| ||
| ||
|
Organizing Information | |
|
|
Getting Organized For The New Year - Part 2
In part 1, we discussed a system you could use to organize your office. In this article we will discuss what material is needed to implement that system. You will need the following items for your office system. Calendar/Daily Planner; Accordion File (1-31); Manila Files with the Months of the Year (Or you can make them up yourself - a lot less expensive); Hanging Files; Manila Files; Boxes and Envelopes (9 x 12). The calendar/daily planner will contain all appointments, meetings and deadlines for project. The accordion file dated 1-31, along with the Manila Files with the Months of the Year will contain materials you have tickled. The tickler file is a very popular system in legal offices. Any materials you need to act on by a certain date are tickled, usually one week in advance. It is also used for standardized meetings. For example, if staff meetings are conducted on Friday, place a Manila folder entitled Staff meeting in the Friday slot, and place any agenda items or meeting items in the folder. Remember to tickle it for the day before the meeting, if you need to make up the agenda, or give agenda items to someone else. This system is also excellent for gathering information for client meetings. This system will also serve to give you a clean desk, as you can place To Do items for the next day in your tickle file. It is also used to put in notes to yourself to follow up on certain items. The hanging and manila folders are for your files. Boxes are for your records and files to be stored in at the end of the year. The 9 x 12 Envelopes are used to hold your receipts, canceled checks, expenses and income sheets. You should label one envelope Income and place your income sheet in the file and note when any checks come in. Label one other envelope as Expenses and put in it all receipts for purchases, canceled checks, and any other expenses you generate. At the end of the month tally up the monthly totals. I place the month on the envelope and separate my expenses into categories, such as supplies, telephone, utilities, copying, postage, etc., put the total cost next to the category and then a final total. At the end of each month's tally, paper clip or staple that month's receipts together, place them back in the envelope and file for the following month. Since most self employed individuals pay estimated taxes every 3 month period, the envelopes will have 3 months on them, for example, October, November, December. Remember bundle each month's items separately. Seal the envelopes, file them, and then you are ready to calculate the amount to pay the IRS for the next estimated period. In December of each year: 1. Box up last years files. 2. Make up new hanging files and manila folders for the new year. If you are need of a label program, Avery Pro for the laser is excellent. It is easy to use, you can import files from popular word processing programs and it has its own database manager, which will allow you to re-run these same files for the next year. 3. Enter all standard meetings in your calendar or planner for the coming year. 4. Put all your income, expenses and other records you need for tax preparation in one box. Run your spreadsheet program or financial program to see what your income and expenses came to for the year. Do up a budget for the coming year, a projections sheet to determine how many clients you need to increase profits, and cut any extraneous expenses. Following this system will enable you to spend more time on growing your business. Good luck. For more organization and time management strategies for your business, check out our Home Business Manual at www.homebusinesssolutions.com/products/products.htm
Interested in having your own successful, home based creative real estate investing business? Chuck and Sue have been helping folks start successful home based businesses for over 19 years, and we can help you too! To see how, visit http://www.homebusinesssolutions.com for the latest FREE tips and tricks, educational products and coaching in creative real estate investing and home based businesses. No time to visit the site? Subscribe to our "how to" Home Business Solutions Digest, it's like having your own personal coach: mailto:subscribeHBS@homebusinesssolutions.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Can You Really Improve Your Organisation Skills I'm sure most of you have heard of Zig Ziglar International Sales Guru. Well in one of Zig's weekly newsletters, there were a number of comments about the habits of well-organised people which I couldn't resist sharing with you. How Can I Deal With It All? Are you feeling overwhelmed? Have a to-do list a mile long? An in-tray that's about to collapse? Closets that are jam-packed with junk and a stack of family photos?Now school is starting and things are just going to get worse! How can you deal with it all?Often when we look at all there is to do, it can seem and is overwhelming. But if we chunk it down into smaller tasks the world starts to look a lot brighter. 10 Simple Steps to a More Organized Household 1. Divide big jobs into smaller jobs. Getting Things Done: A Guide To Next-Action Lists Getting Things Done (GTD), is a productivity methodology designed by David Allen. GTD increases your productivity by getting things out of your mind, and into a reliable system that you can trust. Memorabilia -- Use It or Lose It! What do you do with those special items that have been passed down to you? Put them in the hall closet and hope the door will shut? Probably not a good choice for several reasons. First, you are unnecessarily creating clutter; second, if the item is very old and unstable, you will further the aging process; finally, and most importantly, what's the point of keeping these special items if the only time you enjoy them is when you move or get the bug to clean out a closet! This summer my grandmother passed away and I was the recipient of many beautiful things, especially table linens. Ten Signs That Your Life Is Cluttered How do you know if you need to clean out? Here's a sure-fire ten-step way to spot (and deal with!) clutter in your life.YOU HAVE TO MOVE A PILE OFF A CHAIR SO SOMEONE CAN SIT DOWNHaving a junk closet where you hide it all away is one thing (not good, but certainly a bit more tolerable). Just How Organized Are You? Take This Quiz For Individuals The Productive Environment Scorecard?Read the statements below and rate your reactions to each pair of phrases. Decide where you rate on the scale from 1 (You rate yourself low) to 10 (You rate yourself high). 8 Signs Your Home is Out of Control -- and What to Do About It It happens without warning. One day you notice your home has turned into a collage of papers, junk, and stuff - everywhere. Organisation - Getting Back To Basics If you look at any major organisation, there is this trend for executives to use "palm pilots" in conjunction with software schedulers such as Microsoft Outlook.What's really interesting is even with all this technology (and many of these execs are fortunate to have personal assistants) they are still disorganised. Mental Clutter- Is It Taking Over Your Life? Chances are, most of you have a lot you need to get done.Oftentimes, there are projects on your to-do list that require SEVERAL steps in order to complete the task at hand. Get Organized - Stay Organized My mother is one of the most productive people I know. She is 78 years old and still works full-time as the personal assistant to the CEO of a bank. How Much Is Your Time Worth? Does Your Present Internet Filing System Work?Do You Really Know for Sure How Much You Earned? Do You Really Know for Sure or Just "Think So"? Do You Really Know for Sure Which Ads Work? Do You Really Know for Sure Where your URL's Are? Do You Really Know for Sure? DO YOU ??We have all wasted precious working hours, sometimes frantically looking for an article or business letter saying "that's where it was last time.. The True Definition of an Organization The true definition of an organization is one that is organized. Organized in all areas of fundamental business best practices. Can You Make a "Torpedo" Out of Personal Junk? How to Optimize What You Have "Junkyard Wars," a TV series showed two teams of experts contending for a title. The aim of the competition was for teams to construct a torpedo that can hit a target. Clutters Side Effects: How the State of Your Home Affects Your Life Each area of your home has a symbolic meaning with which you resonate on a subconscious level. Clutter and untidiness within each of these areas causes constriction and inertia in the corresponding aspects of your life. Create A Working Mail Center I talk about the mail a lot in my newsletter, Organewz, and to my clients. I write about it again because I have seen so many people still without one place for their mail. 5 Steps From Clutter To Control Are you overwhelmed by clutter wherever you turn? Here are 5 practically painless steps to a clean slate.1. Organize Your Children & Save Your Sanity It may be difficult to relate saving money with organization but the two terms really go hand in hand. If you are able to organize right down to the smallest detail, then not only will you save yourself countless panic headaches, but you will have more time on your hands allowing yourself to be more productive and get more accomplished. Saying Goodbye to Stacks of Paper and Distractions A daily journal will save you time, reduce stress and make you more productive.Several months ago, I visited the office of a million dollar producer. Thinking Outside the Box Much of my time as a Professional Organizer is spent helping people to put things into containers and boxes. But, success in this business requires as much thinking "outside the box" as it does about putting things into containers.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
