Batches

Julianne Coleman:

Okay this is a new one on me! I want to clean up batches here - we have batches back from 2000 - someone said we have to keep 7 years woth of batches. I have never heard of such a thing. I know for audit purposes you need to keep checks/backup for so many years...but batches!!! Has any one heard of this??

Thanks

 

What needs to be cleaned up? According to whom? What about what you have kept is insufficient?

 We print our batch reports and keep them with the original backup btu we do not keep the batches in RE - not do we keep the static queries. I try to clean them out quarterly but sometimes get behind several quarters. I like to be sure that they have been reconciled before I delete them - although they have NEVER been needed in a reconciliation - I just do this anyway.

Julianne Coleman:

Okay this is a new one on me! I want to clean up batches here - we have batches back from 2000 - someone said we have to keep 7 years woth of batches. I have never heard of such a thing. I know for audit purposes you need to keep checks/backup for so many years...but batches!!! Has any one heard of this??

Thanks

 

Sounds like you have some unnessary internal policies on keeping data.  We keep a copy of batch report in an online file for reference and hard copy with paperwork for that batch.  These are kept through audit of that year.  Batch records in RE are kept for the current and past year. Honestly not sure why but they sit there untouched until they're deleted. As that process was initiated when we started using RE 'just in case'  -- we should reduce that even further now that everyone's more familier with RE. I can't imagine keepig 7 years. 

There is a 7 year figure that come into play with regards to credit card charge records.  But it's not related to RE batches.

If I were you I would check with your auditor and business office to see if some of your internal policies on this need to be updated/changed/clarified so you can 'declutter'.

JoAnn Strommen:

I've never had auditors ask to see batches.  "Batch" is basically meaningless to them. 

Don't know your RE/data backup situation. I'm planning on using the less data to back up - less time, server space and money for backup if we don't have to keep so many records as my arguement for not even keeping 2 years worth.  Not needed and can always query.[8-|]

 I had the same problem.  Thousands of batches saved in RE back to 1998.  A former DBA had told everyone that deleting the batches or the queries would also delete all of the gifts and reports [:@]

 We decided to be on the safe side, we would keep batches in RE as far back as we needed to keep back up documentation.  There have been a few times that we have not been able to locate a gift and were able to go back to the original batch and find it from there (typically an odd string of name and address changes).  After that, we delete the batches.  I shred any paper documentation at the end of our audit -- our BO continues to keep a copy for a few years according to their guidelines.  Starting this year, I will not have paper batch documentation -- I have been keeping everything in PDF for a couple of years.

I delete the queries periodically - can always re-create if needed.  But I find that typically, after our initial gift processing is done, we don't need these again.