Office Organizing Systems

By Cyndi Seidler

There are various systems that help an office run smoothly, efficiently, and productively. Below are key areas that should have systems in place to achieve organization for an office.

Filing System

You should have a categorized filing system that works with your business operations. It will help to look at your company's organizing board or chart to see its departments and functions.

Use hanging files to tab and hold category items and file folders to hold documents within categories. Some main categories are:

Administration files
Client or customer files
Financial and Accounting: Vendor files (Accounts Payable), invoices (Accounts Receivable)
Company or Management files (plans, strategies, policies, etc.).
Human Resources or Personnel files
Legal files
Marketing and sales files
Operations files
Public relations files
Quality Control files
Reference or subject/data files
Research & Development

Name the file folders so that they can be found and retrieved easily. You don't want to file one piece of paper in a file folder - it should go with similar type documents (i.e., "marketing articles").

Computer Filing

File documents in categories that fit your operations, just as you would with your office files. If you find yourself spending time looking for a document, it is not filed or named properly. Be sure to name the document and, depending on your program's capabilities, fill in the document summary when saving it. This will allow you enter keywords to search for all related files.

A word-processing program should have sub-directories under the main directory. A simple set-up would be:

Letters
Contracts
Projects
Policies
Proposals

Whatever the category, it needs to state the topic in which items related to it can be filed. Some may need another sub-directory (such as projects/smith).

With the current Windows95, a great method is to make sub-directories like the filing system categories (above) and file all related electronic documents in the appropriate place. This architecture should be structured with hierarchical levels (like a Chart of Accounts).

EXAMPLES:

John Doe letter is filed under "ADMINISTRATION/CORRESPONDENCE/John Doe letter".

John Doe contract is filed under "LEGAL/CONTRACTS/John Doe Contract".

John Doe project is filed under "OPERATIONS/CLIENTS/PROJECTS/John Doe Project".

Policy document is filed under "COMPANY/POLICIES/(policy name)".

To learn more about categorization, it may be helpful to look at a Chart of Accounts. Everything falls under one of those!

Standard Form Letters

Create standard "form letters" in computer on routine correspondence. Save time by typing routine letters such as:

Sales letter
Meeting acknowledgment
Sales follow-up letter with enclosures
Orders

Whenever you find yourself typing something repetitively, make a form letter!

Tracking Systems

Activities and projects can go awry without effective tracking systems. Here are ways to be more efficient with your work:

Log sheets. If you have ever wanted to trace some information, a log is an easy way to find information quickly. It is also helpful during an evaluation of an activity (such as promotion, new job orders, sales, etc.).
Production boards. This is useful in seeing, at a glance, what actions are done and what still needs to be done.
Checklists. Use a checklist to track actions done and actions which still needs to be done.
Tickler (reminder) files. This can be an alphabetical or numerical accordion file or html card system which stores information to be followed up on.
Voice-mail log book. This shows what calls came in, what calls were returned, and any information about the call. Some people use a spiral notebook to log their incoming calls. Some use duplicate message pads.

No matter what activity you do, a tracking system should be created to keep track of actions that need attention and follow-up, as well as documenting certain activities.

Organizing Tools

Use any office products that will help you organize your office more efficiently. Office supply catalogues can give one a good idea of the tools they would need.

Some useful office products to store information:

Rolodex
Business card holder
Magazine holders
Notebook binders
Production boards
Bulletin boards
Computer disc holders
Shelf-organizers (for literature)
Stacking basket trays
Desktop vertical file holder

There are many products which provide a "home" for your papers and your work. Make a "shopping list" of items you need to get organized.

Managing Contacts

Whether you use a manual system or computer system for your contact management, you should have designated places or databases in which to keep:

Leads
Clients
Business associates and vendors

As you would not put leads, for example, scattered in various computer databases, you shouldn't put leads scattered in different places around the office either.

When information comes in on a client or lead (from a phone call or meeting), make notes and put in a folder or in the database record on that person.

If the person needs a follow-up, put a "tickler" note in a file or calendar. In a computer, you can tag an appointment for the day to call back.

Without delay, use your appointment scheduler to note any meeting appointments. Don't hold on to a meeting note and try to remember to mark your calendar later.

If, however, you are out without your appointment book (maybe at an evening social) and a meeting date is requested from someone you know or meet, make it a tentative time to be confirmed after you look at your calendar. This date, of course, is written down until you can put the information in its proper place (at which point, the note can be discarded).

Keep information on your contacts current. Maintain good running records by updating or revising any new information you receive on a contact (i.e., change of address or phone number, conversations with things discussed, etc.).

Depending on your operations, it is a good procedure to tag a lead or new client for follow-up. Use your tickler file or computer appointment scheduler for this.

If you have a series of steps to follow on a contact (lead or client), you should have a checklist that lists the procedure which carries out various action steps (from start to completion).

In this case, having a production (or organizing) board keeps track of the actions that have been done and actions that need to be done on a person.

Depending on your operations, some people keep "prospects" separate from "leads." In most instances, however, these are one and the same. But, in some businesses, these are treated differently:

Prospects are general mailing list contacts (cold contacts).
Leads are people who have had some contact with your company, but not a client (warm contacts).

These are categorized separately (filed in separate folders or, with a computer, grouped differently using a key code.

When a contact is made with a "prospect," they are moved to a different place (either they become a lead or a client) or given a change of status in the computer. Do not have a double entry on that person (where he is kept in two places and receives correspondence which is not pertinent with his change of status).

Your company's "goldmine" lies in its contacts. It is vital to manage these with an organized system that works for you.

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