home business

Filing used to be easy. What’s happened?

Filing used to be easy – or seemed to be – when we only had paper to sort out.  Sure there was lots of paper and people had shelves full of binders and large cardboard folders or boxes all neatly labelled.  But it all looked efficient and probably was.organised office#1

Still is for those who still keep good paper records of their business activities. It’s easy to find what you’re looking for because the labels on the folders are so clear.Then along came PCs and Macs with their electronic documents, spreadsheets, presentations and – OMG – email.

The devices and the software came with instructions on how to put the bits together and how to use the software.  The missing link though was how to organise the information people created and stored inside the devices.

As a result many people couldn’t find documents and important business information.  No-one had explained how to organise these files so documents could be found quickly and easily when they were needed.Now our electronic life has become even more complex as we have become more mobile and use tablets, mobile phones, laptops when we’re on the move and often a desktop PC back at the office.

So when we want to access certain pieces of information, which device is it on? Did I reply to that important email? If so where is my reply?  It can be so confusing.  So what to do?

Well there are a few simple rules you can impose on yourself:

  1. Stop and think about the implications of your actions now when you want to revisit them later
  2. Consider how critical it is to send that email from your smart phone right now.  Can it wait till you get back to the office later in the day?
  3. If you really must send an email while you’re out and about, Bcc the message to yourself so it’s in your inbox on your main device
  4. Don’t check your email on your mobile phone during the day (Hmmm, now there’s a challenge!)
  5. Discipline yourself to only send email from, and save documents to, your main device.
  6. If you are ruthless you can stop emails coming into your mobile phone.  You won’t be alone. Search Google for ways to stop email on your mobile phone

There are of course more technological solutions.  I’ll look at these next time.

Season’s Greetings – celebrate with our special Christmas offer

Special Christmas offer from Terrace Filing Services

20% off our e-workbook “Keeping Good Records for Small Businesses”.
Only $45.50. Offer ends 6 February 2014.

Give your business a flying start in 2014.  Take a fresh look at your filing system.

If you have been frustrated at the amount of time you have spent searching for that elusive piece of information during the past year, it is especially timely now to review your filing system  for both paper and electronic files and documents.

Take advantage of our special Christmas offer and take a few hours in January and February to give yourself loads of time later in the year. This offer is for 20% off our eWorkbook – the eBook that gives you step-by-step instructions to create or revise your office filing system.

To get this offer contact Terrace Filing Services
By email: judy@terrace.co.nz
By text: 0274851706
Put “Christmas Special Offer” in the Subject.
Include your business name, email address and quote the code mx1312
For further information phone +64-4-9041498 during business hours or contact Judy
Offer ends 6 February 2014  

Testimonials and recommendations

Testimonials and recommendations – you can’t really go past them as a marketing tool. I’ve been delighted with some I’ve received recently from happy clients.

Here are some excerpts:

“We contracted Terrace Filing Services to assist us to implement an electronic filing system. Judy Owen project managed and did the majority of the work for us to a very high standard. Judy consulted with the team and designed and implemented our new system.  The associated documentation and help files was first class and I would unreservedly recommend Judy to any business looking to implement or upgrade their filing systems, documentation or staff training in their filing systems.”  Stuart.

“Thank you Judy for your report after visiting my office.  I was surprised at the level of detail included and the additional suggestions for things that I hadn’t even considered. I have immediately implemented some of your suggestions and I am enjoying the benefits of them already.  I will be implementing more in the near future and look forward to having my office organised, tidy and with everything in a logical place. I would recommend anyone with a home office space to contact Judy for a consultation.”  Sandy.

“Thank you for bringing your valuable expertise and care to help our information-intensive business.  With years of history and many thousands of files it is easy, even for information professionals like ourselves, to have our files ‘drift’ out of order, and fantastic to have your support as we brought them back into shape.”  Sarah.

And just in case you think I only work with people whose names begin with “S”, here’s one more

“Judy came to help me with both my paper files and the electronic ones. Both were a mess! She was quick and clear.  It has made such a difference that this year my tax returns were filed early and my accountant was most surprised and pleased. It also meant my refund came through earlier! I can recommend Judy and her systems.” Barbara.

Wow – it’s great to be appreciated.

You can read about more hints and tips to improve your business in my free eBook; and even more if you download the eWorkbook that gives you a full set of instructions on how to set up a filing system that is tailored for your business.

Judy Owen has been working with businesses of all sizes and complexities for more than 20 years to improve and streamline the access to their business information.  She and her team can show you how to reduce risk, improve productivity and increase profits with good business systems and processes in your business.

Important systems and processes for small businesses

Recently I met with a small business management consultant who told me quite sincerely that the only things small business owners were interested in were their product or service, marketing and finance.

I can’t disagree with that but I was intrigued that his thinking seemed to me to be closed to other important aspects of managing a business such as the people who help to make the product or deliver the services, how to use web sites as a marketing tool and of course how and where to store the information relating to the products/services, the marketing plans and the financial information.

As a business owner, you don’t have to be fully involved in every part of your business but you do need to know about all the things that make your business tick and make sure someone makes it all happen.

For small businesses it makes a lot of sense to use the expertise out there in other small businesses. There are specialists like Blue Dot Human Resources  out there who can help you with managing your staff, for example creating employment agreements, understanding holidays legislation and even doing the day-to-day administration.

Recently the NZ Herald reported on research that found 50 per cent of SMEs in New Zealand “did not have a website and nearly 20 per cent were not using any online tools at all”. It was suggested that here was a huge marketing opportunity lost.  I would suggest that before SMEs have a web site they understand what technology they need to run their business in the most cost-effective way.

So when you’ve got all that sorted, you can buy my eWorkbook or ask me for help to organize the information in your business systems so you can find what you’re looking for in an instant.

You can read about more hints and tips to improve your business in my free eBook; and even more if you download the eWorkbook that gives you a full set of instructions on how to set up a filing system for your business.

Judy Owen has been working with businesses of all sizes and complexities for more than 20 years to improve and streamline the access to their business information.  She and her team can show you how to reduce risk, improve productivity and increase profits with good business systems and processes in your business.

 

 

 

Maybe the paperless office will still come

When PCs appeared in businesses 20-30 years ago there was a widespread expectation that we would become a paperless society.

Over that period there has been some dismay that in fact we were creating more paper as people created an electronic document and then printed it.  Because the printed copy often wasn’t filed properly (if at all) it got ‘lost’ in a pile of other papers.  So when it was needed again, another copy was printed. And so it goes on!

Recent research however has found that the amount of paper flowing through businesses is now decreasing.  It’s taken a while but we are getting there.

What has caused this turnaround and why has it taken so long?

It’s more than 10 years since New Zealand passed the Electronic Transactions Act (2002) (ETA) which aimed to reduce uncertainty (of dates and times) and permitted legal requirements to be met electronically.

In spite of this stated purpose of the ETA, there has been a reluctance to accept an electronic version and there has been continued uncertainty around what is legally accepted electronically and what needs to be in paper format to be a legal document.

More recently however there has been some movement towards acceptance of scanned electronic signatures though there is still some unwillingness to accept some contracts with electronic signatures.

This is reminiscent of the early days of faxes.  Who remembers when you could fax a document for quick response but you had to post the original as well so you could file the original because a signature on a faxed copy wasn’t legally binding?  Or when the faxed copy had to be photocopied for filing because the ink on fax ‘paper’ faded.

It’s good to know that businesses of all sizes are now looking more towards keeping the electronic version as the official record of the business.  There are a number of reasons for this that vary for each business.

Whatever you decide for your business, the decision needs to be formalised in a policy statement that is communicated to everyone in your business who needs to know.

A sample policy statement is part of my eWorkbook offering.  It is a simple one-page policy statement that you can amend to suit your business.  Because the key points are there, it won’t take you long to create your own policy.  It’s worth involving your staff so you get buy-in to the policy before it is confirmed and implemented.

You can read about more hints and tips to improve your business in my free eBook; and even more if you download the eWorkbook that gives you a full set of instructions on how to set up a filing system for your business.

Judy Owen has been working with businesses of all sizes and complexities for more than 20 years to improve and streamline the access to their business information.  She and her team can show you how to reduce risk, improve productivity and increase profits with good business systems and processes in your business.

Ease your frustration with organised business information

The most common gripe I hear is the frustration of not being able to find a document; it might be an electronic document, a piece of paper on a desk or in a folder or an email.

This is not surprising when I look at how a lot of people store their business information.

It might seem to be safe to keep all your emails and never delete them “in case they are needed one day” or keep all your paper work in piles on your desk (or on the floor when you run out of desk space) so “its handy” or leave all your electronic files in “My Documents” or on your desktop screen because you think you can find them quickly by doing a Google-type search.

The reality is however that none of these storage methods work effectively, especially when you need something in a hurry.

We all have some form of structure in our lives. Some people lead more structured lives than others with set times for each activity, others are less timebound but still have some structure in their day.  Each day we eat, sleep, go to work, go home – usually with a timeframe around these activities.

There is structure at work too – hours and days of work, who does what, when and how much you get paid or how much time you can take to have a holiday.

Not everyone realises though that they need structure for their business information too. Even the most organised people can find themselves struggling to find that elusive document when they need to rush off to a meeting with a client or customer, or can’t find an email they need to action.

It’s not really difficult to establish some structure into your email  or your electronic or paper documents into folders.

I generally set up a directory structure for electronic documents to help clients organise their business information.  This structure is mirrored in email folders and also for a paper filing system if they have one. This makes it easy for them to find what they want regardless of its format.

Remember your in box is not a filing cabinet!   

Once you have the structure in place you then need to develop good habits around using the structure – all the time!.

You’ll be amazed at how much more you can achieve in a day if you don’t have to spend unproductive time looking for information.

You can read about more hints and tips to improve productivity in your business in my free eBook; and even more if you download the eWorkbook that give you a full set of instructions on how to set up a filing system for your business.

 

 

 

Cloud backup services can keep your business working

During a recent “weatherbomb” over the Wellington region, a number of properties were without power for several days due to the large number of trees that came down in the storm and other storm related issues with the electricity supply.

While this was disturbing enough for anyone in that situation given the inability to heat homes and cook meals, I was rather startled to read a news article about a woman who runs her business from home (has done for several years) and who couldn’t operate during the power outage.

Read more

Financial information is important – But there’s so much more…

As I’ve been searching for inspiration to add to my blog.  I ended up searching Google and found some interesting things about record keeping for small businesses.

Firstly I can tell you there is heaps of advice on how to manage your financial records for tax purposes.  Just type in “small business record keeping” and you’ll see what I mean.  For example

Record keeping for small business – Australian Taxation Office

Record Keeping for Small Business – Omni-Rand Inc.  

This is all good and helpful. But there is so much more to managing the information in your business than the financial stuff.  That’s important obviously, because if you don’t file your invoices and receipts and you don’t keep track of your finances then you can get into deep trouble – and fast.   Oops – its tax time again!

Relying on your accountant is not the answer.  Only you know exactly what’s going on in your business and you need to know where you have stored the important information so you can find it when you need to.

But what about your staff – where and how do you store the information about them?  Do you keep personal files and employment agreements in a place where this information can’t be seen by anyone not authorised to see it? Do you keep paper files or is it all held in your computer?  If you have a flood or fire, or a big earthquake, what will happen to your business information?

Do you have marketing and advertising material?  A business plan, health and safety plan for your business? Where and how do you keep all this information?

It’s because there is so little out there to help you keep your business information shipshape that I started writing to help people like you.   Check out my earlier blog posts or download my free ebook for more help.

Working from home during school holidays

School holidays are often a challenge for working parents.  The juggling of who stays home on which days or what activities the kids can go to that don’t require parent participation can take up a lot of energy and discussion.

For those who work from home, it’s even more challenging.

If you don’t already have your email under control or your piles of papers in order now is not the time to try to get some order into your home office.

Leave it till school is in again and then set aside some time to think about what systems and processes you need to set up or improve so that by the time the next school holidays roll around you’ll be sorted and can enjoy some time with the kids.

Meantime Vanessa has some smart strategies for managing a home business during the holidays that you can put into practice right now.

 

 

 

Oops!! Its tax time again

How will you prepare your information for preparing your tax returns this year?

Will you trawl through all the paper and electronic files to find the information you need and sort it as you go? Or will you grab everything you can see that might be relevant and drop it into a box and take it to your accountant?

It may be a bit late to get your files organised for the last tax year.  But you can make it a lot easier for yourself for next year if you start to sort your tax information now.  And if you do have time to deal with last year’s files, then you can follow this advice now – it will just be a bigger job because you have a whole year’s worth of information to work with.

Firstly make a list of all the sorts of information you have and that you need for your end of year accounts.  This list will need to include invoices, receipts, bank statements, dividend and interest statements, information about all business income, GST returns, cashbook, assets sold and purchased, motor vehicle log books.  If you have an accountant, you will probably get a questionnaire that sets out all the information you need to provide.  You can use this to help organise your files so you don;t have a hassle next year.

It doesn’t matter how you store your business information – in electronic form if you run a paperless office or in some sort of paper filing system; you can organise your stuff in the same way.

A large ring binder or two is a good starting point for your paper filing.  Use a set of dividers to separate out the different bits of information. You can label these dividers for bank statements, credit card statements, PAYE, GST, invoices out, invoices in, investments, etc etc

For your electronic directory, you can use the same headings for your electronic files.

The important thing is to get your tax files organised so that tax time doesn’t seem such a burden.

Just think how nice it would be if this time next year you could just pick up some organised files, or download your electronic files to a USB stick and hand it to your accountant ready for him or her to do their magic to produce a set of accounts.

And more importantly, just think how much teem you will save by not having to spend so much time finding everything that has been put into a pile somewhere not to mention the smaller bill from your accountant because your tax information was so well organised.

So – its tax time again. Yea!