A recipe for storing your accounting documents in one place

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This story was originally published in Pretty Books Magazine. Subscribe for more. Pretty Books is an accounting boutique that combines modern accounting expertise with a passion for high-tech financial solutions to help businesses define, structure, and improve their everyday and long-term financial operations.

Keeping all your accounting-related documents together in one online folder can help streamline processes like filing taxes and audits. Here’s our taste-tested recipe for an organized accounting folder system. Bon appetit!

Before we get cooking, here are some helpful tips:

• Create an email address just for accounting. Tell your employees, clients, and anyone that interacts with you to use your accounting@[your business URL] address. Not only will this help you separate finance-related emails from other business requests, but if you get something accounting-related in your regular inbox, you can easily forward it to your accounting address and file it from there.
• Block out time on your calendar to set up your filing system. It can be time consuming at first, but is a huge time saver in the long run!
• Be consistent in your labeling. This will be a big archive, so being consistent in labeling will help you navigate through it easily.

Hungry for a taste of an organized accounting folder? Let’s get cooking!

Storing your accounting documents in one place

Essential ingredients:

• Cloud-based storage option
• Digital copies of all financial and accounting
• A few hours blocked out on your calendar
• Scanner

Optional ingredients:

• A coffee (you’re going to need it)
• Reading glasses
• A quiet office

Directions:

1. Make/retrieve digital copies of ALL your documents that relate to accounting.
2. Open up your server.
3. Create a file called “Accounting.”
4. Move all your files that have to do with accounting to this folder and organize into subfolders. Is it a receipt? Make a “Receipts” folder. Is it an invoice? Make a vendor file and store it there. Make folders for everything from employee reimbursement requests to accounts receivable information and store all your files there.
5. Make sure the accounting file is only visible to you and your accountant. Password protect all financial information you have stored online and limit access to only those who need it. Two-factor authentication is never a bad idea when it comes to online privacy.
6. Once your initial filing system is set up, get in the habit of uploading financial documents as you receive them — that way you don’t have to repeat this time-consuming process over and over.

At Pretty Books, we are always whipping up new and helpful ways to keep your business moving. While there are tons of ways to prepare these processes, we believe that this one is the best. Enjoy!