Accounting Paper Filing System

If you work with many different subject areas consider arranging your paperwork by topics.

Accounting paper filing system.

Many people find it much easier to organize a digital filing system over a paper filing system after every paper file has been converted to a digital format. Paper and pencil used to be the way accounting was done before the advent of computers. Look at your current filing system or that pile of paper that you ve been meaning to file for months and start sorting your documents into broad categories. The number of folders or binders you need will depend on how many transactions your business carries out.

The manual process can be tedious and prone to errors but it is simple and inexpensive making it a perfectly good choice. For instance if you study law separate your papers into contract law. House stuff could be another. Accounting systems don t need to be complicated and many small businesses do well with a manual system.

It s common for accounting departments to have many filing cabinets including locked ones to safeguard payroll and other confidential information. How you arrange your paper filing system will depend on what you use it for. Finances might be one. 5 steps to organize a filing system to get yourself and your business on the right track follow five steps to make sure papers are easily accessible and easily identifiable.

As the business grows the sections can be split out into new folders. Most of the paper that i need to be filing is related to the process of doing business and these documents need to be entered into the accounting system before anything else is done with them. As bills come in you can place them in the 12 month file for the month they are due. If you work with a lot of different clients or customers an alphabetical system might be best for you.

At this point we re not focusing on the detail of your filing system. Very small or new businesses can start off with one folder filled with dividers for each section. Access to financial files and data should be limited. If you choose to digitize your files you will need to start by scanning and converting your old files a process that can be time and labor intensive.

So instead of taking that receipt for a printer toner cartridge and filing it under p in my main filing system i file it. You may be able to avoid using these files if you are using a computerized bookkeeping system and set up the bill pay reminder system in your accounting program. Then move the current month s bills to the 30 day file by the day they are due.