For businesses that accumulate masses of paper records (yes, even in this digital age it still happens), the storage of these archives can present a bit of a headache. Many different types of historic documentation need to be kept for a certain period of time, and this can lead to archive boxes taking up valuable office space. If your office space costs you a premium then you might find that you are paying a considerable amount of money just to store your boxes.

An answer to try and help reduce your costs might be to consider an off-site document storage facility.

These purpose built document storage facilities ensure safe storage of your archives with high security buildings that are designed to care for your documents.

Naturally, the first impression of off-site storage is that it is going to cost the earth. However this is not true. If you have had a shop around you will see that there are many different types of storage businesses out there all of whom will want you as a client. They will try to entice you in with special deals to get your business.

Even if you currently use off-site document storage, have you considered that you might be able to get a much better deal if you switch to another provider. Some companies might even offer to pay off your current contract, just to get your business, and even be able to reduce your document storage costs in the long term as well.

Document retrieval is also an important factor when it comes to choosing the right service provider. As the owner of the documents you need to be able to ensure that they are accessible at all times with the minimum of fuss. Keep an eye out for small print that may cost you in premiums if you need immediate access to your information!

Another concern for businesses is that their documents are out of site, are they secure? By researching a number of companies you should be able to tell what security guarantees the company provides - not just for the safety of your documents in terms of theft, but also the risks against fire and flood damage. A credible document storage facility will have systems in place that can detect fire or flood risk at a very early stage and eliminate the problem.

Of course, one of the most important factors in any decision is going to be the cost of the service, but you should also carefully consider that the cheapest price might also provide the lowest quality service or come with extra hidden service charges.