Klytic

Home›Guides›Documents & document management

Documents & document management · Understand

Retaining important documents and deciding on an archiving policy

How long a document is kept depends on the obligation attached to it and the use you make of it, not on the size of the disk. An archiving policy states what to keep, for how long, where, in what form, who can still access it and what happens to it at the end. It becomes necessary as soon as a company keeps accounting records, contracts or personnel files, which is to say almost always.

Updated October 20267 minOfficial sources cited

Retention, archiving, backup: three timeframes

The three words are often confused. They do not answer the same question.

QuestionTypical duration
BackupGoing back after an incidentDays or weeks
ArchivingKeeping a document no longer used day to day, intact and accessibleThat of the obligation or use
RetentionHow long the document must or may existSet by law, a contract or an internal decision

For personal data, the CNIL (French data protection authority) describes three stages. The active database, as long as the data serves the purpose for which it was collected. Intermediate archiving, when it no longer serves that purpose but remains useful, for example for litigation or a legal obligation: it is then kept separate and consulted occasionally by authorized people. Finally, permanent archiving, for certain information kept because of its value. This breakdown applies well to all documents.

Backup has its own guide: versioning, replication and backup. A thirty-day backup is not archiving.

What an archiving policy sets out

A policy fits in a few pages. For each family of documents, it answers seven questions:

  • what: the family of documents (invoices, contracts, personnel files, minutes);
  • how long, and starting from when: the close of the fiscal year, the end of the contract, the employee’s departure;
  • where: which folder, which department, which hosting;
  • in what form: paper original, digital copy, file format;
  • who is responsible: one owner per family, not “IT”;
  • who can still access it: an archive is not open to everyone who could see the active file;
  • final disposition: destruction, permanent retention, or handover to a third party, with a record of the decision.

Everything starts with an inventory. Without one, the policy is a slogan: it sets periods for documents nobody can locate.

Periods set by law

In France, several periods are set by law. The official Service Public Entreprendre website lists them, with their references. Here are some of the most common for a company:

DocumentPeriodStarting pointLaw cited
Accounting books and registers10 yearsClose of the fiscal yearCode de commerce, art. L123-22
Supporting documents (purchase orders, delivery notes, invoices)10 yearsClose of the fiscal yearCode de commerce, art. L123-22
Tax documents (general rule)6 yearsLast transaction recorded or date of issueLivre des procédures fiscales, art. L102 B
Contracts and business correspondence5 yearsAccording to the applicable limitation periodCode de commerce, art. L110-1 to L110-4
Duplicate pay slip (employer)5 yearsNot specified by the official pageCode du travail, art. L3243-1 to L3243-5
Single staff register5 yearsEmployee’s departureCode du travail, art. R1221-26

Three remarks. The same document may fall under several periods: an invoice is both an accounting record and a tax document. The tax period rises to ten years in the case of undeclared activity. And this table applies only to France: the business sector (healthcare, banking, insurance) and the reader’s country change the periods. There is no single schedule applicable to all companies.

Personnel files and personal data

A document containing personal data cannot be kept indefinitely. The GDPR requires a limited period, which the controller determines according to the purpose, as the CNIL points out.

For human resources, the CNIL published in April 2026 a reference framework for retention periods, organized by activity: recruitment, administrative management, pay, workplace accidents, whistleblowing. This framework is soft law: compliance with it is not mandatory. However, some of the periods it includes are imposed by law, and employers cannot depart from them. Several periods may apply to the same processing.

In practice, an HR file stored in a document management system needs two rules: who can still open it after the employee leaves, and when it is purged. Keeping it “just in case” is not a rule.

Format and readability in ten years

Keeping a file for ten years is pointless if no one can open it. The location matters, and so does the format:

  • prefer open, documented formats, and a fixed document (a PDF) rather than an editable file for authoritative records;
  • do not depend on software that may disappear or change its license;
  • keep the metadata: date, type, period, owner, without which the archive is just a pile of files;
  • plan your exit: be able to export archives in standard formats if you change provider.

The value of a digital copy of a paper original is governed by its own rules. Before destroying originals, check them with your accountant or legal advisor.

Example: a policy in half a day

Hypothetical case. A 40-person SME brings together its accountant, its HR manager and its chief executive. In half a day, they list six families of documents.

Supplier invoices go through an approval workflow, then are filed by year; they are kept for ten years after the close of the fiscal year. Customer contracts are filed by customer, kept for five years after they end. Personnel files live in a restricted-access folder; their periods follow the CNIL framework, checked for each document. Drafts and working documents have no policy: they live and disappear with the projects.

Every year, in February, the accountant identifies the files that have reached their term, has their destruction approved, and records the decision. The policy fits on two pages.

Common mistakes

  • Keeping everything. It is not prudent for personal data, and it makes searching slower.
  • Mistaking a backup for an archive. It is erased at the end of its retention period.
  • Archiving in email. An email attachment has no filing, no workflow and no retention period. Archiving messages is a separate topic.
  • Forgetting copies. Attachments, synced computers, USB drives: a purge in the document management system does not erase them.

Frequently asked questions

Can everything be kept indefinitely?

For documents without personal data, it is possible, but costly and hard to navigate. For personal data, no: the period must be limited to the purpose.

Is a thirty-day backup a form of archiving?

No. It is used to go back after an incident. See versioning, replication and backup.

Should emails be archived?

It is a separate topic, with its own tools. See archiving messages.

How will I find an archive in five years?

Through stable filing and tags added at the time of upload. See finding, tagging and routing a document.

Where should archives be hosted?

The question of location and operator is covered in what is a sovereign cloud?

Where Klytic stands

Klytic Docs keeps folders, versions and tags in the customer’s dedicated instance, for as long as the customer leaves them there. Approval workflows file and retain a document once approved, like the supplier invoice in the published example. Group rights make it possible to restrict access to an archive folder. Your data can be exported at any time in standard formats, and remains exportable for thirty days after the end of the contract before being deleted.

Two things must not be confused. Klytic backup lasts thirty days: it protects against an incident, it is not ten-year archiving. The legal archiving announced for Klytic Mail is an email option: it does not turn Klytic Docs into an evidential archiving system.

The policy itself (families, periods, destruction) remains a company decision, applied by its administrators. Hosting is possible in any geographic zone matching the applicable jurisdiction, subject to service availability, notably in Europe or Mauritius, or on the customer’s own servers. Klytic is not a SecNumCloud-qualified offering.

This page describes a general framework. It does not replace the advice of your accountant or legal advisor.

Legal status as of October 11, 2026. The periods cited are those of French law, as presented by the official Service Public Entreprendre website, which refers in particular to Article L123-22 of the Code de commerce and Article L102 B of the Livre des procédures fiscales. They vary by country, sector and type of document.

Sources

Consulted in October 2026.

  • Service Public Entreprendre (French Prime Minister’s office), document retention periods for businesses: 10 years for accounting books and supporting documents (C. com., art. L123-22), 6 years for tax documents (LPF, art. L102 B), 5 years for commercial contracts, periods for personnel documents. service-public.gouv.fr
  • CNIL, data retention periods: limited period set according to purpose; active database, intermediate archiving, permanent archiving. cnil.fr
  • CNIL, reference framework for retention periods in human resources management (April 2026): soft law, organized by activity; some periods are imposed by law. cnil.fr
  • Klytic, Klytic Mail: legal archiving available as an option. klytic.com
  • Klytic, Hosting and sovereignty: export at any time in standard formats, data exportable for 30 days after the end of the contract and then deleted. klytic.com

Putting your retention periods into practice

Folders, rights and tags: let's talk about how to file your archives in Klytic Docs.

Talk to an advisor →

Discover Klytic Docs

Further reading

Use · Documents & document managementFinding, tagging and routing a documentTeam folders, tags, search and approval workflows: organize Klytic Docs so you can find a document, even in a large organization.6 min readRead →Use · EmailArchiving messages in Klytic MailFiling in a folder, recovering from the dumpster folder, retaining with optional legal archiving: three different actions in Klytic Mail.4 min readRead →GuidesWhat is a sovereign cloud?A sovereign cloud is judged by its operator, the applicable law, control over access and data exit. The datacenter’s location is not enough.GuidesRead →

Welcome offer

30 days free trial, migration support included

No-commitment trial. An advisor calls you back to understand your needs and prepare your Klytic workspace.

🚀 Start the free trial See pricing