Accounting Paper Filing System

Access to financial files and data should be limited.

Accounting paper filing system.

Use a filing system that makes other office chores easier not harder. As bills come in you can place them in the 12 month file for the month they are due. As the business grows the sections can be split out into new folders. Very small or new businesses can start off with one folder filled with dividers for each section.

Paper and pencil used to be the way accounting was done before the advent of computers. If you work with a lot of different clients or customers an alphabetical system might be best for you. 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. Finances might be one.

The manual process can be tedious and prone to errors but it is simple and inexpensive making it a perfectly good choice. 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. How you arrange your paper filing system will depend on what you use it for. 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.

The number of folders or binders you need will depend on how many transactions your business carries out. For instance if you study law separate your papers into contract law. 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. So instead of taking that receipt for a printer toner cartridge and filing it under p in my main filing system i file it.

Accounting systems don t need to be complicated and many small businesses do well with a manual system. If you work with many different subject areas consider arranging your paperwork by topics. At this point we re not focusing on the detail of your filing system. It s common for accounting departments to have many filing cabinets including locked ones to safeguard payroll and other confidential information.

Then move the current month s bills to the 30 day file by the day they are due. Accounting employees handle a lot of paperwork and without a filing system the office can quickly become a mess. 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.