Management

10 Helpful Tips for Small Business Organization

Last updated by

March 10, 2020

In any aspect of life being organized is a great trait to have. When it comes to business, being organized is a requirement for productivity.

Having a messy disorganized office can cost small businesses in time and money. If your staff is constantly looking for files, supplies or other vital information, it can have a negative impact on job performance.

Getting your office organized doesn’t have to be a huge undertaking. Continue reading for 10 quick tips for small business organization.

Table of Contents

1. Have a Good Office Layout

Many businesses don’t consider layout as being important to productivity. Owners are usually more consumed with having a private office or a window with a great view. Your office layout can play a huge role in how your operation functions.

You want an office space that will not only align with your business culture but also allow for some office feng shui.

Employees should have easy access to printers, copiers, and a fax machine. These machines should not only be convenient for employees, but also in a location that does not disrupt the workplace.

You may also want to consider cloud access, so employees can send jobs from their desktop to the printer.

2. Make Sure Employees Understand Their Roles

Your business may not have a budget for a receptionist. This doesn’t mean those duties go away.

If you don’t have a receptionist, someone will need to greet clients. This person should be positioned close to the business entryway, so it does not cause a delay in welcoming visitors.

When deliveries are made or the mail carrier needs a signature, someone will need to be readily available. If not, this could cause a disruption in the workplace.

Ironing out the small details is how to keep a small business more productive.

3. Eliminate Clutter in Your Small Business Organization

File cabinets and other storage units can take-up a lot of space in an office. One tip on how to organize a business is to eliminate paper.

In the digital era, there is less need for paper. So many devices are available that allow business to utilize servers and the cloud to securely store important documents.

Instead of employees printing out documents to share with coworkers they can use email or download files on USB devices. The data can then be uploaded to other computers.

4. Create an Assignment Sheet

For small businesses that are limited on staff, employees may have to take on additional duties.

In these situations, everyone needs to be clear on their extra tasks.

If there are tasks that are not required on a daily basis, consider cross-training. By doing this, everyone plays a role in the productivity of the office.

Create an assignment sheet outlining what each person’s extra duty is for that day or week. By rotating the schedule, everyone becomes proficient and no one feels they are being overtasked.

5. Unpack and Deliver Packages

Sometimes in the hustle and bustle of the day, it is easy to overlook small things. Eventually, the boxes by the door can become an eyesore or, worse, a fire hazard.

Make sure when packages are delivered they are handed over to the appropriate personnel.

Contents should be removed and packaging discarded immediately.

6. Assign Someone to Monitor the Supply Cabinet

Supply cabinets can be a huge source of clutter if no one is in charge.

Assign someone to keep the supplies organized. You may also want the room to be locked at all times with only one or two people with a key. Have employees submit a request in advance and the assigned person deliver the items.

Learning how to organize your business supply cabinet can save employees time, and your money.

7. Utilize Online Accounting Software

Take some of the grunt work out of tasks like accounting by using software. There are a lot of products on the market that help with small business organization.

Apps are the wave of the future. You can almost do everything from your computer including invoicing, receiving payments, inventory tracking and payroll.

With online accounting software like cloud-based Quickbooks, there is no need to print estimates and invoices. You can email them directly to the client. A link is included so payments can be made securely from their computer.

This eliminates postage costs and trips to the bank. Plus, you are paid quicker.

8. Host Meetings from Your Office

As a small business owner, your time is valuable and so are your resources. With online meetings that allow you to live stream around the world, you can cut down on travel costs.

In addition, handouts can be emailed to clients instead of printing. Some programs even have tools integrated that will allow onscreen presentations.

You can have as many people on the conference call and everyone can interact with each other.

9. Introduce Time Management Tools

Time Management tools are how to organize a business effectively. Tools like Asana are great for online team collaboration. They help keep production flowing and employees on task.

With work tracking apps you will always know where your team is on a project. They can collaborate with you and each other on progress without lengthy meetings.

These tools are also great for scheduling and sending instant messages.

10. Don’t Allow Emails to Pile-up

A surefire way to make a small business run less effectively is to ignore emails and voice messages. Let’s be honest, you’re busy doing what you do best. Unless you are expecting to hear from someone, you may forget to check your messages.

Consider hiring a virtual assistant to handle mundane tasks that you may easily forget. A VA can respond to emails, make callbacks and perform other tasks.

They are relatively inexpensive, and you can negotiate the fee based on the amount of work the person will do and the time it takes to do it.