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Filling your paperwork / accounts etc, I need help?
Hey guys
I’ve been trying to sort myself ever since i first started, I got myself a nice big filling cabinet, suspension folders etc etc etc and i’m still no where near organised.
How do you guys organise your folders for invoices and receipts.
I keep chopping and changing as i do not know what’s the correct way to do it.
The way i have it at the moment is:
• Folders from October 2010 – October 2011 (Receipts)
• Folders from October 2010 – October 2011 (Invoices)Then if i deal with a company on a regular basis, they get their own receipts folder so i just goto that folder every time i want to find out what i’ve purchased in the past, but should i have a folder for i.e. ABCD 2010 and another one for ABCD 2011? or should i just keep hem in the months folders?
i think i should just put them all together in months but the book keeper told me to do it this way and it’s setup on sage the same way but when the year ends and i need to file the paper work away, i’ve goto go through each folder and search for that years paperwork, has she told me todo it this way because the accountant needs it done this way?
Secondly, I have the same issue with the invoices, if I deal with a client on a regular basis, they get their own folder just like receipts, should i have one for each year until they get filled away, or should i keep them in months.
Again i think i should do it my months and keep it simple.
Thirdly, Artwork etc, do you guys keep all your approvals etc in a job number order, invoice date or again have a separate folder for each company? and do you put a duplicate invoice in the job bag?
Sorry if this is long winded, but i want to get sorted once and for all and i would like to know how other people do it in the trade, it’s no good asking someone in a different trade as they don’t have the same type setup as what we do, well this is what i think anyway, i could be wrong.
Thanks
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7 Replies
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Hi Daniel, every job I get has a job bag. (clear plastic folder from Staples)
Quote, artwork approval, copy invoice all go in there. If repeat business just add to it.
Another invoice copy in a folder for accountant at end of year.
Also a folder for purchases separated by months, again for the accountant regardless of Sage.Year passes box them up and store away and start again
All job bags go alphabetically in filing cabinet, works for me.
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Cheers buddy
that helps a lot.
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Sage is your best friend.
If you store all your paperwork in date order you can always find it again by cross referencing with Sage. Likewise with artwork. Start a new folder each month (e.g call it Dec and save that months work into the folder (use sub directories for each client) and you can always find it again by cross referencing with Sage.
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I use Kashflow for my accounts allows me access where ever there is a computer, i have even logged on at a customers premises & printed an invoice that they needed urgently. You can also authorize access for your accountant, free trial for 30 days allows you to get a feel for it before you sign up.
Kev
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I use sage instant accounts.
I have a folder for sales and purchase invoices. Each purchase invoice gets numbered, and each sales invoice is numbered.
I can look up on sage the invoice, then go to the file, find that invoice number.
As for jobs: Every job gets a job sheet/bag, which again are numbered. I then have an index card system.
IE: Joe bloggs rings up wanting another 100 stickers, I look up Joe’s card see all his previous orders and their numbers, go to my filing cabined, get the corresponding job sheet, and know how much I charged, sizes, colours etc, sample artwork.
All my artwork is kept in an archived jobs folder, arranged by year, then A-Z by customer name, then a folder with the job number containing all the relevant files.
Sounds hard but, really I just do a search for ‘Job No xxx’ and that folder appears.
Sage looks after my VAT, and it’s easy to keep an eye on who owes me money!
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Thanks guys
I know everyone has their own idea of doing it and everyone say’s that i should find the right way for me but it’s always nice to get feed back from what others are doing.
I’ve now got folders from Oct – Oct for receipts and the same again for invoices, so that’s all in month format.
I’ve then got a folder for receipts that i’ve not put on yet, once on sage, they will go into the months folders, seems easy enough i think.
I’ve then got folders for abc, def, ghi… etc and once the job is finished, the job bag will go in here (By surname or start of company name) I deal with a lot of individuals so i would have too many folders if i did surnames, if the company get’s too large i will give them their own job folder where i will keep all their job bags, again seems easy enough i think.
So that’s my system so far, i’ve not tested it yet as i haven’t started invoicing or quoting on sage as i don’t know how, once i figure this out that will hopefully put me in a better position. But looking back on all your comments, i’ve just thought that if a customer comes back asking what he paid, it will take me ages to find it, not good.
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I use KashFlow too. Support is free and quick. As it’s an online accounting package updates are made automatically.
http://www.kashflow.co.uk/?code=AFF2101580 Best software I’ve used for accounting.
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