Patent ID: 8577852

Claim:
A method for providing an electronically prepared records retention schedule for a selected organization, comprising the steps of: a) providing a host computer accessible via the Internet by at least one organization computer, the host computer comprising a memory having stored therein, a Baseline Record Categories Master Table, Baseline Retention Rules Master Table, Business Types and Functions Table, and a Master Questions Table, each table having a plurality of entries respectively comprising baseline record category descriptions, and record retention rules, business types and functions descriptions, and business-related questions; b) sending from the host computer, via the Internet, to the at least one organization computer a set of business related questions from the Master Questions Table; c) receiving on the host computer, via the Internet, an external signal containing answers to the set of business-related questions, and recording said answers to the questions in the computer memory, said signal generated by the at least one organization computer; d) selecting via automated software executing on the host computer a subset of baseline records category entries from the Baseline Records Categories Master Table based on the questionnaire answers, and recording said subset of baseline records category entries as an Organization Record Categories Table in the host computer memory; e) identifying and associating, via automated software executing on the host computer, at least one record retention rule from the Baseline Retention Rules Master Table with at least one of said selected subset of baseline records category entries in the Organization Record Categories Table; and f) generating and providing to the at least one organization computer, via the Internet, an electronically prepared records retention schedule, the electronically prepared records retention schedule including those identified record retention rules from the Baseline Retention Rules Master Table associated with the at least one of said selected subset of baseline records category entries in the Organization Record Categories Table, the identified record retention rules bein g a reduced subset of the plurality of the record retention rules in the Baseline Retention Rules Master Table.