Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Kenya play a transformative role in tackling societal challenges. Yet, the complex tax regulations in the country require NGOs to remain diligent to ensure compliance. This article highlights crucial tax obligations for NGOs and offers guidance on avoiding common compliance challenges. Do NGOs Pay Taxes in Kenya? Contrary to popular belief, NGOs are not fully exempt from taxation in Kenya. While many of their activities fall under charitable purposes, they may still be liable for specific taxes, depending on their revenue streams and operations: Corporate Income Tax: Non-charitable income, such as revenue from business activities or rental properties, is taxable at a 30% rate. Withholding Tax: Applied to certain payments made by NGOs, including consultancy fees and royalties. The rate depends on the recipient's residency and type of payment. Value Added Tax (VAT): Generally applicable to NGOs but with exemptions for certain supplies, especially aid-funded projects.

In today’s fast-paced business environment, accounting firms must adapt to meet evolving client demands and stay compliant with strict regulations. One of the most transformative changes is the shift from paper-based recordkeeping to digital solutions. Digitizing financial records not only streamlines operations but also enhances data security, compliance, and overall efficiency. The Challenges of Traditional Recordkeeping Traditional paper-based recordkeeping presents several challenges for accounting firms: Time-Consuming Processes: Locating, filing, and managing paper records requires significant time and effort, especially during audits or tax season. Increased Risk of Errors: Physical documents are prone to misplacement, duplication, or human error during handling. Storage Limitations: Maintaining an ever-growing volume of records consumes valuable office space and increases costs. Vulnerability to Damage: Paper records are at risk of destruction due to fire, water damage, or pests. Compliance Issues: Adhering to legal retention requirements and data privacy laws can be difficult without efficient systems in

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play a vital role in addressing societal challenges, often with limited budgets and resources. Efficient document management is essential for compliance, operational efficiency, and safeguarding sensitive data, yet it can be challenging for NGOs to balance these needs with cost constraints. This article explores how NGOs can implement affordable, scalable document management solutions to streamline operations, stay compliant, and redirect resources toward their missions. Why document management is critical for NGOs Proper document management is more than just organizing files—it’s a foundation for effective operations. For NGOs, this means: Compliance with Donor and Legal Requirements: NGOs must maintain accurate records for audits, donor reporting, and legal retention periods. Poor record-keeping can lead to non-compliance and lost funding. Operational Efficiency: Streamlined document access ensures faster decision-making and smoother workflows. Data Security: Protecting sensitive donor, beneficiary, and project information from unauthorized access is crucial for maintaining trust and credibility.

In financial institutions, the demands for efficient document management are vast, covering everything from customer account records, transaction histories, loan documents, to regulatory reports. Handling these records effectively is not only critical for operational success but also for compliance with Kenyan regulations, like the Banking Act and the Data Protection Act. The Filing Room, with over 25 years of experience in East Africa, offers customized solutions to help financial institutions manage the full lifecycle of their records—from secure storage to compliant destruction. The Scale of Document Management Needs in Financial Institutions The document volume generated by financial institutions can quickly outstrip in-house storage capabilities. Beyond merely saving space, managing these records effectively is essential to reduce compliance and security risks. Regulatory guidelines demand secure, organized storage to protect sensitive customer data and ensure easy retrieval during audits. Records Storage Solutions: At The Filing Room, we offer secure, off-site storage solutions

When selecting a records management provider, in Kenya as in anywhere else in the world, ensuring that your provider adheres to a robust set of compliance standards is crucial. At The Filing Room, we understand the importance of safeguarding your valuable documents and we are committed to upholding the highest industry standards. We understand those standards better than most people and so, in order to help businesses and records management professionals, we’ve set out a guide for how you should measure your records management partner’s suitability. Below, we outline the key compliance aspects you should consider when evaluating potential records management providers. Compliance with business operation standards A reputable records management company should be compliant with all business registration regulations and standards. Your records management partner must hold all relevant license. Ensuring your records management provider has a Single Business Permit issued by the County or a Certification of Registration

The whole point of having a records management system is that it allows for a business’ access to the information in those records, as and when the information is needed. With the physical storage of records, having an efficient retrieval component to a records management system is key to ensuring this vital part of managing records happens fluidly. There are, however, certain types of document collected by certain types of bigger businesses that need information to be even more readily available than that. Certain clients need to store information-heavy documents and also need the information in those documents to be digitally accessible. This is why data capture is becoming an increasingly important part of records storage. Data capture for big businesses with information-heavy documents Big businesses that generate a lot of paperwork, businesses like insurance companies and banks, often need to store original documents and have quick, digital access to

A records management system is most obviously designed for the protection and efficient retrieval of needed documents. However, the destruction process must not be overlooked. When a document has reached the end of its lifecycle, when it can be considered absolutely unnecessary, it is imperative that this document is disposed of in a safe, compliant and secure manner. At The Filing Room, we ensure the destruction of documents complies with all local and national regulations, that it is NEMA compliant and that it is secure. Securing your confidentiality from start to finish At The Filing Room, we believe that proper document management includes a clear and secure process for destruction. Here’s how we ensure your documents are handled with the utmost confidentiality and environmental responsibility: The client signals the need for a document’s destruction: When your business determines that certain documents have reached the end of their lifecycle or are

Keeping employment records in good order is essential for both a business and an employee. Maintaining these records gives both of these parties security when it comes to employment. Without even considering the law’s ruling on how long certain records must be kept, it should be considered sensible practice to keep these records anyway. Neither the business owner nor the employee wants to think about how a relationship can sour but, of course, we all know that occasionally they do. In these unfortunate circumstances, the position either side takes in an argument or dispute is only as strong as the evidence that can back it up. Whether you’ve arrived at an argument over employee performance, a dispute over sick or overtime pay, or you’re having the potentially more simple argument over what exactly an employee’s responsibilities are, you’ll want clear and up-to-date documentation to prove your point. What does the

The inventory is truly the backbone of a working records management system. Without an accurate, up-to-date and complete inventory, the rest of the system falls apart. It’s all very well that your in-house team or your records management provider, has created a purpose-built environment for records management. It may well be safe from flood, fire and pest damage and it may well be effectively laid out for ease of access and retrieval. But, if the inventory – the roadmap around this well-organised storage facility – doesn’t work, then these records may as well be considered inaccessible. ‘Retrieval is only as good as the quality of the inventory’ Frequently, new clients will come to us once they’ve realised that the project of in-house records storage and management has already become unmanageable. They’ll come to us with boxed files, often in good condition, but with their inventory failingly compromised by inaccurate reporting.

Recently, we’ve seen an uptick in inquiries for our digital archiving/registry management consultancy services. Providing our professional expertise to companies that are seeking to do their records management in-house is something we’re very happy to do. We know that there will always be big businesses – insurance companies, banks, multinationals – that, due to the sheer size of their operation, are better served by having a third-party document management company store their records. Similarly, we also know that there are other companies that have very valid reasons for storing their records in-house. If yours is one such company, this article is designed for you. It is our list of the factors that make a truly great document archiving system. We hope that you read it, digest it and incorporate it into your document archiving system. What makes a great document archiving system? Historical preservation A document archiving system is most