How to Organize an Efficient Office

Files and folders are virtual dinosaurs in this age of the paperless office. All businesses can benefit from the proper management and organization of office records. Throwing things away seems almost a sin for some small business owners which are precisely why many find themselves buried under a mountain of disorganized paperwork.

Business owners will tend to keep everything in an effort to avoid having to decide what to keep and what to pitch. In time, the storage room door cannot be opened and hope is all but lost for finding any documents that may be needed. It is the responsibility of management to make sure things remain organized to prevent lowered productivity or a complete shutdown of business operations.

"Most small businesses don't deal with their papers until it's too late," said Barbara Hemphill a well-known author on the subject of office efficiency. Paperwork piles up and documents are impossible to locate. If management and owners learned more about time management, paperwork would be in its place.

Step One Towards Office Organization

Start by declaring an office cleanup day. All employees should pitch in and help organize any and all paperwork in the office. If at all possible schedule this on a day that you're normally closed to avoid any distractions. Paying your staff overtime for one day will be well worth it once you see the results.

It is possible to organize the office by yourself and even some true blue entrepreneurs have been known to set aside a day for the task.

The paperwork atop your desk needs to be first priority. Organize by subject and then date. After sorting is out of the way, it is time to put everything in its proper place. If file folders do not exist for some of the paperwork, then create some so there is a place for them.

The accounting should be a top priority for obvious reasons so find all of the income statements and receipts lying about the place and sort these too. You always want your records to be current, so stick to the task of posting transactions to your books until everything is up to date. I can be a slacker on this one myself and wind up spending the majority of the day recording transactions. If it looks like you are not going to get finished, then just quit at a point that will be easy to start back up from again.

Now you'll need to find a place for your file folders. Place anything you may need in the near future in a filing cabinet that you can easily access. For other paperwork you can simply place them in crates or boxes and put them away for safekeeping. Be sure to clearly label when each box contains. You may even want to enter their contents into spreadsheets.

Computerized Documentation

You need a contingency plan for all your paperwork and electronic files. If there was ever a flood or fire and your documents were destroyed you need to have a backup plan. For your important paperwork consider getting a scanner and filing backups electronically.

It is simple to file and access information stored on a cd, floppy, or even an external hard drive for the true techies. Whatever you choose to utilize, make sure to keep the storage devices in a fireproof safe or even off site if that is a viable option.

Online automated backup services are also available. For a small fee, you can backup computer documents to an offsite system. This is excellent for financial records. No financial business should be without a backup system.

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