Archive retention

Every EU country requires businesses to store their invoices and accounting records for a minimum period, usually between five and ten years counted from the end of the year the document relates to. The period is set by national VAT, accounting and tax procedure laws, and it can be extended by an audit, a dispute or losses carried forward.

Electronic storage is allowed everywhere provided three things are guaranteed for the whole period: the document stays readable, its origin is authentic and its content has not been changed. A reliable audit trail between the invoice, the order and the payment is the usual way to prove this without signing every file. Thermal paper receipts fade within a couple of years, so a scan taken at receipt is safer than the original. Kontevia stores every document with its metadata and audit trail for the retention period.