Are you tired of those piles of paper, receipts and mail cluttering the flat surfaces of your home and office? 

And worse, wasting time and energy digging through those piles to find something you need, saying to yourself, "I know it's here somewhere"? 

I get it!  I've been there.  When my bookkeeping business was in full swing with 30 clients and the impending quarter 4 and year-end payroll reporting deadline staring me in the face, I did have piles everywhere.  I remember saying to myself, "this is out-of-control!"

Well, the good news is, it does not have to be this way!

I've got an easy solution for you.  Over the last 35 years of my solopreneur journey, I've tested all kinds of filing systems, and the one I'm about to share with you has proven to be most efficient overall.  

It's my proven date-driven filing system and here's how you do it:  

For Your Personal Papers:

You're going to need 16 file folders.  Label your folders as follows: 

1. Inbox (this folder is for incoming receipts and mail that you need to address.  Once they are addressed, you will file them in one of the folders below, by date)
2. One folder for each month January - December 2023
3. Medical 2023
4. Insurance 2023
5. Tax Prep 2023

For Your Business Papers:

You're going to need 15 file folders.  Label your folders as follows: 

1. Inbox (this folder is for incoming receipts and mail that you need to address.  Once they are addressed, you will file them in one of the folders below, by date)
2. One folder for each month January - December 2023
3. Insurance 2023
4. Tax Prep 2023

These are the bare minimum folders to keep it simple.  But of course, you would add folders to meet your specific needs.  Not too many though as you want to keep it simple. 

The reason date-driven filing is so great is because at the end of the year, you will take out all of your 2023 folders and store them in a banker's box and then create new 2024 file folders for the fresh new year.  

Also, the date-driven method will line up with your financial management software.  So, for example, I use QuickBooks, and if I am looking for a specific receipt but can't remember the date, instead of looking through all the file folders, all I have to do is search through the QBs register, find the entry, and then go straight to the monthly folder to find it.  

This method is easy to set up, easy to use, and will save you so much time and energy.  

Give it a try and let me know what you think.  January is the perfect month to get started.