Office Record Keeping in Nepal: What to Keep and Protect

Every Nepali organisation accumulates records: registrations, tax papers, accounts, staff files, agreements, minutes and correspondence. Losing them can mean fines, failed audits or lost disputes. This article is about organising and protecting records with software. It is not legal advice. Retention periods and requirements differ by sector and change over time, so confirm them with the relevant authority or your adviser.

Records most organisations keep

Category	Examples	Who usually needs it
Registration and legal	Company or organisation registration, PAN or VAT registration, renewals, licences	Management, auditors, authorities
Accounts and tax	Invoices, bills, vouchers, bank statements, VAT and tax returns	Accountants, auditors, tax officers
People	Appointment letters, contracts, citizenship copies, leave and payroll records	HR, management
Agreements	Client, supplier, lease and loan contracts	Management, legal
Governance	Board and committee minutes, resolutions, general assembly records	Board, regulators
Correspondence	Letters in and out, notices, tender documents	Departments

Retention: ask the right body

How long you must keep each type depends on the law and your sector. Tax-related records, company records, NGO and cooperative records and employment records can all have different rules. We will not quote periods in this article because they can change, and the safest approach is to ask the Inland Revenue Department, the company or organisation registrar, your sector regulator or your accountant. Once you know the period, a document system can store it as a retention note on each document type, so staff do not rely on memory.

Common problems in Nepali offices

• Records kept in the personal custody of one accountant or officer.
• Bills fading because thermal paper was never scanned.
• Minute books with missing signatures or pages.
• Agreements stored without their annexes.
• Licence renewals missed because the expiry date lived only in someone's head.
• Monsoon damp, rodents or fire destroying the only paper copy.

Thermal-printed receipts deserve special mention. They fade within a few years, so scanning them early preserves proof of purchase.

How software helps

Single place. Records live in a structured archive, not in a cupboard that only one person can open.

Expiry reminders. Licence, insurance, lease and contract dates are stored with the document, and reminders are sent before they lapse.

Fiscal-year filing. Folders follow the Nepali fiscal year, which begins in Shrawan, so accounts and supporting papers stay together at audit time.

Audit trail. The log shows who viewed or changed a record, which supports internal control.

Backups. Copies are taken regularly, so one failed disk or fire does not wipe out your history.

Protecting personal data

Staff files, citizenship copies, bank details and client information are sensitive. Restrict them to the people who genuinely need access. Avoid sending them through casual chat groups. Delete or archive documents you no longer need according to your own policy. Treat identity documents with particular care; a leaked citizenship copy can be misused.

Keeping originals

For many documents, the authority will still ask for the original. Keep stamped agreements, land papers, certificates and registration documents in a secure, labelled place, and record their location in the system. Whether a scan can replace the original for any given purpose is something to confirm with the authority or your lawyer. Software helps you organise and retrieve; it does not change legal status.

A starter checklist

1. List your document types and the person responsible for each.
2. Ask the relevant bodies how long each type must be kept.
3. Scan the registration, licence and agreement papers first.
4. Add expiry dates and set reminders.
5. Set permissions so sensitive folders are restricted.
6. Confirm that backups are running and test a restore once.
7. Review the archive each fiscal year.

Think about succession

If the one person who knows where everything is leaves, can the organisation still find its records? Write a short guide to the archive and make sure at least two people have the right access. Continuity is one of the quiet benefits of a shared system.

Preparing for an audit or inspection

Auditors, donors and officials usually ask for the same kinds of documents: registration, accounts, vouchers, agreements, minutes and staff records. If these are indexed by fiscal year and type, you can produce them in minutes instead of days. Prepare a standard folder or saved search for each regular request, such as everything for fiscal year 2082/83 under finance. During an audit, give each auditor a limited, view-only account instead of copying files around on pen drives, and the log will show exactly what they opened.

Disaster planning

Think about what happens in a flood, earthquake or fire, all of which are real risks in Nepal. Paper records stored in one room may be lost together. Keep digital backups in a different location from the original computers, and keep the most critical originals in a secure place. Test a restore once a year. A backup that has never been restored is a hope, not a plan.

Review each fiscal year

At the end of every fiscal year, close the finance folders, check that supporting papers are complete and archive the year as read-only. Doing this at Ashad end, while memories are fresh, is far easier than reconstructing a missing voucher two years later. Record who closed each folder and when, and note any pending items for the new year starting in Shrawan.

See how we configure this on our document management software page. Organisations that keep member or accounts data may also like NGO management software. Message WhatsApp +977 9846280400 to discuss your records.

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