Support for Scotland’s Small Businesses

With its collect and deliver business model of storage, easyStorage often isn’t the first company that comes to mind for storage for small businesses, but the Scottish team are busy busting that myth.

While it’s true that small e-commerce businesses needing to constantly send things out and using their storage space as a despatch unit need a traditional type storage unit with constant access, it’s not true for other types of company, where safe, secure storage that takes the strain of collection and delivery is a bigger priority than 24/7 access (although access is often arranged, of course).

Let’s take a quick look at just some of the companies they (easySorage Scotland) have helped:

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Accountants

Scotland’s accountants will normally retain their own and clients’ financial records for around seven years. easyStorage has been saving on operational costs for accounts firms across Scotland by providing a cost-effective solution for archive and documentation storage, office equipment and furniture. Through their support partnership, they have helped companies make significant cost savings.

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Care agencies

In Scotland there are 776 home care/care at home providers, many belonging to larger groups. Any care establishment needs to keep detailed records.

For care agencies, where staff are mobile and customer needs change frequently, this is even more imperative.

The kinds of records they are obliged to keep include:

·         Service user records

·         Staff records – employment and deployment

·         Health and Safety records

·         Equipment records

·         Vehicle records

·         Medication records

·         Certificates

·         Complaints records

·         Accident and incident reports

Whilst it is easy to suggest that these things are kept digitally, the reality of many staff is arriving in often remote places with no Internet access or phone coverage. Paper records are essential.

In addition, some agencies have equipment that they rarely use, but which it is essential for them to hold, or which they are holding for customers. Care facilities may even need to assist client moving in or out of care with extra storage services with the loading done for them.

easyStorage Scotland has been able to offer all of them fantastic levels of support.

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Solicitors and law firms

easyStorage has also been saving solicitors’ operational costs by providing a cost-effective solution for archive and documentation storage, office equipment and furniture.

The Law Society of Scotland recommends the following retention periods of information storage (although each firm selects other retention periods as they see fit):

·         Accounting records: Seven years

·         Debt Collection: Ten years after the time for appeal has elapsed.

·         Divorce and consistorial matters: Ten years after maintenance, residence and contact orders, etc, have ceased to have effect (or children are no longer ‘minors’).

·         Civil court cases: Ten years after completion.

·         Criminal cases (Summary): Three years from conclusion of proceedings.

·         Criminal cases (Solemn cases): Three years from conclusion of proceedings (or receipt of written confirmation from the Crown that there are to be ‘no further proceedings’) or for the duration of the custodial sentence, whichever is longer.  In murder cases and other cases involving disposal by way of life imprisonment (or an Order for Lifelong Restriction) all papers should be retained indefinitely.

·         Executries: The later of either twenty years after the date of the approval of the "final" accounts or two years from the death of the deceased's spouse or civil partner.

·         Continuing trusts: ten years after the termination of the Trust.

·         Conveyancing purchase: Ten years after completion - although the file may be of use until the property is subsequently disposed of.

·         Conveyancing Sale: One year later after completion (i.e. after implementing Letter of Obligation; dealing with any funds retained; and after missives have ceased to have effect).

·         Company work: Ten years after completion.

·         In addition, investments and endowments, client's tax and VAT affairs, customer due diligence records re money laundering all have varying and changing retention rates.

That’s an awful lot of stored information and files: a single A4 file stored for just five years in an office in Glasgow or Edinburgh could potentially eat up £25-60 of company rental space (calculation based on 2019 Statista figures).

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Travel agents

Travel agents were already being hit hard by the move to online, where information is plentiful. So the travel industry was hit particularly hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Over the height of the crisis, many agencies simply closed their doors, and easyStorage was there to sort out storage of both files and furniture. 

And now, as the travel industry picks back up, stronger than ever, many travel agents are not returning to the office, coming out only with stands and banners for events and shows where they meet partners and customers. easyStorage, with its collect and deliver approach to storage, has proven ideal for these companies. They can keep both essential records and archives as well as marketing props and stands safe and out of the way, saving huge amounts on expensive office space and helping keep themselves flexible to meet customer needs.

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Congratulations to our Scottish team

Our Scottish team deserve credit for busting the myth that business self storage has to be in expensive, less secure units.

Should you wish to contact them to discuss your storage needs in Scotland, the easyStorage Scotland team can be contacted, with no obligation, for a quote and discussion of your needs on freephone 0800 061 4091 from numbers in the UK or book here.