3 Ways to Organize Your Small Business Files

If you don’t establish a good management system, your office files can become very disorganized, resulting in undue stress for you and your employees. Organizing these systems will make your business run more smoothly and reduce stress for you and your employees/clients (Affiliate Link).

Below are three powerful ways to organize your home and office files.

Sorting your small business files by color coding.

Use different colors to represent different types of data. Try green hanging folders (Affiliate Link) for paid bills. And using red hanging folders (Affiliate Link) for current year essential documents, like tax-related paperwork, income, and charities. You can try using yellow hanging folders (Affiliate Link) for important long-term papers like wills, living wills, current insurance policies, unused credit cards, and passports, and store these folders in a fire-proof safe. Below is a fireproof (Affiliate Link) filing cabinets I found on Amazon (affiliate).

Filing Cabinet 2 Drawer, White

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Sorting your small business files in chronological order

Filing your bills in monthly sections (January, February, March, etc…) works for filing bills. However, it does not necessarily work for necessary document retrieval. If you need your insurance policies, you will need to store them somewhere else because it will be too difficult to find long-term papers with this system.

Sorting your small business files by payee or manufacturer

Filing by a payee, like the company name of your loan, works if you stay consistent with this system. You can then put the files in ABC to help you quickly retrieve the data. You can also use this system to file manuals and warranties.

These three filing systems will help you get your office in order quickly and easily. There are additional tips that will help you when creating these systems. Read the tips below and use them while developing your business filing system.

Use color manilla folders for the same type of files.

Having the same-colored Manila folder inside a hanging folder makes it easier to remember where a Manila file should go when you take the Manila folder out. The hanging folder will help remind you if you pull out the record.

Labeling Manila folder with a specific name.

Don’t be too specific that you will only have one piece of paper in it, though. You can fit several manila folders (Affiliate Link) under one general category hanging folder to save space. For example, the general hanging folder would be called “Utilities.” The individual manila folder would be called “Telephone,” “Cable, or “name of the company.”

Reduce paper files in an office by going digital.

When possible, create a digital filing system instead of a physical one to keep your office clutter at bay. If you want more tips, get a copy of our free ebook: The Best Practices for Digital and Physical Filing Systems.

Visit our other digital files organizing and declutter posts below:

Spring Cleaning Digital Files Like a Rockstar

Ways to Dispose of Physical and Digital Files

7 Steps to Clear Your Digital Clutter

Whichever method you decide to use with your small business files, stay consistent with the system from year to year, and you will have little trouble finding your paperwork.

If you want more information to manage your papers, visit these other posts below.

Benefits and tips to review and revisit paper files each year

How To Organize Employee Records

Tips On How Long I Should Keep Business Records

10 Home Office Hacks to Get You Organized Now

How to Set Up an Effective Filing System

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