Staying organized while working from home contributes to your overall success. Whether you run your business from home or telecommute, fine-tuning your organizational skills helps you be the best employee or entrepreneur.
Running a business and working from home causes documents to pile up both in your home and on your computer. The last thing you want is to have unorganized files all over your desk or desktop.
Although it can be challenging, there are benefits to keeping your work organized in your home:
- Increased productivity
- Reduced stress levels
- Being prompt
- Meeting your deadlines
Here are the best ways to organize and manage your filing system in your home and on any devices you use for work.
1. Create Your Filing Systems
As the world continues its digital transition, it’s essential to keep in mind that storing hard copies of paperwork can be helpful in the long term.
For example, it’s challenging to pull up digital pay stubs while completing your taxes for the year online. Having a hard copy makes completing specific tasks more manageable.
The first step you need to take before diving into organizing your paperwork is to structure a filing system that works for you.
What types of documents do you need to store? How many forms do you need to keep? Answering these questions will help you pick a filing cabinet or set of drawers where you can store your documents.
Here are some categories of documents that will help you begin organizing:
- Accounting records
- Bank statements
- Legal documents
- Permits and licenses
- Insurance documents
- Financial records
Once you have a file cabinet or other storage unit, start identifying and organizing documents into piles. All of these documents listed above should have individual piles.
You can also prioritize documents according to importance — life insurance policies, Social Security documents, and birth certificates are types of documents that need to be stored safely for identity protection purposes.
As you organize, you can place documents into file folders and title them appropriately. Be sure to include dates or years. Get specific! Taking the time to organize will help you locate the exact document you need when the time comes.
Many business professionals will color-code their filing systems. If you choose to add color to your files, consider making a key to know which color matches the type of document you’re filing. Remember to be patient and easy on yourself as you organize your files.
Think of it this way — more time spent organizing ahead of time means less time spent searching!
Now that your files are in folders and neatly organized, let’s dive into maintaining that system.
2. Make Checklists
Whether you’re making quarterly tax payments or paying your business insurance bill, record-keeping can quickly become overwhelming. Most businesses generate a fair amount of paperwork, and sometimes important files get lost in the shuffle.
Here are some benefits of record-keeping according to the IRS:
- Monitoring your business’s ongoing progress
- Being methodical in preparing your financial statements
- Identifying all your various sources of income
- Keeping track of any tax-deductible ongoing expenses
- Understanding what your tax return will entail
Running a business takes hard work, but creating checklists can help you keep track of tasks and meet certain deadlines. Consider writing down a list that includes all monthly tasks you need to complete and making copies of it. You can store your checklist in your home office if you have one, or in the file cabinet you’ll use to store files.
Checklists take the guesswork out of record-keeping. Missing tax deadlines or other payments can affect your business operations. You want to do everything you can to avoid that.
3. Set Aside Time to File
Attempting to file your documents during the workday, whether you’re on a lunch break or it’s a slow day, can be challenging. Instead, consider setting aside a dedicated time to file.
Many people think they’re skilled multitaskers, but there’s evidence that shows otherwise. Only 2% of the population is skilled at multitasking. When you’re organizing documents while eating your lunch or listening to music, chances are good you’ll stop paying close attention.
This can affect your organization if you’re putting documents in the wrong folder or keeping files that you can otherwise throw out. Staying focused on just organizing will make the process move faster, and you’ll accurately file your paperwork.
4. Online Filing Systems
Employees will spend unnecessary time searching for one file on their computer. To avoid wasting time, it’s essential to create an online filing system on your hard drive or cloud sync program, like Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, or Dropbox.
As you download documents, it’s common for that pesky download folder to become full and unorganized. If you create folders ahead of time, you can download them and store them directly in the folder it belongs to.
When setting up your system, the key is to use folders within folders. For example, if I’m a business owner, one folder could be named “Tax Documents.”
Within that folder, create another folder and name it “2021”. This folder structure is helpful because each document you come across will have a secure place to go. Next time you need to search for “2021 Tax Documents,” you follow the trail you created, and your file is accessible!
One perk of using a digital filing system for your work documents is that you can scan hard copies and save them to whichever folder it belongs in. Once you scan a document, you can shred it, especially if it has sensitive information on it. You’ll have peace of mind when you know your documents are stored safely.
Organize Your Business Records with These Tips
Organizing your documents will provide you a sense of security, knowing they’re in their proper place and you can access the records you need.
Filing paperwork and setting up organizational systems is not the most glorious activity, but your future self will thank you!
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