How to Implement a Computerized Filing System – business.com – Business.com
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Keeping your documents organized in today’s super-digitized, speedy world can be difficult and time-consuming. Whether you use local storage on your computers or mobile devices, or the increasingly popular cloud storage option, it’s important to implement a computerized filing system that enables your business to create, store, manage, and share documents and other files with ease.
This article will explain what a computerized filing system is, how it differs from a traditional filing system and how you can create an electronic filing system for your business.
A computerized or electronic filing system organizes and stores your business’s files on a hard drive or network space. The system can be software- or internet-based, or a simple desktop folder/file system on a computer.
The primary reason why people use a computerized filing system is it’s an easy way to safely store and organize files. This organization largely comes in the form of indexing, which categorizes and registers every document entered into the system based on specific properties that you can customize, such as file size or function.
Computerized systems also offer greater options for securing your files and sharing them, making it easier for team members to collaborate on shared documents.
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Traditional systems are generally paper-based and manually organized, whereas electronic systems – as the name suggests – are digital, with documents organized and stored digitally.
Traditional filing systems tend to take up a lot of physical space – all of those papers require boxes or filing cabinets to store them – and these systems are susceptible to physical damage like fading, fire, flooding or other damage.
Computerized or electronic filing systems are generally more budget-friendly, they free up physical space, and offer many benefits that help you organize your documents and share them across your company with ease.
Switching from a traditional to a computerized filing system can greatly increase your system’s functionality by automating many aspects of the process, like indexing and tracking.
Here are seven ways that implementing a digital filing system can help your business manage documents more efficiently.
Creating your own computerized filing system takes time, but it is well worth the time and effort. The result is a well-thought-out and organized system.
Here are six steps to creating a computerized filing system for your business.
If you are not overseeing the filing process, assign an administrative staff member to be responsible. Make sure your whole team is aware of what changes are being implemented and who is responsible for overseeing the process. This lets employees know whom they should go to with questions and who is designated as the point person in keeping track of important documents.
Take an inventory of all the documents you have, how big they are, what their function is, how long they need to be stored, etc. Next, loosely organize them accordingly. This is the kick-off of your actual filing process, so think carefully about how you organize documents.
Keep your main goal in mind: to make it as easy as possible for someone to find a document quickly. Folders should have a clear sense of order, they should not be cluttered, and they should not hinder your compnay’s workflow. Be consistent in your labeling and separating.
You don’t need a folder for every small subgroup. For example, you can make one folder for “Medical Records,” and create subfolders within that folder categories by month or by year to keep your system orderly and uncluttered.
Naming your files is a vital part of the filing process. Proper and consistent naming makes it easy for anyone in your organization to quickly find a document, because they have a well-founded assumption of what the file might be named and where it might be stored.
Make sure the file name makes sense and includes the most important information regarding what the document is or says.
If you have important paper documents that must be retained permanently, create a dedicated place within your filing system for those documents. Consider making electronic copies of the paper originals, or if you must store the paper documents, organize them according to your system.
Once your filing is complete, make sure your entire organization is clear on how the system works and how documents must be named, filed and stored going forward. Create a document that outlines all of your filing guidelines. Keep it in your files, and include training on your filing process as part of your onboarding process.
Naming your files effectively is one of the most important aspects of an efficient filing system. Without a consistent file-naming convention in place, finding documents becomes confusing, difficult and frustrating. If you start with good habits, you set your business up for success.
To start, understand that there are two types of files on your computer – the ones you create and the ones you collect.
Create a system that differentiates these two file types in a way that makes sense, whether that’s marking it in the file name or dictating where the file is stored.
Next, decide on a naming system. What works best varies from business to business. You have to determine the best naming system for your organization. Many businesses use a combination of name and date so documents are easy to find according to how old they are.
Here are a few suggestions to follow when naming your files:
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