I am often surprised at how often successful businesses and entrepreneurs are unaware of basic admin practices (me being one of them!). Most of the time these things are considered non-essential, but eventually this is to the detriment of their operations. One of these little details is the correct labelling of files. One of my key virtual assistants is a stickler for good admin practices and has opened my eyes to a number of simple things that even I did not adhere to! A few very simple tricks can help save you a world of pain:
Labelling 101: Don’t get too fancy with your file names. Make it easily apparent what the file is and give the title as much info as you can. If you’re saving an invoice, make sure to label it with your business name and the invoice number. If you’re saving an image, give the file a detailed and informative title…IMG0001 doesn’t give you as much info as B&W Business logo 60x60px
Date Labels: When labelling a file with a date – always do so in this format: Year/Month/Day. For example: 20140131. This way you can always sort your files by sequential order
Version Labels: When you are making revisions to an existing document, always save it as a more current version of the earlier doc. You can do so using the acronym V2 (Version 2) for example: Business Mission Statement V2.
You should consider keeping your files up-to-date on a regular basis so that you are able to find things easily and foster a ‘tidy’ business. A ‘tidy’ business makes a ‘tidy’ mind void of overwhelm!
All sound pretty simplistic? Small changes to your admin practises can mean hours saved searching for files and the smooth continuation of your business operations!
Learn more about the author Kristy Smith
