We’ve discovered over the years that one of the easiest (and most important) tasks to accomplish is one of the most difficult to actually begin—GETTING ORGANIZED. Anyone who couldn’t find that important proposal they needed or who has spent days on “last-minute” tax preparation knows the pain of not having a good system of organization in place.
Here, we provide some ideas on how to simply organize your business files so you (and your co-workers) can always find what you need, when you need it!
Even with an outline to start you off, you’ll still want to schedule some time to get everything done. How much time you will need depends on the number of files you have to organize and how disorganized those files currently are. Busy schedules can make it tough to carve out a block of your work day, but the trouble and time saved in the long run will more than make up for whatever time you spend organizing now.
Every business will have to customize their file system to meet specialized business needs, but here is a basic organization structure to get you started:

  • Business Plan & Organization Information
  • Product and/or Service Information
    Product/Service #1
    Product/Service #2
    Product/Service etc.
    Manufacturing/Supply Information
  • Accounting & Financial Information
    Accounts Payable
    Accounts Receivable
    P&L Sheets
    Balance Sheets
  • Sales & Marketing
    Sales
    — CRM Information
    — Sales Material
    — Convention/Networking Event Information
    Marketing
    — Marketing Plan/Goals
    — Website
    — Collateral
    — Advertising
    — Presentations
    — Graphics (logo, branding, partner, product, misc.)
    — Content & Social Media Info
    — Analytics
  • Legal Documents
    Corporate/DBA/Registration Documents
    Contracts
    Document Templates (NDAs, employee contracts, client contracts, etc.)
    Copyrights, Patents and other Intellectual Properties
  • HR Information
    Personnel Information
    Payroll Information
    Employee Benefits
    Employment Forms