As a growing company, you will need to manage all your documents efficiently. You will have more people in the front office and back office that process requests and records, respectively. More staff means that you will have more work to do. There will be more documents and emails. You will need to find a place to store these documents on your computer. You cannot do this in the office, but you can use an external hard drive or something else.
In this blog, we will look at 9 ways to manage all your documents efficiently as a growing company!
Whenever a company starts to grow, it will hire people for the front office and the back office. The front office is where people sell things, and the back office does all of the work to make sure that customers get what they need.
More staff will lead to more documents. You need to have a lot of storage space to store all of the papers. There are a lot of extra steps that you have to go through in order to keep the process efficient. The documents are stored on a computer and not directly available for other employees. There is a chance that people will make the same documents over and over again.
When someone sends a document to another person, they might save a copy of it when they get the email. This means that people will have two copies of the document. One copy will be in one place and one in another area. This is what happens when the company grows over time.
You installed a free document management solutions to make them run smoother. It can be challenging and takes time to learn how to use it. A DMS is not enough for smooth functioning in a growing organization. You need to know how to organize documents in the DMS, and it can be difficult when everything is connected with computers and networks.
For electronic file management, an organization is key.
Organizations help you keep your office clean. The original purpose of electronic document management is to make sure that you can find any document. Maybe the document is years old, but if you use a DMS, you will be able to find it in seconds.
Organizing your growing organization can be challenging. You need to have a place for all of your documents. You want them to be easy to find and not mixed up with other things. Ways to do this are in the article,
“File Management Tips for Your Organization.”
1. You should always set up a default folder for all your programs.
When you install an app, make sure to put it in the right place. If you use windows, then put it under the Program Files directory. You can find this under (Drive Letter) when using a Windows computer.
2. One place for all documents
You should put all your documents in one place. Usually, the default folder is called My Documents. It’s best if you have a single root and create folders inside that. This will make it easier to find things or run backups.
3. Create folders in a hierarchy
Folders in your computer are like drawers in a filing cabinet. You should use simple and understandable words when naming them. You can’t use abbreviations because then you won’t know what they mean later on when you’re using the folder.
4. Nest folders within folders
Create folders of other things. For example, your folder might be called content marketing and then have subfolders for graphics, SEO, and blogs. The goal is to make a simple filing system that people can understand. You should always try to use an organized system.
5. Be specific
It is essential to give your file a logical and specific name. The goal of the name should be so that you can open it and understand what is inside anytime. To do this, just write in the date next to the title, like “overdue_20180115” instead of “letter.”
When you share files with other people, but more information in the file name. For example, if your document is stored at My Documents/Invoices/2017/Customers and it is called John_2220000.doc, then you should rename the file to be John_2220000-Invoice (or something similar).
6. File as you go
Save your document as soon as you make it. You should use the “Save As” dialogue box for filling in your documents. Name the document and put it in a place that is easy to find.
7. Order your files for your convenience
You should rename folders and files that you use often. Use letters like AA in the folder names.
8. Kill your files regularly
You may have an invoice that you do not need anymore, but you cannot delete it. If you do, then you can make a mistake and lose your business because of it. For business files, create a folder called “Old” or “Inactive” and move these files to them.
9. Back up your files regularly.
You should make a backup routine. It is essential to have copies of all your files and folders on another drive or on a tape.
Manage your electronic documents in a way that is easy to find and organize. If you don’t, you will have a mess. A good document management system should include: storing your files, making backups of them, and keeping them safe from hackers.
