Computers are supposed to make life easier for businesses because they don’t have to deal with stacks of paper documents anymore. The problem is, a lot of businesses are bad at organizing all of their files and folders, and they end up with a huge mess of information spread over a lot of different computers. This makes life incredibly difficult when you need to find a certain file and, in some cases, that’s a big problem.
For example, when it comes time to file your taxes, you will need all of the relevant paperwork. If your business ends up in legal trouble, you may also need old files to present as evidence, so it’s vital that you stay organized. These are some of the best ways for businesses to organize their files.
Don’t Put Files on Your Desktop
The biggest mistake that people make is quickly saving something on the desktop so they can come back later and put it in the right folder. The problem is, they don’t come back later and organize it and they just end up with a huge mess of files with no ordering system whatsoever, which makes it almost impossible to find things. If you are using a file regularly over the next few days, it’s fine to store it on the desktop for easy access before you file it later. But everything else should be put in the right folder immediately.
Break Up Large Files
If you have large files that are hundreds of pages long, it can take an incredibly long time to search through and find one small piece of information when you need it. That’s why it’s best to break up these large files into smaller chunks and save them in a folder together.
If you use our recommended tool for splitting pdfs, you can break down long files into lots of smaller ones and make it a lot easier to search through and find information. As long as you put them in organized folders, this will make life a lot easier for your employees and you should see an increase in productivity.
Limit the Number of Folders
It’s important that you put things in the right folders, but if you are too specific with your folders, you will end up with lots that only have one or two files in. When you have hundreds of folders with a single file in, you still have to spend a long time searching for things, so limit the number of folders and try to make them a bit more general.
Encrypt Important Files
It’s important that any business is equipped to deal with digital threats and you need to consider this when storing and organizing files. Make sure that any sensitive files are encrypted so even if you are the victim of a cyber attack, the most important information is still protected.
If you spend a little time organizing your files and you stay on top of it in the future, you can make life so much easier for yourself and improve productivity around the office.
