Now that you have a business, you are going to need to get organized. Keeping good track of paperwork and files by implementing and using a solid filing systems will be crucial to your back office success. A few factors will determine what type of filing systems you should create for your business. (1) Are you in a service business or a retail business? (2) How much business are you generating? If you are doing retail, you will inevitably have more paperwork to keep track of than you would if you were only consulting for a few clients.
Simple Binder Filing System:
If you are operating a small direct selling business, you may decide to start out with what I call the binder method for your files. Essentially, you get a large three ring binder, sheet protectors and section dividers. Next, you come up with categories for the binder sections, like pending orders, completed orders, master copies of various forms…etc. From there, you will begin to collect the files in the sheet protectors.
This system works well for those businesses generating small amounts of transactions. Another feature is that it allows your files to be mobile for signing up representatives, hosting product parties or quickly referencing customer orders. Once your binder gets full -- at the end of the week, month or three months -- it will be time to purge. You'll just transfer customer order files and other historic records to a traditional filing system which closely mirrors your binder's organization.
Traditional Filing System:
Think filing cabinet, hanging files and manila folders. This method is inevitable for any business. Here are a few tips to get your traditional filing system off the ground and successful:
- Think about what type of system you will actually use. You can go nuts purchasing cool office supplies and devise the most elaborate and colorful filing system in the world, but if it doesn’t fit your work style, it will be a waste of set-up time and money.
- Be realistic about where your drop point is for your paperwork, mail and business “stuff”. If you are likely to drop your business mail in your kitchen, you should have part of your filing system there. Possibly a small portable filing cabinet.
- Create a two-system process. The first where you easily collect your incoming mail and invoices at your drop point (i.e. your kitchen). Once you are ready or files are full, move the files to the second area where they will permanently reside (office filing cabinet).
- Set aside time for filing. It is easy to avoid this task like the plague, but it is required and will help your business run much more smoothly.
- Get a reliable printer that can copy and scan. You will inevitably need to resend documents to customers or clients via a fax or scanned email attachment. And, without fail, you are going to need to make copies.
Electronic Filing System:
Now that the entire world resides online, you will have plenty of electronic files and data to manage. Often much more than paper files. I recommend duplicating your hard copy filing categories and creating file folders within your computer. It is going to be important that you are meticulous in collecting email files and putting them in the right place. Save everything. I also strongly suggest having a back-up of all your files and business information on a separate hard drive. You may also consider using an online customer relationship management system to organize and protect customer data.
