What is a record?
ERM Community Wiki
Any document can be a record, but not all documents are records – and not all records are documents (at least not in the conventional sense)!
So, what’s the difference? A ‘document’ can be thought of as a ‘container’ of information. If that information relates to a business process or operation, then that document is also a record.
For RM purposes a document can be nearly anything—emails, instant messages, text files, voice mails, paper, invoices, employee records, a website, a collaborative team space, reports, etc.; even maps, rocks, or other physical samples in some cases.
As Forrest Gump might say, “records is as records does.” If the item in question contains business-centric information they way conventional records do, then it's a record, regardless of medium or format.
Records have long-term value to a business and are created or received by a company while undertaking a business action. A record is evidence of an action taken in the course of business. In a real sense, records are an organization’s memory.
The element of time also separates a record from a document. A record is a document on which a decision has been made to retain over time. A document is data that is registered in time.
