People have all kinds of systems for filing their expenses; some do so by the name of the client or supplier, others do so chronologically or alphabetically, or some by date. How do you file?
Storing Invoices and Receipts
How do you store your invoices and receipts? Given that most invoices are emailed, do you print them off and file them separately, or do you store them in perhaps a cloud-based system? If you store your invoices and receipts in on your computer or in the cloud, then how do you file them? By date or by client name? What about those receipts and invoices that are still hard copies — what do you do with these? How do you give your bookkeeper or accountant access to your expenses?
A lot of bookkeepers would probably defer to tradition and print each invoice, bill or other expense and then file the hard copies — but is this still necessary? With the availability of low-cost cloud-storage software like Dropbox, are there other, more efficient ways to file and store your business records?
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Filing is a crucial part of business yet one that is generally despised and put off until absolutely necessary. This aside, the way people file is quite different now to the way it used to be, with cloud computing, services like bank link, internet banking and email changing the filing landscape dramatically.
