Shredding Services St. Louis

Shredding Services in St. Louis. Data destruction has been around since papyrus was invented in Egypt. In the modern world, with so much of our personal information being documented, shredding services are necessary for hospitals, law firms, government agencies, or anybody who handles private information. Any business also needs to make sure their own data and their employee's data are protected. HITS's shredding services in St. Louis can ensure that your documents are securely destroyed to whatever regulatory or compliance level needed. If you need shredding services in St. Louis, call HITS today at 314-837-4000 or contact us online for a free quote.

8 Reasons to Shred Your Documents | St. Louis Shredding Services

Destroying documents with our shredding services can help your St. Louis business save on cost and protect you from liability. Below are eight of the most common reasons people come to HITS for our shredding services:

1. It Protects You From Identity Theft

While so much of our information is online nowadays, there are still criminals going through paper-filled trash bags to find personal information such as addresses, credit card numbers, and social security numbers. Any documents with personal information that are no longer needed should be destroyed. Documents shredded by simple office shredders can still occasionally be put back together by hand or with special software. Outsourcing to professional shredding services will ensure that the private information will never be used.

2. Compliance With the Law

Federal and state regulations require that personal information such as financial records, medical records, pay stubs, and more be properly and securely disposed of. Some of the laws that our shredding services will help you comply with are:

3. It Saves Storage Space

Stacks of unnecessary paper can clutter your workplace, whether they're taking up space on a desk, in drawers or filing cabinets, or in a closet. Untidy workspaces costs businesses $2.5 million a year in lost productivity. Using HITS's shredding services in St. Louis will allow you to fill your office with more important things, like that new monitor or a picture of your kids.

4. It Keeps Clients Happy

There has maybe never been a higher focus on personal information than there is right now. Using shredding services for unneeded documents will protect you from liability and protect your reputation from taking a hit if anybody's personal information is released.

5. Good for the Environment

Paper accounts for 25% of waste in landfills and 33% of municipal waste. When you use HITS's shredding services, the shredded paper is sent to be turned into recycled paper, reducing the number of trees that need to be cut down.

6. It Reduces Fire Hazards

Paper, especially stacked paper, provides fuel for fires and allows them to spread quickly. Getting rid of large stacks of paper will help protect your employees and your office.

7. It Saves Time

In-house document shredding takes time, with the rote tasks of removing staples and paper clips and having you or an employee put the documents in the shredder one by one. Outsourcing shredding services to HITS increases your efficiency and can save you money.

8. You're Going Paperless

There are a lot of benefits to going paperless, including several of the reasons mentioned above. HITS's patent-pending DocuMiner® application is a revolutionary method of converting your records to clouds and secure servers. As we help you with your transition, we'll securely destroy your paper documents. If you're a healthcare provider, have a look at our revolutionary STR8VIEW® system for archiving and accessing documents.

Whatever your reasons for needing cost-effective and secure document destruction in St. Louis, HITS has you covered. Whether you need a one-time bulk shred or ongoing shredding services, contact us online today.

In addition to shredding services, some of the other services we provide in St. Louis are:

What Documents Should I Shred? | St. Louis Shredding Services

Document destruction sometimes has a negative connotation, but it is an important part of protecting any business and keeping it efficient. Some records can be destroyed relatively quickly, while with others there are federal and state regulations that require you to hold onto certain records for a certain period of time. Below are some of the documents businesses commonly need to shred:

Company Tax Returns: The IRS can audit and amend your return in a period of three to seven years from the date you filed. After seven years, there is no reason to hold onto your return or the supporting documentation.
Employment Records: The IRS recommends holding onto employee tax records for four years; after that, there is no need to keep them. OSHA and other regulatory bodies have requirements for how long you should keep HR records, but after that time limit has passed they should be destroyed.
Bank and Credit Card Statements: It is generally recommended to discard these after one year, unless you need them for your tax returns.
Customer Documents: Use your judgment for how long you need to keep these, for example, if there may be a dispute or refund in the future. Once they are no longer required they should be shredded. Anytime an account is closed, the documents should be destroyed immediately.
Medical Records: HIPPA lays out different time frames for how long healthcare providers should hold onto records. Once that period is passed, they should be destroyed as they not only contain confidential medical information, but a patient's birth date, gender, ethnicity, and other identifying information.