![How can going paperless benefit my business?]()
by Katherine Macey
Going paperless is a bit of a misnomer. It’s impossible to be completely paperless, even in this digital age. There are some documents that need to be maintained in the original hard copy – certain contracts, certificates and so on. But not withstanding those hard copy “must haves,” a great deal of the paperwork that is dealt with today can go digital. Digitizing sales orders, invoices, reference material, business cards, and business documentation is a smart move.
The summary:
Benefits
- Reduce paper clutter
- Mobile access
- Fast searching
- Low cost storage
Tips
- Choose location – desktop or cloud
- Choose file structure
- Use filename convention
- Use scanner regularly
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![How can going paperless benefit my business?]()
by Katherine Macey
This is a scary question. Is your financial disorganization costing you? Or worse, how much is your financial disorganization costing you (because if your finances are not in order, I can virtually guarantee it is costing you something).
Do you struggle to keep your financial paperwork under control? Do you have little piles of receipts all over your office, or are they shoved in a box to hand over to your accountant at tax time?
There are two secrets to keeping on top of it all so you are not missing important deductions and your poor accountant is not pulling their hair out at the end of the year!
- Set up a filing system that is easy to use and accessible.
- Do a little bit often.
Setting up your filing system
Paper systems
The simplest filing system mirrors your accounting system. The categories you use when entering your expenses into your accounting system will be the same ones you use for your filing. Make a folder for each category of spending you get receipts for. Now each week, after you enter your receipts and invoices into your financial tracking system (ledger, spreadsheet, Quickbooks, etc.), simply drop the receipts into the appropriate folder. You will keep track of your spending and your income and know where you stand each month.
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![How can going paperless benefit my business?]()
by Katherine Macey
Here are three things that we see holding our clients back all the time and a tip to overcome those hurdles and help you get organized in your office
1. Get your paperwork under control. The number one thing that clients call us for is paper. Paper piles, mail, to-do lists, business cards, ideas for projects, and on and on! To clear a back log, FAR your paperwork and make 3 piles: File, Action, Recycle. File the things you need for reference, or you need to keep for the IRS or some other government department. Get tough with your action pile – if it’s something that might happen, someday, maybe, put it in the recycle pile and forget about it – you most likely would have forgotten about it anyway.
2. Focus on being productive. Being organized is a means to an end, not the end product. Be sure to make a short list of “must do” actions each day. Do those things first. The rest is gravy. I write my list on a sticky note so it can’t be too long and it get’s posted right in front of where I work to remind me to stay on task. I only ever have one sticky note that has my “must do’s”. Any other to-do’s are collected on a master list which can be referred to when making the “must do” list. I make my list at the end of my day so I can fully rest at night and not be thinking about all the things I need to do the next day while I’m trying to sleep. Keep a hot file of the paperwork associated with actions either by due date (tickler file), by type of activity (See David Allen’s “Getting Things Done”), by project, or by priority (immediate, soon, later, or whatever labels work for you.)
3. Know when and how you work the best. Schedule blocks of time to work on your most important tasks when you are at your peak performance. Notice your style of working. Are you able to sit and focus for long periods of time and getting up for supplies breaks your concentration? Are you the opposite? Do you need a break from sitting in one place to keep up the creative flow? Make your office fit what you need. Place supplies either in easy reach, or so that getting them is an excuse to move.
If you can make keeping your paperwork under control, focusing on your top priorities each day and making time to do your best work habitual, you will be amazed at what you accomplish.
by Katherine Macey
Have you ever had a pile of papers that defied being labeled? Or perhaps you’re worried that if you do file that important piece of paper, you’ll never find it again in your cavernous filing system. Yet some people seem to be able to put their hands on any piece of paper they are looking for within seconds. So what are their secrets?
Tip #1: Create one overall system and stick to it. If you forget what categories you have in your filing system, create an index so you can scan the index to file and find items.
Tip #2: Create a hierachy of categories and file either alphabetically or chronologically within each main category. Main categories may be financial, clients, business entity, reference, and so on. You may choose to file the financial documents chronologically and clients alphabetically. There are no hard and fast rules – as long as you stick to your decision.
Tip #3: Make it easy to distinguish between main categories using location or color, or a combination of both. Your financial files could be in the top filing drawer in the green folders and your client files in the bottom drawer in the orange folders.
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by Katherine Macey
Is the paperless office just a fantasy for you? Do you struggle to find files on your computer like in the “”real”” world? How can you organize your digital files?
One of the goals for any organizing project is to make it easy to find things when you need them. Thankfully computers have great search capabilities and by keeping a few tips in mind, it can be a snap to find any file within a few minutes, if not seconds.
Tip 1: Use your desktop carefully.
Generally speaking you want to keep your desktop clear, just as you would your physical desk. Your desktop is not the place to file reference material, just as your desk is not either. You may want to keep a few project files on your desktop that you are actively working on. The key here is actively working on.
Do not keep files on your desktop that relate to a project that you may work on someday. Do not keep digital files that are archive material on your desktop. Keep it clear so you can focus on the work at hand. Also consider putting shortcut icons in the task bar if you have a PC for the programs that you use most and take their corresponding icons off the desktop. To organize further on the desktop, group your icons using Fences by Stardock (http://www.stardock.com/products/fences/).
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by Katherine Macey
You are probably in one of three places regarding your taxes:
1) You have a system set up that you use and that works for you. Great! Keep reading and see if there are any tips that you can use to tweak your system and make it even more efficient and easy.
2) You have a “sort-of” system that still engenders a level of panic as tax day draws near. Stay calm, help is at hand.
3) You have the “ostrich head in the sand” approach and haven’t filed taxes for a number of years, or are consistently filing extensions, franticly searching for receipts, and always missing deductions. It could take some time to organize your records, but once you have a system set up, it will be easy to sort your records and make tax time a breeze next year.
Preparing for your taxes is a large job. And the best approach with large jobs is to break them down into manageable components and work steadily on them. Fortunately, with taxes, that’s easy to do.
There are three basic steps to organizing your taxes:
The first step is to decide which categories you need to track. This will depend on your situation and an accountant is the best person to advise you on your exact categories. Having said that, for individual taxes, it is usually not very complicated. Have a place for your income related tax information – W2’s and so on. If you only have a single stream on income and you claim the standard deduction at the end of the year, that’s all you need. If your income has multiple streams, create different categories for income, e.g. W2’s, rental income, dividends, etc. If you claim an itemized deduction, you may want to separate the deductions into different categories, e.g. charitable donations, home mortgage interest, medical, etc. Check IRS for categories that are likely to apply to you. The IRS has all of its forms and publications online so a little research yourself can produce the likely categories for you. Click for instructions for Schedule A on your 1040.
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