Manual record keeping may mean more time spent on paperwork, but it can be suitable for business owners with less complex business affairs. 

Some paper record-keeping tools you might use in your business are: 

• sales dockets or cash register tapes 
• merchant receipts and statements
• receipt books 
• petty cash book 
• wages and super payment records 
• stock records 
• daily, weekly or monthly sales reconciliations 
• cash books – a cash payments book, a cash receipts book, a combined payments/receipts book or a simple money column account book 
• bank reconciliations. 

If you use cash register tapes, keep the full rolls of tape for:

• one month if you keep Z-totals and they have been reconciled with actual sales and the amount you banked
• five years if you don't keep Z-totals and reconciliations. 

If you keep paper versions or hard copies of your paper records, make sure you understand how to keep your business records safe and secure.