, electronically, or both?
• 9cHow long do you keep those records before getting rid of them?
• 9dIf you wanted to retrieve a tax record that is two years old, how accessible is it? Is it:?
• 9eHow do you dispose of tax records that are on paper? Do you:?
• 9fHow do you dispose of electronic tax records? Do you:?
• 10You indicated that an unpaid family member kept some business records for you. If you had to purchase that service, about how much on a dollars per hour basis, including benefits, would you have to pay for someone else to do it?
• 11If you could pay someone to take over all the paperwork you must complete, how much, on a dollars per hour basis, would you be willing to pay?
• 12What is the most difficult aspect of government paperwork for your business?Top 100 question
• 13Do you have one or more computers in your business?
• 13aDo you have stand alone PCs, a local area network, or both?
• 13bDoes your business use the Internet for business reasons regularly, periodically, or aren’t you on the Internet?
• 13cHow do you reach the Internet?

Volume 3, Issue 5, 2003
ISSN 1534-8326

William J. Dennis, Jr.
NFIB Research Foundation