I have been dealing with paperwork professionally for literally 45 years. First, as a Paralegal/Legal Assistant for 30 years and now 16 years as a Professional Organizer. I can promise you that there is really no cookie-cutter way to file papers that everyone will like and, more importantly, will actually use. Some want all of their files out where they can see them. They say that if they can’t see the files, they’ll never work on them. Ya know…out of sight, out of mind. Some want it all digitized. (Disclaimer: While I don’t digitize, I work with companies that do.) And then, there are those that want everything filed. They want a system but don’t know how to create it themselves. That represents the majority of my clients. Truth is, I love that. They know what they want, they know what they need and they want/need someone else, someone like me, to do it for them.
Paperwork is the least favorite organizing task for most people. It’s tedious. It’s boring. It’s time consuming. Also, most people don’t know what to keep or for how long, what to toss, what needs to be archived, etc. Well, thankfully I do and I actually enjoy it. Paperwork is my jam. For me organizing paperwork is instinctual so I can figure out a system and get things filed quickly. I also know the IRS retention guidelines, what a CPA would need for a final accounting in the event that someone passes away and what an attorney needs in the case that a matter has to go through Probate.
Most people that I work with that need help with paperwork expect that I will go through the mounds of paperwork and set up a filing system to accommodate papers past, present and future. While that is somewhat true, I really don’t believe in filing papers from the past. I will always go through the paperwork to pull out the relevant documents for tax preparation or papers that need to be kept and archived but that’s the extent of filing the papers from the past. Unless, of course, if my client is insistent upon getting paperwork from past years into a filing system.
My reason is this…why go backward if you don’t absolutely have to. There is little benefit of filing papers from even last year. The exception is if you haven’t filed your taxes or are being audited.
So, here’s some very non-traditional advice when it comes to paperwork, filing, etc. My suggestion is to put all of those papers, by year, into a properly labeled banker’s boxes. If there is ever a need to go through those papers again, for example an audit, then you (or we) can always go back and do that if/when the time comes. It rarely does though and, therefore, it doesn’t pay to spend the time and money going through old papers/documents.
I’m a believer in getting things in order for the current year and that, in turn, will help with which files will be needed in the future. So, my advice when it comes to paperwork is set up a system that will work for you now and into the future. Keep it simple and accessible and mark time in your calendar to get your filing done weekly. Once it starts piling up it will become unmanageable so build this into your weekly routine.
For more information about how to set up a filing system, please look under Paper Management in my Blog (https://organizingconceptsanddesigns.com/the-ocd-blog/). If you need assistance with paperwork and/or filing, give us a call. We’d LOVE to be of service