5 Examples of Filing Systems for Your Home or Office

He also serves on 16 boards and commissions, on two of which he is the presiding member. The services and oversight found in the Secretary of State’s office reach every department and agency in state government. O If paying by check, click the Mail in Check button, then click the blue voucher and print the generated voucher document.

Color coding will inspire you to sort files into sensible categories, find files quickly, and add some fun to the filing process. People have been color coding since office paperwork—and the office filing systems to organize it—became a fact of life decades ago. We have laid out a number of important steps for any size business trying to incorporate an office filing system. From computer file management to easy-to-do office hacks, welcome to the go-to office guide. Business e-file providersBusiness taxpayers will find a list of companies who offer IRS e-file for business products and services.

• Create a manual on properly naming files, where to store each file, how to organize digital files, etc.
• Create broad categories such as receipts, invoices and purchase orders, and organize each one further by date or by client.
• This system ensures files stay organized by category instead of piling up in a haphazard heap.
• If you have a balance due, you can e-file and pay in a single step by authorizing an electronic funds withdrawal from your bank account.
• “File backup and a recovery plan should be enforced to avoid any chances of data loss and also ensure that business processes run smoothly,” Schneider said.

Filejet

Computer operating systems have electronic filing capabilities built into the software to make this a convenient way to protect files of many sizes and types. Files can include text documents, graphics and images, software, or web-based files. A major benefit of computerized filing vs. traditional filing is the ability to scale, or grow, the system alongside your business. Scaling is much more difficult with physical filing systems that take up valuable floor space, which will require even more room as you add files. To get yourself and your business on the right track, follow five steps to make sure papers are easily accessible and easily identifiable.

Proper and consistent naming makes it simple for anyone in your company to quickly find a document. Once you set up your filing system, make sure your team knows exactly how to file new items or maintain existing files. You can configure automatic filing systems to register, categorize and organize files based on specific criteria that you customize, such as file function or size. This functionality makes it a breeze to store documents in an orderly fashion and retrieve them just as quickly.

Additionally, when a team uses a computerized filing system such as Google Drive or OneDrive, quickly searching for files and requesting approvals becomes easier. These studies show that when used correctly, an electronic filing systems can increase productivity. If the files you need to organize are relevant only to specific departments, ask a person in each of those groups to organize their files while you create an overarching file management structure. Digital systems also make it easy to add new files and even share file responsibilities across teams. The setup requires a lot of work, but the time and stress you save afterwards is well worth it.

A digital filing system is an electronic filing system to create, organize, store, and share digital files efficiently. Think of it as accessing your document management system through your computer or mobile devices. Also, instead of having paper filing cabinets with folders and paper piling up, document management software can help declutter paperwork and turn them into digital documents. Additionally, an electronic filing system is extremely useful for digital accounting professionals. Other commonly used types of business filing systems are electronic file storage systems.

Our review of M-Files, a document management software provider, dives into how helpful such workflow automation features are for your business. But like paper file systems, your digital filing system needs to have an organizational structure, using folders and files stored on your computer, or in the cloud. For easiest management, use the same structure and file names in your digital system as you do in your paper system. To protect your digital files, back them up onto a separate hard drive or to an online storage system.

Account

You can decrease your physical footprint by disposing of paper documents after digitizing them. Having documents in your electronic filing system eliminates clutter and organizes your workspace. You can also track past receipts and a document’s history, such as who last edited or viewed it and its revision history. An HBR study found that 75% of cross-functional teams are dysfunctional due to a lack of collaboration.

When you digitize files, you essentially creating a paperless filing system. Many people find it much easier to organize a digital filing system over a paper filing system after every paper file has been converted to a digital format. This organizational technique is the perfect way to turn piles of paper into orderly packages that are predictable in the best possible way. Best of all, color coding works on both physical and digital files, and if you need to organize both types of files, you can easily use the same color coding system for each. Even so, you’ll still want a system to manage the paper that does get generated. The key is to find the system that is easy for you to stick with and find the information you need when you need it.

Unpaid and Paid Creditors/Bills

This method is particularly effective for large organizations with extensive records, such as hospitals or government agencies. Each document is assigned a unique number, which simplifies the retrieval process. The primary advantage of numeric filing is its scalability; as the volume of documents grows, new numbers can be easily added without disrupting the existing system. Additionally, numeric filing reduces the risk of misfiling, as numbers are less prone to human error compared to names or subjects. This system also facilitates confidentiality, as sensitive information can be coded numerically, making it less accessible to unauthorized personnel.

They free up physical space and offer many benefits that help you organize your documents and share them across your company with ease. Switching from a traditional to a computerized filing system can greatly increase your system’s functionality by automating many aspects of the process, such as indexing and tracking. Thanks to advances in office technology, there are many types of business filing systems to choose business filing system from when trying to keep important files organized and secure.

• These are my best tips on how to file your bookkeeping and accounting documents so it is easy to find whatever you need, fast and avoid the messy paperwork-in-a-shoe-box syndrome.
• Your traditional system can hold all your long-term papers such as prior years’ taxes, permits and business licenses, and intellectual property registrations.
• If on a database, it can be searched by name, date, recently added, alphabetically, and order of sum, and files can often be found in a few clicks.
• Tre Hargett was elected by the Tennessee General Assembly to serve as Tennessee’s 37th secretary of state in 2009 and re-elected in 2013, 2017, 2021, and 2025.

Given the variety of available options, understanding which filing system best suits your organization’s needs is essential. P.S. Many of these tips came straight from our Facebook group of Office Managers! See what nuggets of wisdom our community has to offer and jump into the conversation.

From small businesses to large corporate offices, physical business filing systems are found in all shapes and sizes to accommodate any type of hard-copy file that needs to be stored securely. The digital world hasn’t completely eliminated the need for paper storage, but it has made storing information much easier. Digital systems can create, send, and manage invoices, and they can track your home business finances and then be imported into tax software for e-filing. You can scan receipts and have them stored in a file on your computer (although you should probably keep the paper version as well). Electronic systems can store your clients, customer, and prospect information in a customer relationship management system for easy access, emailing, billing, and more. Online systems can be used to save your ideas, help you manage projects, organize information, or research.