Retention Schedules

Records enter their retention period either after they are cutoff, or, if they have no cutoff instruction, immediately upon filing. A retention schedule is a collection of rules, usually dictated by compliance regulations, that governs how records are to be stored and for how long.

Retention schedules are created and defined in the Laserfiche Administration Console and are applied to record series, record folders, or individual records in the Laserfiche web or Windows client. You must be assigned the Records Management privilege to create, modify, and apply retention schedules.

Metadata retention

When configuring retention schedules, you can select to retain record's metadata information after the record is removed from the Laserfiche repository. This means that the record's images, text, and electronic files will be removed from the repository, but field values, records management state, and other metadata (with the exception of version history) are retained. Metadata is retained by default, and should not be deleted unless there is a valid reason to do so, since it also proves the records were retained correctly even after they are destroyed.

The retention schedule defines the following:

To create a retention schedule

Before creating a retention schedule, first create any locations that will be used, and define the retention and disposition instructions for the retention schedule.

Note: You must be assigned the Records Management privilege to create retention schedules.

  1. Open the Laserfiche Administration Console.
  2. In the console tree, expand the desired Laserfiche Server.
  3. Select the desired Laserfiche repository.
  4. Expand the Records Management node and select Retention Schedules.
  5. From the Action menu, click New Retention Schedule.
  6. In the General tab, enter a name and description.
  7. In the Instructions tab, the first section specifies the initial retention period.
  8. In section 2, click Insert if you want to insert transfer instructions as part of the retention schedule. Fill in the following:
    • In the Retain (months) option, select the number of months the record should be kept at this location.
    • In the Action option, select Retain all data to keep all information when the record is stored at this location, Retain metadata to keep the metadata about he document but discard the pages or electronic file, or Destroy records to destroy the entire record.
    • Select a location for the transfer in the Transfer records to option. If the transfer is within the current file area, select Current file area. (Locations other than Current file area must have already been defined in the repository. See Defining a Location for more information.)
    • Optional: Type a description of the transfer in the Description option.
  9. Section 3 lets you select the final disposition action for the retention schedule.
  10. If you selected Accession as the final disposition action, choose the Archival Location. Note that you will not be able to select the current filing system as an archival location, because accession means you are transferring records management responsibility and authority for the records. (Locations must have already been defined in the repository. See Defining a Location for more information.)
  11. Select or clear the checkbox to Retain metadata information in the repository after performing the final disposition action. In general, we recommend that you retain your record metadata unless your compliance regulations require otherwise.

    12. Note: If the record is destroyed with metadata retained, the version history will be deleted. This ensures that page and electronic file contents are entirely removed, even in the history. The Retain metadata information setting for final disposition does not retain the version history.

  12. In the Alternate Instruction tab, select the Enable alternate retention event checkbox if there is the possibility of an alternate retention event. In the Event field, select or enter the name of the alternate retention event. In the Retention schedule option, select the alternate retention schedule to use if the alternate retention event occurs. The alternate retention schedule must already exist in the repository.
  13. Click OK to close the New Retention Schedule dialog box and save the retention schedule.
  1. Open the web client management page. Sign in as any user who has been granted the Records Management privilege
  2. Select Records.
  3. Select the Retention Schedules tab.
  4. Click the Add button.
  5. In the General tab, enter a name and description.
  6. In the Instructions tab, you can carry out the following actions.
    1. Enter the number of months that the record should be retained for.
    2. Click Add if you want to insert transfer instructions as part of the retention schedule. Fill in the following:
      1. In the Retain (months) option, select the number of months the record should be kept at this location.
      2. In the Action option, select Retain all data to keep all information when the record is stored at this location, Retain metadata to keep the metadata about the document but discard the pages or electronic file, or Destroy records to destroy the entire record.
      3. Select a location for the transfer in the Transfer records to option. If the transfer is within the current file area, select Current file area. (Locations other than Current file area must have already been defined in the repository. See Defining a Location for more information.)
    3. Under final disposition, select the final disposition action for the retention schedule.
    4. If you selected Accession as the final disposition action, choose the Archival location. Note that you will not be able to select the current filing system as an archival location, because accession means you are transferring records management responsibility and authority for the records. (Locations must have already been defined in the repository. See Defining a Location for more information.)
    5. Select or clear the checkbox to Retain metadata in the repository after performing the final disposition action. In general, we recommend that you retain your record metadata unless your compliance regulations require otherwise.
  7. In the Alternate Instruction tab, select the Enable alternate retention event checkbox if there is the possibility of an alternate retention event. In the Event field, enter the name of the alternate retention event. In the Retention schedule option, select the alternate retention schedule to use if the alternate retention event occurs. The alternate retention schedule must already exist in the repository.
  8. Click OK to close the Create Retention Schedule dialog box and save the retention schedule.