Your home office is almost ready. You've checked the zoning rules, bought and assembled your furniture, handed in notice at work, had the Avaya dealer in to look at the phone setup, and prepared your business cards. Now all you have to do is figure out a filing system that will help you stay organized. There is no one right way to design a filing system, since ease of use is the key concept and not everyone's brains are wired the same way. Here are some ideas to get you started.
Alphabetical Filing
This is the system most big companies use because it's the easiest one to teach to new employees. It's kind of the default system. Canadian mortgage brokers who use an alphabetical filing system will have a folder for each client and a folder for each lender and they'll be filed together alphabetically. So Scotiabank, for instance, would come just before a client named Scott. Most people alphabetize by the client's last name rather than the first name.
Chronological Filing
If you have a rigidly scheduled business, such as showing a real estate agent's clients around Rosedale, Toronto real estate, you may want to base your filing system on the dates. For instance, all the documents related to an event happening on May the 23rd would be under the file for May the 23rd. Sub folders can separate documents for one event and another if there's more than one on the same day. This is a good system for filing invoices but not client information.
Subject Filing
Some people find it easiest to do their filing based on subjects. Bills, for instance, would be filed separately from correspondence with Brampton real estate agents or personal information on clients. If your brain jumps right to the subject rather than the person or the day this would be a good system for you. Be aware, though, that this system is the easiest to screw up. You or a new intern could end up filing an invoice in the client's file and forgetting about it.
Labeling
However you decide to organize your files, it is imperative that they be clearly labeled. That way if a temp worker from Executive Search Toronto has to take over filing for a few days all your stuff won't end up in the wrong folders. File drawers should be labeled, as should the files and the folders within them. Use color coded tabs for the best visibility and never use erasable marker.
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