You *MUST* Have a Backup
A final step to going paperless in your home or office is to have a good backup system in place.  If you’re going to scan and save important document you definitely have to back them up.  There are so many options out there, you really can’t afford not to do something.  Over the years you can only imagine the horror stories we’ve heard.

Options for backup are as simple as purchasing a backup hard drive from a local electronic retailer or backing up to an offsite server (we provide offsite backup services as well as so many others online).  Some hard drives you might purchase include software for backing up.  This works, or, we have used Cobian in the past.  We are currently testing new backup software, SyncBack.  I’ll write more later on how to choose the best software.

Bonus Tip…

If you’re going to store everything on your computer and throw away the original, you might ask, “Can I store receipts electronically for the IRS?”
Don’t take my word for it, but according to a search on Google:

Does the IRS accept digital receipts? Yes. According to ruling Rev. Proc. 97-22, the IRS allows one to prepare, record, transfer, index, store, preserve, retrieve, and reproduce books and records by either electronically imaging hard copy documents to an electronic storage media, or transferring computerized books and records to an electronic storage media that allows them to be viewed or reproduced without using the original program.

Can I throw away my receipts once I have captured an acceptable image? Yes. According to ruling Rev. Proc. 97-22, the IRS permits the destruction of the original hard copy books and records and the deletion of original computerized records after a taxpayer completes testing of the storage system.

Tags: Backup, Cobian, IRS
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