Cintas Provides Tips to Securely Shred Unnecessary Files in the New Year

The New Year is typically a time for personal resolutions, but it’s also a great time for businesses to review and improve their operations. To help businesses begin 2011 in an organized fashion, Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ: CTAS), the leader in secure document management services, today issued tips and general guidelines for record retention. Organizations often hold on to records that are no longer needed. These records take up valuable storage space and cost money that could otherwise be saved. Adhering to a retention schedule helps businesses operate more efficiently to save time, money and space.

“While it may seem easier to keep everything, this is actually a losing strategy,” said Sarah Koucky, Senior Director of Security and Compliance for Cintas Document Management. “Saving unnecessary records costs both time and money. By setting retention schedules and policies, organizations will remain compliant with government regulations and can expedite the destruction of out-dated records to ensure a clutter-free system.”

The following retention schedule is a general recommended guideline for certain files and documents. Please consult your legal advisor for specific retention schedules appropriate for your business and records.

Accounts payable – 7 years
Accounts receivable – 7 years
Audit reports – Permanent
Bank reconciliations – 3 years
Bank statements – 7 years
Cancelled checks – 7 years
Electronic payment records – 7 years
Employee files (ex-employees) – 7 years
Employment applications – 3 years
Employment taxes – 7 years
Expense reports – 7 years
Financial statements (annual) – Permanent
Insurance policies – Permanent
Leases/Mortgages – Permanent
Loan payment schedules – 7 years
Payroll/Labor records – 7 years
Purchase orders – 7 years
Sales records – 7 years
Tax returns – Permanent

It is important to safely and securely dispose of all documents that are no longer needed. With identity theft and data breaches on the rise, doing so will protect confidential information from falling into the wrong hands. Many organizations use a secure shredding service that destroys business documents onsite on a scheduled basis. These companies place secure storage containers in accessible and identifiable locations to make it safe and convenient for all employees to properly shred documents.

In addition, businesses that have a large volume of records with long retention rates but limited space can consider an off-site storage and imaging provider. This will free up space and ensure all electronic and physical records live in a secure environment. All documents can be retrieved on-demand and properly destroyed if required.

“Businesses accumulate millions of records and documents containing sensitive customer and business information every year,” said Karen Carnahan, President and COO of Cintas Document Management. “January 2011 is the perfect time to conduct a secure document shredding purge to organize and improve business operations.”

Cintas is the first North American AAA NAID-certified and PCI DSS compliant document management provider. Cintas provides cost-effective document shredding, storage and imaging programs. Its services are designed to provide businesses with data privacy and security, compliance with regulatory requirements and greater control and access to information.

For more information regarding a document management program, please visit www.cintas.com/documentmanagement.

About Cintas Corporation

Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Cintas Corporation provides highly specialized services to businesses of all types. Cintas designs, manufactures and implements corporate identity uniform programs, and provides entrance mats, restroom supplies, promotional products, first aid and safety products, fire protection services and document management services to approximately 800,000 businesses. Cintas is a publicly held company traded over the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol CTAS, and is a component of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.

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