Paper Filing Systems

• File and Find Documents Fast
The only reason to file papers is to give them a place to be until you need them again. A good filing system should take you very little time to file or find documents. Don’t spend time creating an elaborate system, and don’t automatically file everything that comes your way. Studies consistently show that 80 percent of papers filed are never referred to again!
There’s no one best filing system. The best system for you will depend on what kinds of documents you file and how you will think to search for them. Design your own system as you discover what works best for you. And what works best may be a combination of systems. Here are some ideas to get you thinking.
• Keep categories broad
Filing by category provides a logical structure for files because similar subjects are grouped together. If you choose a different color for each category, it’s easy to see where they’re located as soon as you open the file drawer. Aim for category labels broad enough that most new documents fit one of them. Create a new category when necessary but don’t make them so specific that you create a new file for every new piece of paper.
For example, in most small businesses, there’s no need to subdivide a category called “Legal” into permits, licenses, trademark registrations, etc. You just don’t need to be that specific; one file is plenty. If it has to do with legal matters, drop it in; if you have to retrieve it later you can thumb through the file until you find the right document. On the other hand, a category called “Clients” wouldn’t be specific enough. It would be impractical to put all your individual client folders into one hanging file; you’d want separate files for each one, probably arranged alphabetically. And you’d want them all to be the same color, so you know instantly that a file that’s yellow, for example, is a client file.
Ideally, when adding new information you’ll place it in the front of the file, but I don’t think it’s a big problem if you don’t. Files shouldn’t be so thick that it takes more than a moment or two to find what you’re looking for no matter where it is in the file. If files become too crowded, subcategorize or weed out outdated information.

• Locate files based on frequency of use
Keep the files you use all the time in the most convenient location, just like you would with any other office tool. Keep the ones you use less frequently a bit farther away—perhaps across the room, and the ones you seldom use even farther away, maybe in a storage closet.
• File routine statements by month
Think how fast and easy filing would be if you simply dropped all bills from the current month into one file and were done with your filing! Though most of us learned to file by vendor—telephone bills together, credit card statements together, etc., it’s far easier to file all the bills from January together, all the bills from February together, and so on. Filing by month might be a bit more trouble if you need to find a specific bill, since you’d have to guess at approximate timing and might have to check a few different files. But most of the time, we never refer to past bills anyway, so the filing time you will definitely save up front more than offsets the time you might spend later on.
It’s a good idea to keep two years of monthly files, rotating the current year to the back when the year ends and bringing last year’s file forward. As the bills come in for the new year, review what’s in the file from two years ago, and if you no longer need it, shred it. If you do need it, you can move it to a permanent “category” file at that time. Not only is this technique fast and easy, it automatically keeps your files from becoming stuffed with outdated paper.