Looking to learn more about retention types in OnBase? This blog and the video below will explore everything you need to know about retention types, including what they are, their benefits, the different types, and we’ll even walk you through the process itself step by step.

How to Configure Retention Types for a Document Type

How to Set Up Retention Types for a Document Type in OnBase

What is Document Retention in OnBase?

Document retention manages the retention and disposition of stored documents according to predefined business rules per class of document. The destruction process is initiated by the passage of time, allowing for automatic destruction and removal from OnBase.

As a result, organizations get to avoid fines and reduce legal risks associated with expired content. Document retention is often the initial critical component of a completely automated records management solution.

What are the Benefits of Document Retention in OnBase?

Some benefits of document management retention include:

  • It enforces structured retention policy. This involves a policy for destruction consistently across an enterprise.
  • It involves support compliance, with corporate and legal regulations through defined and enforced criteria for maintaining destroying documents.
  • It minimizes legal risk with expired records.
  • It reduces processing expenses associated with manual deletion of unneeded documents.
  • It saves storage space through automatic destruction of documents that no longer have value in the system.

OnBase’s 3 Document Retention Types

OnBase has three document retention types: static, dynamic, and permanent. Here’s what these distinctions mean:

1. Static retention requires a purge processor, and it automatically removes qualified documents after the retention period expires. An example would be a company that produces relevant daily production reports only for ten days. After ten days, these reports are no longer needed and are automatically purged. There’s also a fixed time interval, as the retention period is based on a specific number of months, days, and years. It’s simple purging when you think about it: once the period is passed, the documents are purged automatically. These are suitable for types of documents that do not need to be retained past a certain time period.

2. Dynamic retention is a little more in-depth than static retention, but it provides more customization options. It requires both an evaluation and purge processors. Documents must be evaluated prior to being removed by a purge processor. They can be evaluated by Workflow, VB script, or external DLL file. It puts you more in control and allows the retention period to change based on specific events or conditions. It’s also event-activated, as the retention period can be adjusted based on events such as employee termination dates or other business specific prompts. Still. it requires processing, as an evaluation process must determine which documents need to be retained or purged based on events. Lastly, it can be integrated with workflows, scripts, or external actions to facilitate dynamically setting retention dates.

3. Permanent retention permanently retains documents. The document type cannot be selected for use with a document retention processor.

What’s the Difference Between Records Management and Document Retention?

Let’s explore how records management differs from document retention.

  • Records management is event-based and can require user approval before document removal. It’s configured at the folder type level and can place multiple holds on a document at once.
  • Document retention, on the other hand, is time-based, automatic, and configured at the document type level. Plus, it can only place one hold on a document at a time.

To get more information on the differences between these two solutions, check out this part of the video to see an in-depth chart comparison.

A Look at the Document Retention Process in OnBase

1. Once you’re in OnBase, navigate to “Document” > “Document Types”.

2. For this video, we used AP checks as an example, but these steps will apply to other items as well. Next, go to “Retention.” Here, you’ll notice that there are the 3 options we already explored (static, dynamic, and permanent.) But also, we have date options:

  • First, we have document date, which is the retention period that’s based on the document date. The document date is assigned to a document during import and is used during document searches that are limited by date.
  • We also have date stored. It’s the retention period based on the date stored. The date stored is the date the document was imported into OnBase. This date is used for internal tracking, although you cannot search for documents based on date stored.
  • And lastly, we have keyword. For keyword, the retention period is based on a keyword value of the selected date keyword type. For document type retention, this option is only available when the date keyword type is assigned to the document type.

For the sake of this video though, we chose “Static” and to go with the date of 2 years. Then, we clicked “Save” and closed out of the window.

3. Go to “Import” and “Document Retention Processor.”

4. In here, add your retention process name and click “Create.” Then, you’ll be met with two retention process types, the “Purging Process” and the “Evaluation Process.” Here’s what these two types mean here:

  • The evaluation process can only be used to process document types that have been defined as dynamic retention type, specifically user defined actions or documents before they are ready for removal.
  • However, we now have the purging process, and this applies to static retention type documents that meet time-based criteria defined at the document type or document type group level. It also applies to dynamic retention type documents that have been evaluated and meet time-based criteria defined at the document type or document type group level.

For the video example, we selected the purging process and clicked “Save.”

5. Next, go to “Settings”. In here, you’ll be met with “Report Details” and “Deletion Options”.

Under the “Report Details,” you’ll see a variety of checkboxes. Here’s what they mean:

  • First, we have “Excluded Documents.” In an evaluation process, enabling this checkbox ensures that all documents that have been excluded from the process are listed in the Sys Document Retention Report. Enabling this during the purge process ensures that all documents that have both surpassed their expiration dates have been excluded from the process and are listed in the Sys Document Retention Report.
  • Under “Excluded Documents,” you’ll also see “Include Exclusion Reason.” This option is only enabled when the document option is selected.
  • Next, we have “Purge Documents”. Enabling this checkbox ensures that all documents that have been removed by the purging process are listed in the sysdocument retention report.
  • Then we have “Summary Information”. Enabling this checkbox summarizes purged documents by document type to appear on the report.

Under the “Deletion Options,” you’ll see these checkboxes:

  • The “Scrub Filed Area” means that in addition to removing files from their physical storage in the disk group as well as the pointers in the database, this option makes files no longer feasibly recoverable.
  • Then we have “Retain Keywords”. Retain keywords when files are removed from their physical storage in the disk group, as well as all database references. Documents associated with keyword types and values are retained.
  • Then we have “Keep History Log”. When this option is selected, the system retains the document history actions for the purged documents. When running document history transaction log report, data for that purge document is included. However, when deselected, the system purges the document history actions for purge documents.
  • Under “Keep History Log,” we have “Add Purge Message Transaction Log”. When the keep history log is selected, this option is enabled. When this option is selected, an entry is added to the document history of the purge documents indicating that it was deleted by document retention purge process.

Under “Processing Options,” we have a few more options:

  • “Life Cycle” sends the qualified documents to the initial queue of the workflow lifecycle assigned to the document retention process. Across from that, we have “Perform System Work”, which executes the system work lifecycle as soon as the documents are added to it. It also makes it so the connection application to the server is required for the selected process.
  • There’s also “VBScript.” This executes the assigned document retention process for all qualified documents.
  • We also have “External Processor”, which sends all qualified document processor DLL indicated and the external processor text field.

6. For this example, we decided we wanted report details after running the document retention process. To get this, we selected “Purge Documents” and ”Summary Information”. Next, click “Save”.

7. Next, click “Documents.”

8. From there, add the document type groups and the document type, and then click “Add” and close out of the window.

9. Per our AP checks example in the video, we had to open AP checks in the OnBase Unity Client – this let us know just how many documents would be purged. From here, we checked on the properties of the document.

We noticed that one example document was stored in March of 2008. Another was also 2008. Then, we looked at one from 2024. This is good to know, as it means that there are documents from over two years ago, and per our selections, those documents should be purged once we complete the process.

Next, close out of this window and select “Admin” and “Document Retention”.

10. Then, click “Process,” “Purge Process,” then right click to select “Document Retention Processor.

11. Next, in the example in the video, we decided to run a quick test by selecting “Test Only”, clicking “Process,” and expanding the box that pops up out. This showed us how a process of a test document intention would go through. You don’t necessarily need to perform this test if you don’t want to.

12. When you’re ready for the real thing, you can uncheck “Test Only” and click “Process.” Then, click “Yes.”

13. Next, exit the window. For the sake of the example, we then checked on AP’s checks and saw that we only have documents from 2024 left, with the documents from 2008 vanished, and that is exactly what we specified when we selected documents from the past 2 years.

And with that, the document retention process is now complete and is good to go.

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