Best Way to Prepare Documents for Off-Site Storage

Sending documents to off-site storage should be straightforward — box them up, call for a collection, and the provider does the rest. But how you prepare your documents before they leave your office makes a significant difference to cost, accessibility and ongoing management. A few hours of preparation saves years of frustration.

Sort Before You Box

The biggest mistake businesses make is boxing everything as-is — dumping the contents of filing cabinets into boxes without sorting or reviewing. This sends obsolete documents to storage (costing you money to store things you no longer need), mixes different record types together (making retrieval difficult), and pushes the problem of sorting into the future rather than dealing with it now.

Before packing, review your documents and separate them into three categories:

• Store: Documents that must be retained and are no longer needed in the office. These go to off-site storage
• Destroy: Documents that have passed their retention date or are no longer needed. Arrange secure destruction rather than paying to store them
• Keep in the office: Active documents you still reference regularly. These should stay where they are

Most businesses find that 20-30% of their paper can be destroyed immediately, saving significant storage costs from day one.

Use the Right Boxes

Standard archive boxes are designed for the purpose. They are typically 15″ x 12″ x 10″ (or the metric equivalent), made from corrugated cardboard strong enough to stack safely on commercial racking. Your storage provider can supply them — usually for £2-£4 each — or you can source your own to the same dimensions.

Avoid using:

• Random cardboard boxes of different sizes — they do not stack safely or fit standard racking
• Plastic bags or carrier bags — they trap moisture and provide no protection
• Lever arch files in boxes — remove the files from lever arch folders and pack them flat to use space efficiently
• Hanging file pockets — remove papers from suspension pockets and pack flat
• Filing cabinets — these are not stored off-site; the contents are transferred to boxes

Pack Properly

Fill each box fully but do not overstuff. A properly packed box should be firm to the touch but not bulging at the sides. An overstuffed box damages contents, is difficult to lift safely, and can collapse when stacked. An underfilled box wastes space and means you are paying to store air.

Pack documents upright (like books on a shelf) rather than flat-stacked where possible. This makes it easier to retrieve individual files without unpacking the entire box. If documents include loose papers, use folders or file dividers to keep them grouped.

Remove metal paperclips and rubber bands — paperclips rust over time and damage documents; rubber bands perish and stick to paper. Plastic-coated clips or treasury tags are better for long-term storage.

Create an Index

Every box needs to be indexed — listed with enough detail that you can find what you need later without opening every box. At minimum, each box should have:

• A unique box number or reference
• A description of contents (e.g., “Sales invoices January-June 2020” not just “invoices”)
• The department or team the records belong to
• The date range of the contents
• The destruction date (when the records can be destroyed under your retention policy)

For file-level indexing, list each folder or file within the box. This takes more time during preparation but saves significant time during retrieval — your provider can pull a specific file without delivering the entire box.

Your storage provider will assign their own barcode reference to each box in their tracking system. Your index reference and their barcode should be cross-referenced so you can request retrievals using either system.

Label Clearly

Write the box number, contents summary and destruction date on the short end of the box (the end that faces outward on the shelf). Use a thick marker pen — not pencil or small print. Your storage provider will add their own barcode label, but having your label visible too helps with visual identification.

Group by Destruction Date

Where possible, pack boxes so that all contents have the same destruction date. This means that when a box reaches the end of its retention period, the entire box can be destroyed without needing to sort through it for documents with different retention requirements.

In practice, this usually means packing by record type and financial year — since all sales invoices from 2018/19 will have the same 6-year retention requirement and the same destruction date.

Arrange Collection

Most storage providers offer a collection service — they send a vehicle to pick up your boxes. Before collection day:

• Confirm how many boxes and where they will be located (ground floor, first floor, loading bay)
• Ensure someone is available to hand over the boxes and sign the collection note
• Check that access is suitable — can a van reach your building? Is there parking?
• Have your index ready to hand over with the boxes

Initial collections are often free or discounted as part of onboarding. Ongoing collections for new boxes are usually charged separately.

Get a Free Quote

Every business is different, so the best way to understand your options is to get in touch with our team. We provide clear, no-obligation advice — usually within the same day.

Call us on 01691 650355 or use the form below.