How to create a sustainable filing system for your business

Creating a sustainable and well-organised digital filing system for your business documents helps to ease frustration in the long run. Doesn’t matter if you're only just setting up your filing system or you're about to tackle the big job of organising a system that's evolved over time, the below process will help. 

If you are using the same computer for both business and personal use, separate your business documents by creating a folder specifically for your business, using your business name.

Mapping & Grouping: 

Start by creating a map of your folders. This may be pen on paper, sticky notes, a document table or a spreadsheet. You may also like to go straight into creating digital folders on your computer. 

List all the folders you think you may need, it doesn't matter how small or detailed you get. For example: 

• Templates 

• Service Agreements 

• Social Media 

• Branding 

• Invoices 

• Insurance 

• ABN 

• Domain Information 

Once everything is written out, start grouping them into major categories. Take the time to move folders around and figure out where your information is to be stored; this part will evolve as you grow. Here are some examples of major folder groups: 

• Important 

• Bookkeeping 

• Clients 

• Marketing 

• Training 

It's important to create a clear hierarchy system for your folders. Don't be alarmed if you have several subfolders, this can be tidied up as you go. 

Creating: 

Once you have your layout, start creating your major folders and subfolders inside your business folder. I like to number my major folders in order of importance, to ensure quick access. Numbering is completely optional and up to personal preference. I also include an Archive folder at both the major folder and subfolder level, naming the folder "00. Archive" so it remains at the top.  

An Archive folder is particularly handy when you want to file away old versions of documents, but don't want to completely delete them. It can also come in use when organising your files as you begin to drag and drop. 

Organising: 

This is my favourite part! Begin to drag and drop files into their appropriate folder. You'll soon learn if you need to create more folders, reduce or merge them. It also becomes clear if you need to file away documents into yearly or monthly folders. You'll also be able to weed out any duplicated files by archiving them. 

If you find that you require repetitive folders, this is when you would create a template folder of what you need, to copy and paste as needed.  

Evolving: 

Know that your folder structure will evolve over time as you figure out what you need, what's important, and if it can be merged with another group. Having organised folders really complement a standardised naming convention for your files, ensuring everything has its place, you know where to save a file or download, and you're not spending unnecessary time searching for what you need. 

This process allows you to choose how detailed you would like your business folders to be, and what works for you.