Handling and security Current

Keeping evidence organised across a multi-year client relationship

A practical approach to long-running evidence, not just intake evidence.

Evidence collected in year one of a client relationship is easy to organise. Evidence accumulated across many years is where most firms struggle. This guide sets out a practical approach. It reflects Vertical Flows' own operational practice, not a regulator's own checklist.

Action plan

1 Organise by matter and date within the client record, not just by client A single flat folder per client becomes unusable once years of evidence accumulate.

Grouping every document a long-standing client has ever provided into one flat folder makes it progressively harder to find anything specific. Organise evidence within a client's record by matter and date, so a specific piece of evidence can be found without reviewing years of unrelated material.

  • Group evidence by the specific matter it relates to, not just the client
  • Order evidence within each matter chronologically
  • Avoid a single undifferentiated folder covering the entire relationship

Done when: Evidence is organised by matter and date, not held as one undifferentiated client folder

2 Flag which evidence is current versus historical Old evidence has value, but shouldn't be mistaken for the current position.

Over a multi-year relationship, some evidence is superseded, such as an identity document that's since expired or a trust deed that's since been varied. Flag clearly which evidence is current and which is historical, so no one relies on outdated evidence by mistake.

  • Mark evidence as current or historical/superseded as it changes
  • Keep historical evidence rather than deleting it, but don't let it look current
  • Link a superseded document to whatever replaced it where practical

Done when: Current and historical evidence are clearly distinguished within the client's record

See verifying an existing client's details are still current
3 Review the organisation itself periodically, not just the evidence An organisation scheme that worked in year one can quietly stop working by year five.

As a relationship lengthens, periodically review whether the organisation scheme itself still works, not just whether individual pieces of evidence are current. A structure that made sense for a handful of documents may need revisiting once there are years of them.

  • Periodically check whether the current organisation scheme is still usable, not just accurate
  • Reorganise if evidence has become hard to locate despite being individually well-kept
  • Involve whoever regularly retrieves this client's evidence in that review

Done when: The evidence organisation scheme itself has been reviewed, not only the evidence it contains