In a world of 'the paperless office', files and folders should be obsolete. Every business needs to learn "how-to" manage records and organize documents. Small business owners are too afraid to throw anything away. Consequently, this leads to an overload of file folders, storage boxes, and ultimately a paper avalanche. Business owners will tend to keep everything in an effort to avoid having to decide what to keep and what to pitch. In time, the storage room door cannot be opened and hope is all but lost for finding any documents that may be needed. It is the responsibility of management to make sure things remain organized to prevent lowered productivity or a complete shutdown of business operations. Barbara Hemphill, an expert on office efficiency, says that "most small businesses don't deal with their papers until it's too late." If there is one important piece of paper you need to find amongst hundreds if not thousands of other papers it could take you days to locate its whereabouts. Management needs to take steps now to prevent this type of situation from happening. First Step to Organizing Start by declaring an office cleanup day. All employees should pitch in and help organize any and all paperwork in the office. If at all possible schedule this on a day that you're normally closed to avoid any distractions. Paying your staff overtime for one day will be well worth it once you see the results. It is possible to organize the office by yourself and even some true blue entrepreneurs have been known to set aside a day for the task. The easiest way to start is with current paperwork that's taking up space on your desk. Sorting by subject and then by date is a great way to organize your papers and will make finding what you need much easier. You should also get a system of file folders that you can place your paperwork in to make it easier to retrieve. The accounting should be a top priority for obvious reasons so find all of the income statements and receipts lying about the place and sort these too. You always want your records to be current, so stick to the task of posting transactions to your books until everything is up to date. I can be a slacker on this one myself and wind up spending the majority of the day recording transactions. If it looks like you are not going to get finished, then just quit at a point that will be easy to start back up from again. Upon organizing the paperwork into folders, you are going to require some boxes or perhaps some crates to store all the documents in for safekeeping. The particular way in which you file things will naturally be determined by the nature of your business. But, irrespective of the type of business you operate, all companies should file accounts payable and accounts receivable at the same time. The critical thins is that you have some kind of system for your filing. Computer Documents Fire and water damage are a major concern for most businesses, especially for a home-based office. Small businesses find scanners to be a business asset. In minutes, a scanner processes a document from paper form to electronic file. Computer documents are easily accessible and easier to file on a CD or 3.5" floppy. Of course, if you want to be really high-tech, you can use an external hard drive to store your documents. CD's, floppies, and external hard drives should be stored in a fire resistant safe, or off the premises. You may want to consider an automated backup service for your financial files and records. For a reasonable fee you can have all your important documents stored on an off site server. This will keep your files safe give you peace of mind. "Your ability to accomplish daily tasks is directly related to your ability to find the right information at the right time," Hemphill said. Management strategies are essential to the livelihood of your office staff and the success of your business. Don't wait until the last minute to organize!
Please Rate this Article 5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5
Not yet Rated
