Managing a small business is an endeavor. Your primary goal is to make money selling your product and there are a few things it takes to ensure your business runs smoothly.
There are external factors, like advertising and reviews of your business. There are also internal factors, like hiring good staff and a smooth business model.
One of the other internal factors you may not have considered, however, is your filing system.
Without a good filing system, you will spend time searching for and even recreating files. Boosting file management will help your internal operations run smoothly and provide you with easy access to your files when you need them. Keep reading to learn six easy ways to help provide structure for your files.
Store Data in a Single Location
The simplest way to manage your data is by keeping it in one location. Most, if not all operating systems already delineate a place where documents ought to go.
For Windows users, the My Documents tab is assigned for your files. Mac users have the Documents tab via Finder.
Electronic storage management is streamlined to help you efficiently file your documents. However, if you want to keep some physical files on-hand, Japanese file folders are great for the job. Make sure that the files you keep are only the most important and most-used files to help reduce clutter.
Follow File-Naming Conventions
If multiple people need to access files, it’s good to remember that different operating systems allow/don’t allow certain characters in file names. Instead of spaces, use underscores to separate words. Windows doesn’t allow special characters in file names, so stay away from those as well.
Backup Your Files
Make sure to keep backups of your files. Schedule regular times to ensure that you have up-to-date backups. This will protect in the event of a data breach, hard drive crash, or files end up deleted.
Delete Old Files
Set aside time to purge your files at regular intervals. As much as we love hanging onto things, keep your files streamlined by deleting stuff you don’t need or use.
If you have questions about certain files or unsure if you will need them, create an archive folder. After a certain period, reevaluate if you need these files and decide to keep or delete them.
Arrange Files by Hierarchy
For files that you use daily, you may not want to store those files in sub-folders. For easy access, include letters or numbers at the beginning of the file name. Your most important files will receive the number one, or letter A, and then continue from there.
Boosting File Management Through Cloud Storage
Cloud storage is a simple and effective way to store your files. If multiple team members need access to files, this allows everyone easy access. Another plus is that cloud storage can be accessed via desktop, laptop, or even mobile devices.
There are many cloud storage options and each comes with its own set of features that can tailor to your specific needs.
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