​Well, that will vary from business to business, there isn’t a right or wrong way of doing it, it’s just about finding the right way for you and your business.  Below is a list of popular filing options and how they are best used:
 
Ringbinders
Great for holding small quantities of paperwork.  If your business relies on fairs to sell directly to customers you probably won’t have that much paperwork to keep, so you may get everything you need for the year in one file.
 
Lever Arch Files
Larger files suitable to hold larger quantities of paperwork.  If you are producing more than 100 sales or purchases per month you may find it easier to separate your paperwork and have a dedicated file just for your sales invoices and another for purchase invoices etc.
 
Filing Cabinet
This is a great option if you need to keep a small amount of information on a large number of customers or suppliers.  Each file will have its own hangar to sit in and they will be arranged alphabetically so you can find them easily.  Be careful though, the hangars are not that strong and if you need to keep more than perhaps 20 sheets of paper the hangar may start to warp under the weight.
 
Box Files
These can be very useful if you need to keep several pieces of information of varying sizes together neatly, or if you have items that you either can’t or don’t want to punch holes in, such as pre-printed booklets or marketing materials.  It is also a great way to store small sample products.
 
Concertina Files
When you first start out and only have a handful of customers or suppliers a concertina file can be used in the same way as a filing cabinet but on a much smaller scale, and more cheaply too!
 
Index Card Box
Ideal for keeping small amounts of information about customers to hand.  Each card is the size of a post card so only suitable for name and contact info and perhaps purchase preferences if you supply several products or services.  These are stored alphabetically in a small box.
 
When deciding which options will work best for you, consider the amount of paperwork you will be handling and the amount of storage space you have got available.  Choose a system and stick to it for several months at least, unless it really doesn’t work!
 
If you would like some help setting up a filing system that will work for your business please email jamie@jamiegoodenough.co.uk or call 07891357525.

A big clean up and sort out can be very daunting, and time consuming, so tackle one thing at a time, don’t look at the whole room and panic.  Set yourself a target for today, and do it!  Then set another target for tomorrow.  Here’s an idea of how you could break down the work load:

What could you achieve with just one extra hour per week devoted to your business?  What could you do to bring in more revenue?  Perhaps you could meet a new client, or maybe work on your latest profit making project?

Your time is your most valuable commodity, yet you spend so much time doing menial tasks that just don’t need your personal attention.  How long do you spend updating your database with new client details?  How much time is given to chasing up outstanding payments?

There is a solution…

Virtual assistants are self-employed, just like you, so they understand the pressures of running a business and will always provide high quality work.  You will only be charged for the time taken to complete the task and there is no task too small!

So how much is your time worth?  Could you benefit from freeing up some time to work on expanding your business while your VA gets on with updating information and providing good customer service on your behalf?

Don’t delay! Save time and therefore money by hiring your very own VA.