The new Information and Records Standard from Archives New Zealand sets the scene for lifting records and filing out of the pre-digital age of paper files and filing clerks and into 21st century thinking about what constitutes information and how we think about it.
It gives us the opportunity to consider how the information held in records and archives fits with the other information held or used by your organisation.
Why?
The new standard includes ‘information’ in its title.
A recent article from Xero explained the main reasons why paper is still in common use for keeping a record of business matters. These reasons as cited by Xero are:
A structured electronic filing environment works better than having a ‘bucket’ of items that you search right through to find the item you want
What does this mean and what is the difference?
Recently I’ve noticed a number of accountants offer their services to do a one-off service to sort out the shoe boxes of paper records their clients bring to them. It seems that a lot of small business owners still put all their receipts and invoices into a box or maybe a folder or envelope and don’t bother to look at them again.
Have you experienced one or more of these situations?
♦ Wasted time looking for information that you have filed “somewhere”?
♦ Got frustrated when you can’t find a paper or email that you know “is there somewhere”?
♦ Had to pay tax penalties because your missed a deadline due to inefficient business processes?
Did you read Lisa Martin’s story in the DominionPost recently? Her business GoFi8ure provides everyday bookkeeping and accounting support to small businesses before they get to the point of needing a full time office manager. GoFi8ure provides bookkeeping and other administrative services to free up small business owners to do what they do best – run the business.
I love it when I come across someone who has a similar philosophy to mine about keeping everything in an orderly way in the office.
So when I found the Time Management Ninja I couldn’t help but explore this web site where Craig Jarrow helps individuals and companies reclaim their time.
The volume of email arriving in the email inbox has become a major problem for many people. Since I’ve been working with small business owners I’ve realised just how big this problem is.
From time to time I’ve shared my thoughts on managing the email ogre in my blog. Now I’ve put some of those blogs together here so you have hints and tips on managing your email in one place. This will make it easier for you to use this advice to keep your email under control.
Check out my free eBook 8 Ways to Manage Your Email Inbox so you too can start to manage your email inbox.
Two weeks ago an arson attack on a local school destroyed several classrooms and the library. The school principal mourned the loss of the contents of the library including all the school’s archives. This was particularly poignant with events being planned to celebrate the school’s 125th anniversary later in the year.
Although many people tend to work in the electronic environment, there are times when desks get covered in paper. If your desk frequently gets messy, my 15 minute action plan may be of help.
It will help you to clear your desk of unnecessary papers with the minimum of fuss and in a short space of time.
The benefit to you is that you will be able to find information quickly because you don’t have to rifle through the piles of paper every time you want one piece of paper.
You can download my 15 minute action plan to tidy your desk and clear your desk fast now.