File it, file it, and make sure you filed it
Even the small one man business will end up generating a huge amount of paper, whether it’s petrol receipts, invoices, letters to customers, or bank statements. It’s important to properly file all the paper that you get. There are several broad categories into which documents should be filed.
Accounts - This include banks statements, receipts, any document or form from the Inland Revenue service.
Invoices - Any document which requires your action to complete payment.
Insurance certificates - Any insurance policy should be kept safe and secure away from the bulk of you paper. If you employ staff you should display your certificate of Employer Liability, if you fail to produce this if asked by the Health and Safety executive you can be fined £1,000.
Professional certificates - If you are an advice provider make sure that your professional certificates, and certification of association are stored securely yet are accessible.
Service contracts - If you have any service contracts for telephony, IT equipment, or other office equipment such as photocopiers, make sure they are well filled and easily accessible should something break down.
Customer records - Any document that relates to customers, this includes customer details, correspondence, and acknowledgments.
Customer contracts - It’s important to store these in a separate section of the customers file so that you have easy access.
Employee information - Any document that relates to employees, this includes employee details, correspondence, supervision notes and emergency contact details.
Enquires - Any enquires that you get from potential customers should always be filled separately from your actual customers, and followed up soon after the enquiry to see if they are still interested in your product/service.
Paper can come at you from all and every direction and in order to file it properly it’s important to deal with it as soon as it comes in. It’s important to be able to get to the documents you need in a timely fashion, that’s only possible if you file it correctly.
