by Katherine Macey
Effective filing systems, whether they are paper or digital, are critical to a business’ success. Proper records facilitate business transactions and track the success or failure of the business.
Easy access to documents ensures employees can spend their time working on the projects at hand rather than looking for a piece of paper. Estimates of the time that the average employee spends looking for documents range between 2 and 8 hours per week (statistics gathered by the National Association of Professional Organizers) or 100 to 400 hours per year.
We all know time = $, let’s look at the breakdown. According to Gartner Group, Coopers and Lybrabd, Ernst & Young, the average time to retrieve and refile a paper document is 10 minutes. An average of 3% of documents are lost or misfiled, and have to be recovered at a cost of $120 per document. This equates to a cost of $2,160 to $8,640 per year.
An effective paper filing system will reduce the amount of time people have to look for documents and reduce the number of documents that are lost or misfiled, therefore reducing cost. It’s a win-win-win.
Keys to effective paper filing systems:
- Label files clearly
- Have some order to the filing. You may use different types of systems for docent categories of files.
- Alphabetical – useful for client files
- Categorical – can separate different categories such as vendor files, client files, financial files, etc.
- Chronological – useful for financial files
- Frequency of use – can keep documents that are referred to frequently at the front of a file cabinet.
- Priority based – particularly useful for active projects.
- Create rules for where each type of document should be filled.
- Only have one home for each type of document.
- Create naming conventions for files that everyone uses.
- Have a system for quickly identifying where a document or file folder should be returned to if it is removed from the filing system.
- Keep active files separate from files that need archiving.
Organize to Excel has been working with client files since 2007. We have experience setting up files for a range of small businesses as well as home based businesses and personal files. If you are a busy mom with more kid papers and family bills than you know what to do with, or a real estate agent with closing documents, licenses, and brochures piling up your office, we can help.
by Katherine Macey
It doesn’t matter if my clients live in 800 square feet or 4000 square feet, during our initial interview, they invariably say, “We don’t have enough storage space.” And it feels like that. Spaces are jammed with items, items with no home are spilling out of their storage space and the situation feels overwhelming to the client. And yet, invariably, once we have sorted through the items, we discover more than enough space for the things the clients loves and uses.
Clutter accumulation can be insidious. It occurs slowly, one item at a time, over a period of weeks, months or years. And if you’re not vigilant, suddenly, your home is filled with clutter. We moved into our current abode about 18 months ago and since then, I admit, I’ve been a bit lazy about making sure things leave the house as rapidly as they enter it. The result? Since I’m a master at space management, I can pack an awful lot into a small space, but it has to go in just so, or it doesn’t fit! Our home that felt comfortable when we moved in, now feels overstuffed.
So we’re having a purging month. We’re letting go of things that could have left our home 6 months or even a year ago since we haven’t used them since then.
How about you? Will you join me in a space challenge?
Some options for space challenges:
- Challenge: let go of 1 thing per day
- Super challenge: let go of 1 thing the first day, 2 the second, 3 the third, and so on.
- Just get rid of the extra stuff! (This is my husband’s favorite option – no need to keep track or count!)
- Post progress on the Organize to Excel Facebook page – we want to see your hard work!
![The Three Most Important Tips to Filing Your Paperwork]()
by Katherine Macey
Have you ever wondered why we get and keep all the paper that we do? I do all the time. What are we afraid of if we don’t have it? Are we missing out on something? Will something bad happen if we don’t have it? Will you be able to find it again if you file it?
There are three things to keep in mind when you need to file your paperwork. If you have piles and piles and you don’t know where anything is, consider these concepts.
Tip One: Identify why you need to keep your paperwork organized. What benefit will it bring you? Knowing the reason you do something can be a big motivator. Many people find that they save time by having a home for everything and everything in its place. If you know what to keep and what to let go of, you can have a certain peace of mind, you do not need to continue to ask yourself if you need something.
Tip Two: Pre-sort your paperwork using the FAR method. File, Action and Recycle. File the paperwork you need to archive or need to keep for reference – remember that much information can be found on the internet. Action items are those items you need to take action on. Keep these separate from your filing in a hot file. Reduce and recycle the rest – get off mailing lists of companies that you will never purchase from and recycle the rest.
Tip Three: Chose one way to organize your paperwork and stick to it! If you’re not sure which type of system to use, use your dominant Processing Style to your advantage. Your Processing Style, also called learning style, influences how you process information in the world. People are familiar with three main processing styles – visual, auditory and kinesthetic. But there are many different ways to process information, including emotional, intuitive, cognitive, verbal, and more. People do not usually process information only in one style, they usually use a combination of styles, but some will be more dominant than others. If you know your strengths, you can use organizing strategies that utilize that style. Some questions to ask yourself to find your preference:
- Are you a visual processor? Use color in your filing system, using one color for each major category.
- Are you an auditory processor? Talk out loud as you file – you’ll remember where you put things more effectively.
- Are you a kinesthetic processor? Place your main categories in different locations to help differentiate files.
- Are you an intuitive processor?
Trust your instincts – you’ll do what’s best for you.
