One of the biggest business killers is disorganization. You risk missing orders, deadlines, and important messages from clients.
If you’re in this rut, you’re much closer to coming out of it than you think. Keeping a business organized doesn’t require complete upheaval. It’s about making and keeping a few small changes that add up to drastic changes in how smoothly things run.
Today, we’re going to show you five simple tricks to restore order in your company.
1. Let Technology Help You
People who run successful businesses do so because they have the time to. There are responsibilities they leave in other hands, freeing time for other important work.
Now you might be thinking, “I can’t afford to hire anyone else right now.” The good news is, you don’t have to. Software is available now that will help you with everything from website design codes, to storing information, to finding and resolving technical issues. You can purchase and start using these top resources as soon as today.
2. Keep Your Office Neat
You can’t hope for effectiveness when you’re always scrambling to find things. In a cluttered office, it’s easy to lose something important. You can’t afford a mishap like that when your company is at stake.
To prevent that fiasco, your office will need a cleaning and reorganization at least once a week or after a major project. It doesn’t have to be spotless. What really matters is that everything is filed away under the correct labels and is easy to find.
Also, make sure all items in this room contribute to your goal. This is not the place to keep irrelevant pictures, a personal journal, other work documents, etc.
3. Name and Organize Your Files
When you’re pressed for time, which business owners often are, it’s so tempting to save documents in the first folder you see. The problem with doing this is you end up with a big, cumbersome list of files that can make a specific one difficult to find.
This is why you need to create folders for each new project or aspect of the business running. This will make them much easier to find later on. Also, as you’re saving them, give them a name that indicates to you what they are without any vagueness.
4. Keep Track of Your Finances
You absolutely do not want to be the person who shows up at their CPA’s office at tax time with a big box full of receipts. The financial health of your company depends on organizing your finances, and it simplifies all aspects of ensuring positive cash flow, keeping up with taxes, and maintaining good credit for your business.
Develop a strategy for invoicing your clients and following up on collections. If you’re waiting too long on unpaid invoices, you can’t pay your suppliers and employees. Consider a reward system for early payment. Ensure that your own invoices and your payroll are also paid on time.
Finally, construct the tax payment strategy that works best for you, whether monthly or quarterly.
5. Talk to your Customers Directly
Never let there be a lack of communication with customers. You can’t fix a problem you don’t know is there.
To find out what’s working and what isn’t with your company, develop a (preferably anonymous) review system after their service. Write down any criticisms that come from more than one person and start looking for ways to alleviate these issues.
Simplifying Your Life
These extra measures might take up more time in the short run but will spare you worlds of grief in the long term.
If you follow these instructions, internal company chaos will be smoothed out, setting your business up to rise to the heights you deserve to reach!
