How Does Your Company Organize Files: By Account, Then Month, or Vice Versa?
I work at a small Bookkeeping firm where we previously organized all our documents by account first, followed by month. For instance, if a customer had three bank accounts and a credit card, the folder structure would be:
- customer folder > year > Bank Account 1 > all 12 statements
- customer folder > year > Bank Account 2 > all 12 statements
In some cases, if the bank account had complex transactions, we would create monthly folders inside the account folder, but only when necessary. This system worked well for me.
However, the responsibility for managing the folder structure has been transferred to someone else, who has introduced a new system:
- customer folder > year > month > Bank Account 1 > single statement
- customer folder > year > month > Bank Account 2 > single statement
This new method is quite frustrating for me. As a bookkeeper, I find it more efficient to view all the statements for a single account at once, rather than sorting through assorted documents for a specific month, each tucked away in separate folders. When searching for errors, I rarely need to view an entire month’s documents. Instead, I need access to, say, January through March for a specific account.
Being somewhat new to the field, I’m unsure if this change is standard practice or if it’s just inconvenient for me while more practical for the CPAs who review the documents later. I’m hesitant to speak up, as it appears this individual prioritizes storing documents in an archival manner without considering the need for active file access.
I’m curious to know how your company handles file organization. Do you support your company’s approach, and how does it compare to mine?
One response
Certainly! Organizing files in a way that suits the workflow and makes locating documents easier is crucial, especially in Bookkeeping. Here’s a discussion on both organizational methods, along with their pros and cons:
Current File Structure: Account → Year → Account → Monthly Statements
Example:
Customer Folder└── Year
├── Bank Account 1
│ ├── January Statement
│ ├── February Statement
│ └── ...
├── Bank Account 2
│ ├── January Statement
│ ├── February Statement
│ └── ...
└── Credit Card
├── January Statement
├── February Statement
└── ...
Pros:
Cons:
Alternative File Structure: Account → Year → Month → Account → Statement
Example:
Customer Folder└── Year
├── January
│ ├── Bank Account 1 Statement
│ ├── Bank Account 2 Statement
│ └── Credit Card Statement
├── February
│ ├── Bank Account 1 Statement
│ ├── Bank Account 2 Statement
│ └── Credit Card Statement
└── ...
Pros:
Cons: