Every
business owner and manager know the importance of keeping records. One would
need to maintain employee files, contracts, and other paperwork that deals with
warranties. With the world changing to digital, it is still important to keep
paper documents. It is essential for businesses to have storage in case of any tech mishaps.
It
is troubling to store documents, and when you need them, it is a pain in the
neck to find them. Before storing them, you need to have them organized and
figure out how you will keep them as paper takes up lots of space. Here are
some tips to help you sort, file, and store your documents.
The
first step is to go through all that paperwork and figure out which ones should
you keep. You would only need finalized documents to avoid confusion. You can
have other unnecessary documents shredded up and recycled. You must dispose of
them properly.
Once
you are done sorting out the documents, organize or group them together. For
financial information, it's best to manage it by year and by revenue, and then
by expense category. As you group the files, make sure to label them as you go.
While
you are putting away the documents, think of how you will store them. Figure out if
you want to use hanging files, plastic banker boxes, or envelopes. You might
want to get file organizers that come in color-coded tabs. You may always want
to put some of the documents in a page protector and a binder.
It
is much more efficient if you store them upwards. But make sure that you have
very sturdy plastic file boxes or need to have shelves. Make sure that you keep
"like files" together to keep it systematic and consistent with
keeping up.
It
is ideal for arranging the items that you won't need as often at the back of
the unit. An example would be older financial years and past employee profiles.
Arrange them by year and then by category. This keeps you in order and saves
much more space.
Remember
the times when we used library cards? You can do the same thing with your
files. For example, you can create a charge with a chipboard that would be
filled every time someone removes an item from the unit. Make sure people would
follow the check-in and check-out system. This way, you can track your files
down easily.
Following
these tips will help you preserve the documents until you need to pull them
from the unit. Contact us today to help you pick out the perfect storage unit
for you and your essential files.