How long should one keep billing records?
94699
Bills such as electic, phone, credit cards, etc. need only be kept until you recieve the next bill, legally they cannot make you responsible for errors (yours or theirs) not caught within the current billing cycle. Tax records not included.
115971
If it is not due yet, it should go under "Accounts Payable", even though it IS an expense. Otherwise you put it aside until you finally pay the bill, THEN you can journalize it as an expense, debit expense, credit bank, in whatever month you pay the bill.
820665
They say you don't need to keep receipts for items less than $25, so by default, you do need to keep them when they are over $25.  It is best to keep as much as possible.  Why throw it away?  It is better to have too much than too little.  By the way, you don't send the receipts to the IRS.  You keep them in case of an audit.  Some IRS auditors are more strict than others, but I always tell my clients to claim whatever they paid in legitimate expenses regardless if they have a receipt, a credit card statement, or simply a hand written note of the expense.  Of course, one must make every attempt to keep receipts.
582407
it's better to keep record of all your transaction with the bank statements. keep them properly filed each month and you should hang on to those for at least 3 years before disposing them. even if you have closed the account, you should keep them for at least a year. who knows you might get audited by the income tax department.
217109
Regarding your last question, each state has a Statute of Limitations on how long a debt is legal.  Go to the link below and look up your state.  \n\nThe first thing you need to do is get those silly collection agents off your back.  To do that, use the sample letter below requesting that they "validate" your debt.  That means they must send you a copy of the bills, contracts, and anything that was used to calculate the debt you owe.  If they don't supply you with that information, they can't keep the negative report on your credit history.  \n\nSend this letter to both Cingular and the collection agent.  If they do not respond back in 30 days, send a copy of that letter, plus a letter demanding that the report be removed from your credit history, to each of the credit reporting agencies.  That will get it off your records.\n\nNow, what I'm going to bet is one of two things happened.  They either messed up your last payment and didn't enter it correctly (you do have a copy of the canceled check, right), or you are being billed a fee for canceling your contract early.  All of the cell phone companies have a very large termination fee, and there is no easy way to avoid it.  It's right there in the contract you signed.....\n\n....which is why you are sending them that "validation" letter.  No contract = no legal agreement to pay them.  \n\nSo make them prove your debt or leave you alone!
1056325
How long ago was the surgery?  They have to keep your records for a number of years by law.  I would press the issue.  I think that hospitals must keep records for 7 years.
526986
How soon will it be cahrged off? Your credit is already affected so it won't hurt it any more if your credit is bad already. Secondly, make CERTAIN it's your bill and call the company to ask for verifacation that this is a legit bill. Even if you know it is. Why? Because most companies don't really keep good records for the long haul and they maybe can't produce your bill. Thus, you're off the hook.\n\nThen again, BEFORE you make arraingements understand that once you inquire on the bill that you're opening up the credit hounds to pursue you until payment is recieved. \n\nI appluaude you for wanting to clean it up. Just understand what it is, how much to pay it off in a lump payment and don't over commit to something you can't afford as far as payments.
115373
Under federal law, most negative information on your credit report must be removed after 7 years.  This law is the Fair Credit Reporting Act and is not a matter of state law.  Some items such as bankruptcy may be on your record for up to 10 years.
855175
The statue of limitations varies from place to place. Less than a year would most likely still be valid, particularly if the issue has not yet been resolved.
705565
the tax records supporting your return should be kept six years. The copies of the tax returns should be kept indefinitely. \nKeep tax records six years. There is a three year statute of limitations for a normal audit, but there is a six year statute for substantial understatement of income.
1091021
If they are ur records they are technically ur property...soooo u should be able to go there w/ a picture I.D. and tell them you need ur records...for some reason nowadays they do make u pay a fee (i got my husbands records and it didnt have the length of 13 surgerys and it was like $20.) There should be no problem..Dont give up u tell em whats what if they think they can just say tuff shit then they will walk all over you.\nG/L
459315
Set your history to 999 and it willl record pretty much everything you have lloked at. The one that were 2 Weeks ago are gone if you have you history set for only 12 to 14 days.
597376
The answer may surprise you. Seven years was usually considered enough for almost any record. That said, a nonprofit with a federal government contract was recently penalized hundreds-of-thousands of dollars when the feds came to do an audit of their contract 10 years later and no records existed. I don't know how that resolved. If they were smart they hired a good lawyer and fought hard.\n\nThe bottom-line, it has put those of us wih government contracts on notice to re-examine our retention policies and with no clear guidelines to work with. Note, however, that some contracts will state retention requirements explicitly.
991465
As a former financial counselor seeing the number 7 makes me cringe. I am not sure where people get their information, but the "7 year" rule is something from the past. Realistically nowadays, depending on the type of debt, negative credit history can remain on your credit report up to 10 years, sometimes even longer than that. Collection agencies make it a regular routine to sell older accounts from one to another, each time reporting it as a new uncollected debt on your report. As far as bad debts, the statutes of limitations, which varies by state, is 7-10 years after your first delinquency. That is, this is the amount of time that can pass before the lender is no longer able to take any legal actions to satisfy the debt. If I were you, I would make an honest attempt to pay off some of these debts in order to improve your credit rating. It's always better to take action than to sit back and wait for things to happen. Bad credit isn't fixed overnight. It takes time and energy on your part to correct the situation that you put yourself in. Be patient and make an effort, and you will see your credit rating improving over time.
267224
Most people do not realize that when you have an x-ray, the facility that took the x-rays own the films, not you.  This is by federal law.  The facility must keep custodianship/records for 7 years after the exam.  Most facilities will allow you to "borrow" your films to take for a second opinion or to a specialist.  But, once the films are no longer needed, they are to go back to the facility there were taken.  If your films are lost after you have "borrowed" them, the facility will charge you reprinting fees if that is available.  You can sign a release form at the imaging facility where you had your x-rays.  Call that facility and ask what is required from you.
1004721
http://www.cardreport.com/laws/statute-of-limitations.html
290459
For personal needs and easy access keeping back 2 years is plenty.  Your bank should either have on-line banking that you can access and get statements back as far as their records go, or you should be able to contact them and receive copies if necessary.  If you are not sure about your banks policies, contact them and find out how long they keep YOUR records on file for you to access.