Record Keeping in Business

Record Keeping in Business

By: Fatin Nur binti Zulkipli

1.0 Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of the article is too aware the importance of record keeping in the business management, which can give a benefit to the organization and can be used in the current and future. Furthermore, to improve and acknowledge people on how to handle record which is how long and what type of record that need to keep in the business.

Design/methodology/approach – Record keeping will ensure the management of record will run smoothly and easy to refer. To make it easier in managing records such as cash flow, meet your tax obligations and understand how your business is doing well,  how you should maintain your business records and to make a disciplined practice of storing business records in an organization. 

Findings – The study identified several difficulties that record keeping professionals. The article provides a brief analysis about business, record and details rule of the task by taking the important elements and rule related to the record keeping in business organization.

Research limitations/implications – The difficulties faced and the means of handling them not same in all business organization and this is also having a little difficulty in writing this article in handling record keeping. However, the standard in the article is different compared to real-world situations that have many styles of business nowadays and every organization has their own style without followed a right standard in record keeping.

Originality/value – The paper provides a clear and original about business record method and provides a rule of record keeping in business organization.

Keywords- Record; business; record keeping; business record; record management;                                     accurate record; Payroll; Personnel. 

2.0 Introduction

          Business is a process that is related to buying, selling, or exchanging products, services, or information for money or profit. Business can be divided into two categories which are offline and online. Offline business is a face-to-face business. Both of them have their own advantages and disadvantages. This is because nowadays, it is easier for them to run a business successfully without any kind of shop. The contribution of the profession in this field not only has an impact on national development, but also encompasses all aspects of a person's life itself. 

Malaysia is one of the countries where the economy is growing with very positive impact whether it is small or large business. According to (Seth & Elena, 2015) online business or electronic commerce (EC) is a process of buying, selling, or exchanging products, services, or information via computer networks. Business-to-business e-commerce (B2B EC) is transactions among businesses conducted electronically completed using the Internet, extranets, intranets, or private networks also known as eB2B (electronic B2B) or just B2B. A broader definition of electronic commerce (EC) is not just the buying and selling of goods and services, but also servicing customers, work in partnership with business partners, and conducting electronic transactions within an organization. 

Information is knowledge that human beings perceive through one or more of their senses.  It remains intangible until it is represented in a formal manner as data.  When represented as data in a document, information can then be stored, communicated and used. Records and business are something that very closely related. Records will be used as evidence if something happened in their business. Not only that, the record also will control your organization and will make the management in your organization run successfully. Records will be divided into two categories which are paper base and e-electronic. The contents and functions of electronic and paper records are usually closely related. Data may be extracted from a database to produce summary reports on paper, printouts of reports may be produced as a database is updated, and word-processed correspondence stored on a diskette may also exist in an agency’s paper file.  As a result, paper and electronic records management must be closely coordinated.  A comprehensive records management program must focus first on analysis of the information in records and then on the medium on which the information is stored.

3.0 Content
           
          Records is a document regardless of form or medium created, received, maintained and used by an organization (public or private) in the transaction of business, of which it provides evidence and information by an organization or person in pursuance of legal obligations or in the transaction of business by Emmerson (1989) and Duranti (2005). Type of information they contain includes, therefore, not only paper files series and digital records management systems, but also business and information systems for example case management, finance, and geographical information systems. However, most of young entrepreneur nowadays takes it easy and underestimate for these things. Mostly, they don't know the value and the importance of the record keeping in their business organization. 

               3.1 Form of Record

 

Figure 1: Form of record

          According to Yeo (2007) he said, in business, records will be divided into three forms which are paper, non-paper and electronic as you can see in figure 1. Firstly, paper. Paper is material manufactured or sheet. In this context, paper will be a something that contains the important information. The paper will be like correspondence, minutes, reports, memoranda (normally filed systematically), ledgers, registers, notebooks, appointment diaries, maps and plans (cartographic records), architectural and engineering drawings, pictures (iconographic records) or computer printouts. Second is non-paper. Example of non-paper which are rolled microfilm, microfiche or computer output microfiche (COM) formats (microforms); photographs, including prints, negatives, transparencies and x-ray films; sound recordings on disk or tape; as moving images on film or video (audiovisual records). Lastly is electronic. Electronic is something that related to device or operating with the aid of many small components such as text or images copied on magnetic tape or magnetic or optical disk or held in online databases (electronic records; formerly known as machine-readable records); as three‑dimensional models, scientific specimens or other objects; or as combinations of any of the above formats in an electronic form such as multimedia. (Cimtech, 2007)

               3.2 Implementing Record

         Implementing e-records management program requires records professional to cover the necessary scope of tasks. According to all the scope of task are mentioned by professional an organization needs record professional to assure all the task is done wisely. Without records professional, the entire task cannot be done by common workers without training or experience before. It is because all the tasks related to confidential records and only records professional know how to manage them properly. However, in use electronic records in management, the development of ICT and networked communities have paved the way for greater electronic transactions online. Because of that, we have found several greater challenges as more and more e-records are created from it. 

This is a part of the article that I found regarding the issues of managing NARA is taking action to respond to long-standing problems associated with managing and preserving electronic records in archives. In 2001, NARA completed an assessment of government wide records management practices. This assessment concluded that although agencies are creating sufficient records and maintaining them appropriately, most electronic records remain unscheduled, and permanent records of historical value are not being identified and provided to NARA for preservation and archiving. As a result, potentially valuable records may be at risk. Based on my reading on other articles shown that, the challenges are quite difficult when there is no necessary action taken by record professional and the creation e record can be too much than paper based when there is no necessary action taken. According to Joanna Slusarz (2016) she gives several of electronic implementing in managing record which is:-

FIVE (5) ELECTRONIC IMPLEMENTING IN MANAGING RECORD

1. Identify employees with the qualifications to implement the system and train staff in its proper use, or hire outside consultants with the necessary expertise.

2. Create a timeline for the implementation project, with specific goals and objectives for each step in the process.

3. Perform an inventory review of all paper-based documents to be entered into the system. These will need to be scanned for permanent digital storage.

4. Research providers of electronic document management services, and choose a company with special expertise in the field of education.

5. Carry out the plan created at the outset of the project, including the installation of software, the creation of user accounts with specific permissions for specific users, the training of all staff and employees in the proper use of the system, the scanning and entry of existing paper documents in the system, and the transition of all newly generated documents to the electronic format.

              3.3 Records Keeping

 

Record keeping is a fundamental activity of public administration. Without records there can be no rule of law and no accountability. Public servants must have information to carry out their work, and records represent a particular and crucial source of information. Records provide a reliable, legally verifiable source of evidence of decisions and actions. They document compliance or non-compliance with laws, rules, and procedures. The relationship between key governance objectives and the records required to support them is illustrated below according to Smith (2007):-

          ‘Record-keeping’ should not be viewed as solely a function of storing and retrieving documents. Undeniably, many entrepreneurs wonder how long you should keep business records. This is actually depends on what the record pertains to in your business. There is also an article that says sets some basic record retention standards for tax records. Yet lawyers, accountants, banks and government agencies all seem to have different ideas about how long to retain business records depending upon your individual business situations. Past research has found that the most common records kept by farmers are financial records. In our digital era, both paper and electronic documents need to be considered in your record preservation plans. Some basic record retention rules to think about for your business which is business income tax returns and supporting documents, employment tax records, business asset records, business ledgers and other key documents, human resources files, cancelled checks, and bank account and credit card statements. According to Ganesh Vednere (2009) he suggests three points to be noted in record keeping in business management which are:- 

1. Records management team.

2. Behooves the records managers to evaluate the current state.

3. How is the various business processes managed and executed.

          There are also many other reasons why you should keep accurate business records which are accurate records allow you to be in better control of your business by helping with financial planning and decision making, you portray a more professional image that makes it easier to deal with your bank. Besides, appropriate records enable you to file an accurate profits tax return, easy to keep if all of the necessary records are readily available, losses and theft in your business may be detected and the last one you are in greater overall control of your business. 

To improve our record keeping, we need to manage it efficiently such as make bookkeeping part of your regular routine. You need to ensure you have been established a routine and from that you can see your work through your books more quickly, besides, we need to keep your bookkeeping up to date and keep your books in an organized manner. From that, you will work quickly and easily for your staff to access the information you need and everything you do need to ensure don’t leave important things. According to Ganesh Vednere, (2009) he said the management and the business departments nowadays are so impressed with all of the features and functions of this new technology tool that they decide to move forward.

                3.4 Payroll and Personnel 

                 According to De Jager (2006/2007) it is not unusual for the media in South Africa to carry the following sentiments in their reports: “that the overall impression of the audit reports of governmental bodies (national departments, provincial departments, municipalities and statutory bodies) is one of financial disorder and widespread mismanagement of taxpayers’ money”. If organizations hire employees, the organization record keeping capacity needs to be advanced enough to comply with numerous local, state, and federal payroll and personal legal requirements. All of this depends on the number of employees in the organization because any organization may require a payroll service. Here is a brief list of some of the payroll and personnel legal information that need in business organization that will be required to track such as:- 

       • Hiring and evaluation documentation

       • The basis on which wages are paid

       • Social security numbers

       • Total hours worked

       • Additions to or deductions from wages

       • Total wages paid each pay period

       • Income tax withholdings

       • Fair labor standards act required information

       • Injury reports

       • Employment records

       • Copy of annual performance evaluations

                3.5 Important Record Keeping in Business

         The rise of entrepreneurship and its growing importance to the future of the American economy is well documented (Schramm, 2006; Baumol, Litan, and Schramm, 2007). Clear, accurate, user-friendly bookkeeping and payroll records are essential to the efficient operation of your business. Keeping these records is also as a legal responsibility. There are four (4) important types of records that you should consider keeping which customer service records, business safety records, inventory record and lastly is departmentalizing as you can see below:-  

A customer service record is an important part in your organization and one of the elements of your marketing efforts. Customer service records will help the company itself to satisfy your customer needs are working and where improvement that can be prepared. Customer service record could include the number of customer compliments per week or month, the nature of the complaints, the number of returns and the number of repairs made under warranty. For business safety records it related with tracking and recording the number and nature of on the job injuries suffered by employees per month. Business safety records are usually can be used to determine insurance rates, to enhance public relation and to identify safety problems and look for a solution (Geoffrey Yeo, 2011). Besides, inventory record there have two methods for keeping record of your stock which are physical inventory and gross margin. Physical inventory is about involves counting and listing the number of values of all items. The gross margin method is a less time-consuming and less accurate method of determining stock on hand. Department is about retail or service business in the organization. Department purchase and sales record can be used as the basis for monthly departmental operating statements. 

3.6 Continuum Concept

According to Marjo Rita Valtonen (2007) records continuum model by Upward (1996, 2000) the continuum concept suggests that four actions continue or recur throughout the life of a record: identification of records; intellectual control of them; provision of access to them; and physical control of them. Continuum concept is a consistent and coherent process of records management throughout the life of records, from the development of record-keeping systems through the creation and preservation of records to their retention.

From this principle a unified model has been developed.  The model reflects the pattern of a continuum. Four actions continue or recur throughout the life of a record and cut across the traditional boundary between records management and archival administration.  There are:-

4.0 Conclusion

              As a conclusion record is an important thing in business organization. If record will keep successfully, all the management in the organization will be run smoothly. However, the contents and functions of electronic and paper records are usually closely related.  Data may be extracted from a database to produce summary reports on paper; printouts of reports may be produced as a database is updated; and word-processed correspondence stored on a diskette may also exist in an agency’s paper file. As a result, paper and electronic records management must be closely coordinated.  A comprehensive records management program must focus first on analysis of the information in records and then on the medium on which the information is stored. From my opinion, Computer Systems is a something good to less space than paper. Besides that, it is faster and easier to manage through internet transmission and so on that related to the system. However, nowadays many businesses and government agencies allow the use of the Internet in organizing. Because of that, we need to learn and grow into computer systems over time and be sure to backup records through file also.

5.0 Reference

Akussah, H. (2005). Preservation of Public Records in Ghana: The training, education and awareness factors. Information Development, 21(4), 295-302. doi:10.1177/0266666905060090 Lanzolla, G.,             & Frankort, H. T. (2015). The Online Shadow of Offline Signals: Which Sellers Get     Contacted in             Online B2B Marketplaces? Academy of Management Journal, 59(1), 207-231.                                            doi:10.5465/amj.2014.0051

Packalén, S., & Henttonen, P. (2015). Recordkeeping professionals’ understanding of and justification for              functional classification: Finnish public sector organizational context. Arch Sci Archival Science.                    doi:10.1007/s10502-015-9254-4 

Sanett, S. (2013). Archival Digital Preservation Programs: Staffing, Costs, and Policy. Preservation, Digital              Technology & Culture, 42(3). doi:10.1515/pdtc-2013-0019 

Tough, A. (2011). Accountability, open government and record keeping: Time to think again? Records                    Management Journal, 21(3), 225-236. doi:10.1108/09565691111186894 

Wet, S. D., & Toit, A. D. (2000). The challenge of implementing a records management system at the                     National Electricity Regulator in South Africa. Records Management Journal, 10(2), 73-86.                         doi:10.1108/eum0000000007257

Wolf, C. A., Lupi, F., & Harsh, S. (2011). Farmer demand for financial record‐keeping system attributes.               Agricultural Finance Review, 71(2), 259-276. doi:10.1108/00021461111152609 

Yeo, G. (2011). Rising to the level of a record? Some thoughts on records and documents. Records                       Management Journal, 21(1), 8-27. doi:10.1108/09565691111125071