Why Your Start Up Business Needs To Get Organised In The New Year

As a start-up business, you are still developing and as such you must stay on top of organising your papers from the early stages. With the New Year connoting new beginnings and resolutions, now is the best time as any to sort through your archives and ensure everything is in place.

A good way of measuring the effectiveness of your document management system is being assured that anyone with permission to access files is able to do so when you and any other senior personnel are not available to do it for them.

So how does your start up achieve this? It all comes down to not only storing your current records correctly, but establishing an archive system that lasts.

Getting retention right

You may think that you do not need to keep much of the paperwork from the previous year, or equally you feel that the more you keep the safer you are. Neither of these schools of thought are necessarily correct, and that’s where a robust retention schedule is vital.

From the very beginnings of your business, you are required to be aware of how long key records such as VAT and Insurance forms, employee details and legal items must be kept. There are plenty of resources online that will tell you the length required for these standard documents, so make certain that you are in the know.

Once the schedule is determined, it’s time to establish an archiving system.

Simple tips for effective archiving

When carrying out an audit of your hard and digital copies, bear in mind these tips to ensure you do not retain what can be gotten rid of, and that nothing is accidentally disposed of:

Know what must be kept in a paper-based format e.g. contracts with original signatures.

Remove what you don’t have to keep. Half-full lever arch or box files take up a lot of unnecessary space; simply bind and keep the papers.

Get rid of duplicates. People tend to keep extra copies of copies “just in case”. Obviously it makes sense to have an original and one copy of electronic material.

Combine. Often over a given period, a series of papers for one project, customer or client will have been created. Look to bring them together into one coherent resource.

Consider making use of off-site storage facilities for both digital and hard copies of documents. Doing so means your material can be archived in a physical location well away from your office. Therefore, in the case of unexpected accidents, from an office fire to a damaged hard drive, you have a safe and secure backup.

It’s all in the name

For proficient storing and retrieval of records, it’s vital to think about the title you give it. Throughout your organisation regardless of its size, the aim should be to find a standard technique of labelling material so that each member of the team can understand where a file will be and then easily get to it. Use recognisable key words, as well as dates and the author of the original item to make it easier.

A swift way to share

You may have records which several people need to access, contribute to or update. Many cloud storage systems and management software will make this an easier process which will avoid error or data loss. By managing records in this manner, you are also effectively encouraging collaboration amongst staff, and avoiding the frustration caused by duplication of ‘working’ or ‘live’ files. Being able to retrieve documents from any location is also beneficial for remote workers and contributors, or those travelling to meetings who are able to do the job on the go.

Starting your new year by taking simple steps like the above will help create a more organised office environment. A lot of time can be wasted searching for that which is unlikely to be found, and this can be a poor reflection on the professionalism of your company.