# Records Retention Schedule

> Build records retention schedules defining how long every document type (tax, HR, legal, accounting, medical, contracts) must be kept, with country-specific statutory minimums and validated disposal protocols for physical and digital records.



Tags: Records Management, Compliance, Data Lifecycle, Global Tax and Labor Laws


## Example Prompts

- Create a records retention schedule for our operations in Germany, the US, and Brazil
- Check whether our HR document retention periods meet statutory minimums across all jurisdictions
- Audit our retention schedule — verify disposal methods are defined for physical and digital records
- Draft a retention policy covering tax, payroll, and contract documents for a multinational company

URL: https://rakenne.app/skills/records-retention-schedule/index.md

Try this skill: https://rakenne.app/a/?skill=records-retention-schedule



## Overview

Build records retention schedules defining how long every document type (tax, HR, legal, accounting, medical, contracts) must be kept, with country-specific statutory minimums and validated disposal protocols for physical and digital records.

The skill covers **10 jurisdictions** out of the box — Germany, United States, United Kingdom, France, Brazil, Australia, Canada, Japan, India, and Switzerland — with statutory minimums for tax, HR/payroll, accounting, contracts, and medical records.

## Getting Started

Add your source materials to the project workspace, then activate the *Records Retention Schedule* skill. The agent will guide you through the process step by step.

## Example Conversation

> **You:** We're a multinational with offices in Germany, the US, and Brazil. Create a records retention schedule covering tax, HR/payroll, and accounting documents.

> **Rakenne:** I'll build a retention schedule for your three jurisdictions. Let me start by mapping each document category to the statutory minimums...

The agent creates a structured `retention-schedule.json` file, then runs the built-in validation tools to check every entry against the applicable law. For example, it catches that German tax records must be kept for **10 years** (AO §147) and Brazilian FGTS employment records require **30 years** of retention.

## Output Excerpt

The final retention schedule document includes detailed tables for each category:

| ID | Category | Country | Retention | Format | Disposal Method | Legal Basis |
|----|----------|---------|-----------|--------|-----------------|-------------|
| DE-TAX-001 | Tax / VAT Returns | DE | 10 years | Both | Shredding (physical); Cryptographic erasure (digital) | AO §147 |
| US-HR-001 | HR / Payroll | US | 7 years | Digital | Secure deletion (NIST 800-88) | FLSA / Title VII |
| BR-HR-001 | HR / FGTS Records | BR | 30 years | Both | Shredding (physical); Secure deletion (digital) | CLT / FGTS |

The document also covers disposal protocols for physical vs. digital records, litigation-hold procedures, roles and responsibilities, and a review cadence.

## Validation Tools

The skill includes two extension tools that run automatically during the workflow:

- **retention_law_lookup** — Cross-references each record category against the statutory minimum for its country. Flags entries that fall below the legal requirement and cites the specific statute (e.g. "5 years is below the 10-year minimum per Abgabenordnung §147").

- **disposal_protocol_audit** — Ensures every record has a disposal method appropriate for its format. Catches missing methods, placeholder text like "TBD", physical records without physical destruction procedures, and digital records without secure erasure methods.


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