The Organization Strategy You Need ASAP To Support Your Growing Bookkeeping Firm
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When you get to a place in your bookkeeping or accounting firm that feels like the right time to grow, scale, or even hire a team, it's SUCH an exciting time!
And one of the things we've noticed after working with 1,000+ bookkeeping firm owners is that there's one simple but crucial aspect of running a business that often gets overlooked.
Organization.
But not just organizing your folders in Google Drive, we're talking high-level and CONSISTENT organization throughout your entire business as a whole.
Trust me, I know how easy it is to overlook the importance of organizing the backend of a business, especially if you're still working solo or you only have two clients.
If there's one thing I KNOW to be true, it's that you can't be too organized, too soon.
In this blog, I’m going to share the exact file organization method I use here at Workflow Queen (and my firm, Magnetic Bookkeeping & Consulting), and how we teach our students to adapt this system for their firms.
We'll cover things like:
Organization tips for everything in your business
Naming conventions for files
Creating easy-to-follow systems to stay organized
How to keep up with your systems once you implement them
Or, if you'd like to go a bit beyond organization, swipe our industry-specific workflow templates, and join our signature course, Kickoff with Asana for Bookkeepers & Accountants, you can do that right here! And yes, you need this even if you use a project management system other than Asana!
Because you might be using the best tech stack and have a top-notch team, but if you lack consistent organization, you could be wasting your valuable time!
And if you haven’t already read our post on the 5 Core Systems you NEED to establish in your firm, you can do that right here!
Why You Need Consistent Organization In Your Business
I can't tell you how many times I've witnessed an "ah-ha" moment from a fellow business owner once they experienced the magic of consistent organization.
It's one thing to have folders for everything in your Google Drive. But once you create a system that works, you need to carry it through to every aspect of your business.
That means Google Drive. That means LastPass. That means Slack. That means Notion. That means anywhere you have the option to organize your information in a custom way.
If you can train yourself (and team members) to easily SAVE files and data in the right place every time, you can also train yourself to FIND that information easily when you need it again! No need to shuffle through a bunch of different folders anymore, because there's a clear path to follow for each type of data or file.
We've talked about decision trees on the blog before, and that's something that could help you tremendously when you're looking for somewhere to start when it comes to organizing everything consistently.
Come up with a list of folders you'd like to create to organize everything. This could also include subfolders if you see fit!
Open up a Miro board to house the decision tree on determining where things should be stored.
Create a path of questions to help you and your team members decide exactly where something should go, no matter the app you're using at the time.
A consistent method for filing information will save you TONS of time in the long run!
Steal Our Organization System For Your Own Firm
You didn't think we'd leave you hanging, did you??
This method of organizing literally everything in our business is the KEY to staying efficient and streamlined. It's something we go into much more depth in our group coaching program, Breakthrough for Bookkeepers & Accountants, but here's the basics for you to swipe right now!
The foundation of our organizational system looks like this:
1 - Business
2 - Finances
3 - Client Work
4 - Sales & Marketing
5 - Operations
6 - HR
7 - Education
We follow this pattern everywhere we possibly can because it allows us to reach a level of simplicity that we NEED in order to stay on top of everything going on in the business as a whole.
If you have a certain organization system for your Google Drive, a different one for your Loom videos, and none at all for your Asana projects, it's going to be confusing when you or someone else needs to find something quickly.
Consistency gives you the luxury of time (and most likely peace of mind!) because you're not reinventing the wheel every time you need to file or recall information.
And I know nobody's perfect! There'll always be those times that you're in a hurry and you just let something hang out in your Downloads folder. But if you have a system, it's easier to go back and file it in the right spot when you have a moment later.
Creating Naming Conventions For Your Files
Once you've established your organizational system, it's time to outline exactly how you're going to name your stuff!
Yes, it's a tedious detail. And yes, it's absolutely worth it.
Using consistent naming conventions is going to help you eliminate that moment of "What should I call this?" every time you have something to file away.
Naming conventions can also vary depending on the type of file.
For example, photos from a recent brand shoot might be labeled something like [LOCATION] PHOTOSHOOT [YEAR] - [#].
But something like your receipts from business expenses might look like RECEIPT [VENDOR] - [$] - [DATE].
When you come up with naming conventions, you'll want to make sure you're including the important information that you'd use to find the file in case it's mis-categorized or you want to use the 'Search' function to find it.
Make a list of the typical files that you’ll need to store and come up with the naming conventions that you and your team can refer back to when storing things.
How You & Your Team Can Stay Consistent With Organization Across Your Bookkeeping Business
The best way to communicate your expectations for WHAT to name something, WHERE to put it, and WHY is to create a guide we lovingly call: Owner's Manual.
You can create one of these guides for every aspect of your business, and we highly recommend you do! Keep it simple for now by creating a doc that outlines the Who, What, Where, When, and Why of your organizational system. Then, use it as a reference and train your team on exactly how to use it!
We teach you everything you need to know about organization, in a SUPER detailed way, inside Breakthrough for Bookkeepers & Accountants (including how to create Owner’s Manuals). It's the only program you'll need as a bookkeeping business owner who's looking to streamline your entire business, organize it from the bottom up, and position yourself to reach the next level - without completely burning out in the process.
But if you're a firm owner who just launched, has a few clients, or feels like your day-to-day work is taking WAY longer than it should, Kickoff with Asana for Bookkeepers & Accountants is a great place to start! Kickoff with Asana is a self-paced course that walks you through how to be the most efficient with your time and quit reinventing the wheel by creating workflows and processes for EVERYTHING in your business. Join the 1,000-something other firm owners who are saving TONS of time using our proven workflows.
Not sure what's right for you but still interested in the magic that is Workflow Queen. I see you!
Take a peek at all we have to offer, or choose the course that's right for wherever you're at in business right now.
