New Business Organizing Tips: Step 3 – Filing System (Paper)
January 1st, 2009 by Stephanie Shalofsky
As soon as the initial steps are taken to get a new business established, the deluge of information will begin. Whether it is in hard copy form or electronically, chances are in your new role as a business owner you will find yourself collecting lots of potentially valuable data on all sorts of topics. From the latest, extremely user friendly software programs to a possible client lead, the information will pile up faster than you could have ever imagined. Needless to say, some of it will need to be acted on immediately, some will be held for future reference and, of course, some will be destined for the trash or shredder.
No matter how environmentally conscious we may be, there is no escaping a certain amount of paper. One decision that needs to be addressed early on is what the preferred method will be for filing information that needs to be retained. While it may be ideal to go paperless, in reality a combination of both a paper and electronic filing system may be the most practical approach.
To begin with, it is important to consider the following points prior to establishing a system for filing and retrieving hard copy documents.
- File Categories. How many will be needed? Which are most appropriate for your specific type of business? Where to start? As it is very easy to get over-whelmed and spend lots of time pondering these and other bigger picture questions, there is no need to make this into a life/death decision. The categories can be modified over time as you collect more information and gain a better sense of which documents need to be included in the files. The most important thing is to just start with the basic categories…Sales Leads, Finance, Marketing, etc….so that all documents have a home and can be accessed when needed.
- File Folders. Before you launch into a frenzy of activity creating files for each of the groups of paperwork that will be saved, take a minute to consider whether or not to employ a system that uses single color or multi-color folders and hanging files. The setup time that is saved by making all files a uniform color can be lost when trying to locate a specific file in a sea of folders that all look the same. Creating a system for assigning a file category to each of the various colors of file folders and hanging files ( for example: green folders for finance related matters, red folders for sales, etc.) may take a little more time to establish, but the color coding will ultimately facilitate the retrieval process.
- Labeling. Keep it simple, concise and, most important, be sure to use language that reflects the way that you would typically define the information contained in each file. Once you have identified what to call the file, you may want to take a few extra seconds to either print the labels on your computer or with a labeling machine. This will give your files a very professional look and distinguish them from personal files.
- File Storage. As a new business owner just starting out, you may not already own a file cabinet or have budgeted funds to purchase one immediately. Cardboard archive boxes can serve as a good temporary storage unit as they are the perfect size for either letter or legal size files, stack easily, can be expanded as needed and don’t take up lots of space. Regardless of the type of storage unit being used, it is essential that those files that will be used frequently are kept most accessible.
- Periodic Review. Once you have established a filing system, test it out and tweak it as need be. The bottom line is that the system needs to work for you. In addition, it is important to do a quick review of your files every 6 months or so and pull out documents that are outdated or no longer needed. As your business evolves, its direction may change so that some of the paperwork that had been collected and held as potential reference materials may no longer be needed.
The creation of a filing system for storing documents on your computer will be addressed next month. In the interim, give thought to the best location on your desk for that In Box which will be needed to house all documents that need to be filed and don’t have already established file folders. As it just isn’t possible to drop everything in order to set up a new file, these documents need a temporary…that’s Temporary…storage location pending the creation of a more permanent file.
