How long do you keep canceled/inactive clients around in your billing database? I don't mean the hosting account itself, but the record in the billing database.

7 years is the standard but I would keep it forever. Diskspace for you as a host is relatively cheap.

It's not the disk space that's the issue. We're changing billing databases and I'd prefer not to have them in there clogging up the works and slowing things down etc. I plan to keep them all on backup, but was going to remove them from the billing DB we have in production.

Three months, tops. I don't want dead accounts clogging up my billing system. There's no reason to keep that information for 7 years or even 1 year in your billing system. You'll have record of the individual client's payment in your merchant account or Paypal if you ever need it, which you won't.

--Tina

Agreed with Tina, 3 months. Business activity statements are done and those clients are purged out of the system.

3 months is plenty long enough to keep them in your active billing system. Just make sure you keep records for the time required by law which varies from country to country.

3 months is plenty long enough to keep them in your active billing system. Just make sure you keep records for the time required by law which varies from country to country.


You don't need the individual client records long term. All the IRS cares about is your revenue and where it came from. They aren't going to ever want to see each individual client record.

--Tina

Why is 7 years the standard?
IRS only requires records from the last 18 months from small-businesses.

Only large companies are required to document minuate for decades at a time.

I think the cut off point is around $1 million or $1.5 million.

Why is 7 years the standard?
IRS only requires records from the last 18 months from small-businesses.

Only large companies are required to document minuate for decades at a time.

I think the cut off point is around $1 million or $1.5 million.

That's not true.

--Tina

24 hours.. I have a copy of it all in my gmail and printed records.. I just don't like the billing clogged up..

As Tina rightly said. PayPal keeps a copy as well. I'm still able to look up payments from 4 years ago..

In the UK I'd guess when people cancel the data wouldn't be relivant so you'd have to delete it because of the data protection act.

However, the advantage of keeping the data is if a user wants to sign up again in the future they don't have to fill out everything again.

24 hours max, we take have archives, why keep them in an active system?

1 month. Then we remove :)

That's not true.

--Tina

I'm thinking of Sabanes-Oxley, what are you thinking of?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarbanes-Oxley_Act

I'm thinking of Sabanes-Oxley, what are you thinking of?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarbanes-Oxley_Act
Those requirements are for publicly traded companies.

We keep records ~1 month, this is just for checking back if there are any further issues after the cancellation or if the client wishes to order more services again in the near future.