← Back to Running a business

The Library / Running a business

Practical guide / Free to read

Find the record. Understand what it answers.

Make important records findable, distinguish versions, resolve missing information, and prepare the right details for a particular job.

Begin with the question the record needs to answer

A first receipt is a useful start. So is a customer asking for proof of insurance, an accountant asking about a purchase, or a colleague taking over a responsibility. Name the record and the purpose it serves. Add the business, period, issuer, reference, related work, and responsible person as you learn them.

Categories are suggestions, not a universal checklist. Add your own. A register can focus on one business or working context; individual records can identify a different business explicitly. Keep sensitive identifiers and unnecessary personal details out of titles.

Keep several pieces of evidence together when the task needs them

A purchase can involve an invoice, a payment confirmation, a delivery record, and a warranty. Give each record its own identity, then collect the relevant versions around the job. The same record can support more than one collection.

The IRS explains, in its US tax-recordkeeping guidance, that a combination of supporting documents may establish the details of a purchase or expense. This is a useful example of why a single file may not answer every question. The organizer does not determine tax treatment or whether a record meets a legal requirement.

Background: IRS: What kind of records should I keep?

Separate having a copy from checking it

Availability describes whether a copy is missing, requested, located, received, or unavailable. Review describes whether someone has checked it for a stated purpose or still has questions. Version status describes a draft, issued copy, recorded signature, superseded copy, or withdrawn copy. These are separate facts.

For a review, record the actual person or role, date, purpose, and findings. “Signature recorded” describes what you recorded about a copy; it does not authenticate a signature or establish its legal effect. Review the source and actual document for the decision you need to make.

Make the original findable and test access

A location can be an existing web link, folder, paper original, provider portal, or another person’s custody. Record who can arrange access. You may keep multiple locations for one version.

A written location starts as access not checked. After actually opening or locating the copy, record who checked it and when. If a location changes, save it as unchecked before recording the new check. A successful check is a dated observation, not a promise of permanent access.

The organizer stores references and your notes. It does not upload original documents, scan folders, request permissions, or verify links automatically. Entering another person’s name does not give them access.

Choose which version applies, deliberately

Give each distinct copy a recognizable label. Add replacements as new versions. Use corrections for mistakes in an existing version’s details. Changes to its label, source, status, or document dates reset its review, while preserving the earlier entry.

Designate a checked, accessible issued copy for a specific purpose and period. A new draft does not take over. Different periods or purposes can point to different versions. A superseded copy can remain part of the history of the time it applied.

Give related records meaningful names and keep their version relationships visible. Select the version you intend to use and retain the relevant history. Possible duplicates are highlighted from matching names or references; compare their context yourself before deciding how to handle them.

Background: IRS: What kind of records should I keep?

Follow the missing information through to a useful response

Record what is needed, why, who may have it, who is following through, the request date, a next follow-up date, and what would satisfy the request. You can link a request to a record, a collection, or both.

Partial, unsuitable, and unavailable responses remain open. Add response versions as they arrive. To record a requirement as satisfied, select the relevant checked copies and explain how they meet the requirement, with the reviewer and actual date. Record a reason when information is no longer required.

If a selected response later needs review or loses checked access, the request comes back into attention for rechecking. The earlier outcome remains in history. This tool records your follow-through; it does not send a request or contact anyone.

Prepare collections for the person and purpose

Name a collection for the job: a customer’s requirements, equipment warranty evidence, a bookkeeper’s questions, or a handover. Add each requirement even while its record or version is missing.

Pin each requirement to the specific version you reviewed. Record what it answers and any remaining gap. A replacement elsewhere in the register does not change the collection’s selection. If the selected version’s review or access later becomes uncertain, the collection shows that it needs attention.

Choose entries and optional fields before exporting a selected records list. Titles, purposes, periods, selected version labels, availability, and review position are included. Locations, review findings, and private working notes are separate choices and start unchecked. Preview the complete result before downloading the PDF. Original files are not attached or delivered with the list.

Share only the details appropriate to the task

The FTC’s business guidance recommends knowing where information is kept, who can access it, and limiting information to what the business needs. In this organizer, that means recording useful references and deliberately reviewing the details in an export.

A private record PDF includes internal notes and history. A selected records list is built from your selections and has different defaults. Inspect the preview, intended recipient, and any included locations before sharing through your usual method. Access labels here are planning records; actual permissions belong to the system or person holding the original.

Background: FTC: Protecting Personal Information — A Guide for Business

Review, archive, and return to the work

Use Needs attention for missing copies, access checks, review questions, possible duplicates, requests, and collections still being prepared. Record reviews, follow-ups, and retention reviews use the selected review window. Use the record review date to recheck its copies and access; keep retention review separate. Undated gaps and open requests remain visible, including requests connected to archived records.

Keep a retention source and review date if you have an applicable policy, requirement, or advice. The date prompts a review. It does not calculate a legal retention period or delete any original document. Archiving moves a record out of the active view; restoration brings it back with versions and history intact.

Download the editable JSON register after changes and before closing. It restores records, copies, requests, collections, and history. Opening another file replaces the current register after confirmation; it does not merge them. PDF and text are reading copies. Account saving remains deferred in this working draft.

The working file supports 500 records, 100 versions per record, 20 locations per version, 100 purpose designations per record, 1,000 requests, 200 collections, 500 requirements per collection, and 300 entries in each history, within a 20 MB file budget. These are file-handling limits rather than suggested quantities for a business. A rejected change keeps the earlier register unchanged.

Try it in your own situation

Make one record easier to use next time

  1. Name a record and the business question it should answer.
  2. Identify the copy or versions you have, including any draft or missing replacement.
  3. Record where each copy is kept and actually check access where possible.
  4. Record what you checked, when, who checked it, and any unanswered questions.
  5. Designate an applicable version for a particular purpose if the checks support that decision.
  6. Turn missing information into a request with a person, next date, and clear completion criteria.
  7. Prepare a collection if several records need to answer one job.
  8. Choose the fields in the selected list, inspect the preview, and keep an editable copy of your register.

Keep exploring.

Act before the important date passes. Explore Running a business
Sources and further reading

Original Brass Charter examples and exercises, with background reading from the sources below.

Keep your open draft?

Continuing will discard your unsaved changes. You can return to the draft and save or download it first.