Create a Filing System

Put Those Files to Bed: Create a Filing System That Works for You

Is there a revolt taking place in your office? Has the paperwork declared a rebellion? Are you quickly being overcome by the unorganized piles? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions than it’s time to organize the chaos by creating a filing system that works for you. Here are five filing tips that will help you put the clutter away so you can focus on your bookkeeping tasks.

1. Organize the piles of paperwork. The first thing to do is sort the piles. Determine what to save and what to toss. You may be toss-resistant, but once you set a threshold for tossing, the rest is easy. Will you keep receipts from this year only? Will you keep all client-related information? Once you decide what you must keep, throw away the rest.

2. Pick a filing system that works for you. There are different filing systems and you should pick the one that will work best for you: alphabetical, numerical, or subject-oriented. Your sorted piles may indicate a preference. Perhaps you’ve filed information by client. This could indicate a tendency to access information alphabetically, although some may want to file these numerically by assigning reference numbers to each client.

3. Select complementary hardware. After you pick a filing system, you should decide what hardware you ’ll need to make it work. Determining what hardware you’ll be using will contribute to the success of your system.

Filing Cabinets. First, look at your piles and decide how hearty your filing system needs to be. Will it all fit into a file drawer in your desk? Or do you need to invest in a two or four-drawer filing cabinet? Remember to factor in room for growth. You don’t want to stuff all your files into one drawer and quickly find files stacking up on your desk because they don’t fit into your new system.

Folders and labels. Will colored files help you better organize and relocate information? Consider whether you want to use colored hanging file folder, colored files or both. Do your files need tabs? If you require tabs, how big do they need to be (1/3, 1/5, 2/5, or 1/2 inch)? And where do you want the tabs? All on the right, left, middle, or should they vary?

Smaller filing systems. There may be some information that just doesn’t fit into your larger filing system. Perhaps you need a small accordion file for your receipts, or a binder with tabs for more complex client-specific records.

4. Put your files in a place that makes sense. Which files need to be close at hand and which can be kept on the opposite end of your office? Eliminate unnecessary redundancy by using your computer when possible (and create an efiling system that makes sense too. Unorganized computer files can often create cyber clutter that’s just as unsettling as those paper piles).

Use the filing system! This may sound obvious, but once you create your filing system you ’ve got to use it. Too often we let paperwork build up when putting it away as soon as we’ve stopped using it would save time and energy.

The most important thing about your filing system is that it be catered to your needs. If it’s dazzling and impressive but takes more time to navigate than necessary, then you haven’t created the filing system for you. Take the time to do it right the first time, and you’ll have a system that eliminates chaos and makes room for order. Phew. Now you can get some work done!