Your filing system is the backbone of your business. Well done, it can save hours of time best spent on doing your job rather than searching for client files and support documentation.
What should be as simple as knowing your ABCs appears to be an insurmountable task to the average office worker. Setting aside laziness as the culprit, accurate filing should take up less than 10 minutes of your day.
Whether you do it yourself or use a File Clerk, knowing the simple progression of alphabetical or numerical filing is an inherent part of a successful business.
Filing Follows ABC's
Most of us are familiar with index cards and three-ring binder sets with preprinted alphabets, numbers, and categories. The most basic approach is to simply file everything that begins with the corresponding letter in that section. Your business will determine how thick those files become by the end of the year.
When folders contain more than 10 items, it is time to reorder those items within that folder by using both the first and second letter of the title for placement.
For example, under the letter A, Anthony, Aardvark, Amsterdam, Asher, would be sorted in the following order: Aardvark, Amsterdam, Anthony, Asher. If you happen to end up with five Amsterdam's, you would continue to alphabetize by using the first letter of the second word associated with that particular Amsterdam.
Numerical Systems Are a Little More Complicated
When faced with a numerical filing system, make sure that you fully understand the breakdown before you attempt filing, yourself. The numbers before and after a decimal are categories within themselves and it is very easy to misfile and lose important information. Some systems are so sophisticated that they even add hyphens and an additional numerical system beyond the primary decimal category.
If there is no written guideline to the filing system, it is better to let someone else do the filing until you know what you are doing.
Creating Computer Files Depends on Purpose
Computer filing offers a totally new challenge. Some software programs allow plenty of room to fully define the contents of the file. Microsoft's Word is one that also offers the writer the opportunity to create a summary when saving a file that will pop up when the cursor is placed over the file name in the folder. Very helpful in locating the exact file that you want.
Most accounting software programs limit the number of spaces to create file names (with the average number being eight) that require some imagination. Other software programs generate their own sequential number for each new file. Reports can then be filtered by numerical or alphabetical order.
An easy system to use when you are limited to eight spaces is to take the first two letters of both the first and last name and add the last four digits of the phone number to create a unique file name. For instance, Jane Doe, whose phone number is (555) 123-4567, would become DOJA4567. Although you may end up with more than one Jane Doe, the chances of their having the same last four digits for the telephone numbers is quite remote. For companies with longer names, you can simply choose to take the initial letter of each word before adding the numbers.
When filing individual documents within each folder, if left to its own devices, the software program will select the first line of your document, which may not help you four or five months down the road. Use of the "save as" feature and create a title that is clear, concise, but distinct enough to locate.
Locating Information Should Be Easy for Everyone
Your filing system is meant to help you access client and product information, fast, within a closed drawer or cabinet. I still have nightmares about a new employer who led me to his "file" room. Ten picnic tables piled high with boxes of thick folders, each one representing one year of business! "It's all yours," he said, "you can start fresh with the filing system." (My leaping heart knew no bounds; I tell you what!)
Creating a system is really very simple:
Lli> alphabetically, use last names first
Filing used to be included with the three R's of reading,'riting, and 'rithmetic. If that didn't happen in your school, make sure you fully understand your company's filing system before you ever attempt to file on your own. Create a 'holding' file for your daily output that can then be filed by someone who can show you exactly where everything goes.
If there is no filing system, offer to create one and then teach everyone how to use it. You will definitely get the attention of the higher-ups for your initiative and be thought of, first, when it's promotion time.
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