Companies keeping records

Beachview_2

How long are small businesses required to keep records of bills paid to them by clients?

Pennywise

6 years

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/factsheet/record-keeping.pdf

InsideInsurance

7 years is often recommended, with some industries/ documents its longer.

If you have employees you must keep your certificate of Employers Liability insurance for 40 years, your insurer must keep their records for 60 years unless they are a Lloyds Underwriter in which case its 80 years

Law of limitations for England & Wales is typically 6 years and so after this point you are safe and wont need things as evidence. The problem is that the limit starts ticking from the date of knowing and for various reasons this can be fairly protracted (hence why you must keep your EL certificate for 40 years). For more general items like contracts or bank statements etc one extra year over the law of limitations is generally considered sufficiently prudent