A retention schedule is a list of the types of record an organisation holds, what each is for, and how long each is kept before it is destroyed or reviewed. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) describes retention schedules as listing "the types of record or information you hold, what you use it for, and how long you intend to keep it".
Does a small firm need one? No law sets a retention schedule as a required form. If you hold personal data, the ICO expects documented retention periods "wherever possible", and a schedule is the simplest way to show them, so for a sole trader or small landlord it is good practice rather than a legal requirement.
How it differs from records retention
Records retention is the rule: for example, HMRC's 5-year and 6-year minimums for tax records. The retention schedule is your document applying those rules to what you actually hold, so anyone can tell what may be destroyed and when. Where personal data is involved, the ICO says you need to "establish and document standard retention periods for different categories of information you hold wherever possible", and if your policy doesn't cover everything, "you must still regularly review the data you hold, and delete or anonymise anything you no longer need".
At Wigwam
With a self-storage unit, the schedule and the boxes have to match, because nobody else keeps the index: we don't catalogue or retrieve files for you. Two example rows:
| Record type | Purpose | Destroy-by | Box no. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales invoices, 2024 to 2025 tax year | Self Assessment records | After 31 January 2031 | 12 |
| Former tenant's file (tenancy ended 2025) | Deposit and dispute evidence | Your own set period | 14 |
A few habits make that work:
- add a column for where each record lives, down to the box number;
- label every box on two sides with its contents and its destroy-by date;
- keep the schedule itself somewhere other than the unit;
- visit once a year and remove anything past its destroy-by date. Access is 6am to 10pm, seven days a week.
Clause 26 of our terms advises you "to inspect the Unit before storing Goods and periodically during the Storage Period", so the review visit does two jobs at once. When boxes come due, see confidential waste for disposing of them safely.
Related terms: Records retention · Document storage · Confidential waste · Inventory (a list of what's in your unit)
Related questions: How long do UK small businesses need to keep financial records?