Organize customers files

Pros: Each team knows where to find their files, so searching is faster. Cons: When departments do collaborate, it can be confusing deciding where to save files. Ideally, your file names should be detailed enough that you know exactly what they are at a glance. Start with the broadest category at the beginning of the file name, like the year or department, and then get more specific.

Whatever you decide, just be consistent. Work together with features like chat, file sharing, and video calling. Establish a system for version control. Another option is to establish a clear order of file name endings and ask the whole organization to stick to it.

This is useful if you want a separate file to mark each stage of a process, but it does lead to more files. Give the client a time limit on revisions, if possible, to avoid a never-ending revision cycle. There are several ways to organize images, such as by year, event, project, or department. If your business attends a lot of events, consider creating folders for each event type, such as each conference.

Just like with your other files, decide on an image naming convention and stick to it. Be specific and descriptive, so searching for images is easier. Manage leadership-only or confidential files. Build data protection into your digital file organization strategy.

Set sharing settings on files and folders so that people outside your organization like clients and contractors can only access what they need.

Some software gives you granular control over file sharing settings so you can:. Establish a system for which sharing settings to use on which files. Share those guidelines with your team and post them somewhere convenient for future reference. For folders with leadership-only access, remember to revoke access as soon as an employee leaves.

Organize large amounts of files by years or quarters. It can be overwhelming to organize thousands of files, but there are tools to help you. Move all of them from one year into their own folder. If you like, create subfolders for each month or quarter. If you need to rename a lot of files, there are apps for bulk file renaming , some of which are free. Be sure to shred old and defunct files; never toss them into the trash whole.

Stealing unshredded paperwork that contains personal information is one of the top methods for identity theft. Invest in a shredder. Small, personal shredders that destroy discs and heavier materials as well as paper are convenient, inexpensive, and constantly useful. Some office supply stores offer a shredding service to dispose of your sensitive documents. Ask a friend or family member who has experience with filing to give you some help for a little extra money.

Whether you file electronically, use a filing cabinet or even a shoe box make sure you set sometime each week to file everything away. I was at a clients office last week who is complaining that their work is getting on top of them and low-and-behold he had 7, emails in his Inbox, 4, unread going all the way back to !

Thats great article, I recommend guys to do this when their business is in growing level, if you are not doing it now then you will difficult to this with lot of files. Keep a period for files and delete it.

Its better to give a copy to your client if possible. Thanks for wonderful tips. Excellent tips, just wanted to comment on 1, Electronic filing is the way to go, best way to stay green and save space.. Also allows you to have access to records with a click of a button vs. Awesome list. I have sort of a system. My system is fairly simple right now…. All my emails are forward to my gmail account. I have 3 main folders..

Current Clients, Old Clients, and Estimates. I move the emails around according to the status of the account. I also have a folder for receipts.. Keep your business folders for business. One of the most effective ways to organize your files is by category. Again, think of the grocery store. Foods are organized into sections like produce, dairy, packaged foods, etc.

Many business activities think reports or events are reoccurring, so organizing by year or month makes it easy to identify the most current files and find past versions. Subfolders help create logical groups within your larger categories. For example, within a client folder, you might have separate subfolder for each project.

Then within the project, you may have further subfolders for correspondence and contracts. Even if you know the right folder to look in, finding the correct version of a file can be hard. One way to help is to create subfolders for the stages of a task.

Use the Final folder for any documents that are completed and approved. For example, if you were doing a print brochure, you would put the final press-ready version in this folder. Then use the Archive folder to store old materials for reference, like notes, research, scrapped ideas, etc.