Records Inventory
A systematic survey of the records an organization holds — what they are, where they live, in what format and volume, and who owns them — and the foundation of a retention schedule.
A records inventory is the systematic survey that identifies and describes the records an organization holds. For each records series, it typically documents the title and description, the responsible office, the format and location (paper, shared drives, email, databases, cloud systems), the volume and accumulation rate, the date range, and any existing legal or retention requirements.
The inventory is the factual foundation of a retention schedule: you cannot appraise value, assign retention periods, or dispose of records defensibly without first knowing what you have. It also commonly surfaces duplicate holdings, unmanaged drives, over-retained records, and personal data in unexpected places — making it valuable for privacy and e-discovery readiness too. Because organizations change constantly, the best programs treat the inventory as a living document, refreshed periodically.