How To Effectively Organize Your Office Space

In a world of 'the paperless office', files and folders should be obsolete. Every business needs to learn "how-to" manage records and organize documents. Small business owners are too afraid to throw anything away. Consequently, this leads to an overload of file folders, storage boxes, and ultimately a paper avalanche.

Business owners will tend to keep everything in an effort to avoid having to decide what to keep and what to pitch. In time, the storage room door cannot be opened and hope is all but lost for finding any documents that may be needed. It is the responsibility of management to make sure things remain organized to prevent lowered productivity or a complete shutdown of business operations.

"Most small businesses don't deal with their papers until it's too late," said Barbara Hemphill a well-known author on the subject of office efficiency. Paperwork piles up and documents are impossible to locate. If management and owners learned more about time management, paperwork would be in its place.

Beginning to Organize

Start by declaring an office cleanup day. All employees should pitch in and help organize any and all paperwork in the office. If at all possible schedule this on a day that you're normally closed to avoid any distractions. Paying your staff overtime for one day will be well worth it once you see the results.

Even if you work alone dedicate some time to cleaning up your office and your paperwork. Even though it may seem difficult to take time out now it will be worth it in the long run.

Tackle the paperwork on your desk first. Sort by subject, then sort by dates. Once everything is sorted, create file folders for each subject. Place paperwork neatly into the appropriate file folder and set aside, but don't forget about it.

Next, locate income statements, expense receipts, and sort them accordingly. Your accounting should be a priority. Record transactions into an accounting system or ledger until you're current. If you're like me, you could spend the majority of your day just entering transactions. Instead, end at a time that you can easily pickup from.

Now you'll need to find a place for your file folders. Place anything you may need in the near future in a filing cabinet that you can easily access. For other paperwork you can simply place them in crates or boxes and put them away for safekeeping. Be sure to clearly label when each box contains. You may even want to enter their contents into spreadsheets.

Computer Documents

Fire or water can wreak havoc on a business if either of these two hazards reach critical documents. Businesses have coped with these dangers by investing in scanners so that they can digitize their physical documents.

Always keep extra copies of your computer documents and files in a fire resistance safe at another location. Files can be stored on backup tapes, floppy disks, CD ROMs, or external hard drives. Be sure to keep a log of what files you have stored where.

You must be able to access information in a timely fashion in order to get through the list of tasks that must be accomplished on a daily basis. Do not procrastinate and put off organizing your office space because management strategies are essential to the success of your business.

Hemphill says that "Your ability to accomplish daily tasks is directly related to your ability to find the right information at the right time." If your office isn't currently organized make it your number one priority. It will save you time and money in the future.

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About the author: Vlad Ehrsam is the chief writer at Full Info on Business, there's a wealth of knowledge on the website, plus their free newsletter is well worth signing up for too.
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