I know, this sounds like the cheesy catch-all avoidance tip. But it’s not.

The thing to keep in mind is that no matter how great a tip for getting organized is, it’s not great if it won’t work for you. I will never successfully use a Franklin Covey binder – my husband swears by his. I like post it notes stuck to my computer – “experts” say this is a terrible idea. I love Skype for getting information quickly – many of my colleagues consider it a time waster, not a time saver.

You have to find what works for you. And no web site and no blog, no matter how well done, can figure that out for you.

Experiment. Play. Don’t be afraid to throw things away. Don’t be intimidated into buying new products if they’re not for you. Don’t let anyone tell you that you’re doing the “wrong” thing when it comes to organizing. It’s a constantly changing field. Your life changes, your work changes, technology changes. When I first started as a lawyer, I didn’t have a cell phone (!) and I also didn’t have children. Those two – we’ll call them “advances” – have changed my work life dramatically.

All of that said, I am signing off of myorganizedbiz.com. But don’t worry, you’ll be in good hands. Jennifer Hofmann will take over as of tomorrow, February 1.

This was never intended to be a permanent gig for me. I write taxgirl.com and am also the Channel Editor for b5media’s Business Channel. But as a business owner for 8 years (wow, we made it past the “danger zone”), I felt pretty qualified to write the blog when a vacancy occurred. It’s a great subject matter and I didn’t want to see the blog languish while we searched.

Your new blogger was found after searching for a bit – I wanted someone who would carry on the spirit of the blog as a source for information and community and not a “know it all” site. I think Jennifer fits the bill exactly. And she was also a referral from Anne at The Golden Pencil… who clearly knows her stuff when it comes to writing!

So please stick around, make Jennifer feel welcome and oh yeah, what’s missing? That 25th tip! Let me know what I missed this month in terms of tips – it will give Jennifer great fodder for February!

Post from: My Organized Biz

People waste tons of time on the phone at the office. With a few tips, you can shave time off of your phone time and be more organized.

I don’t mean the basics – I mean the “extras.” Most phone plans – cell or landline – are bundled with extra services these days. Some of them are relatively useless (don’t get me started). But some of them are quite handy. Make sure that you understand:

1, Caller ID. I love Caller ID. I used to hate it. But that was before my office became the target for every marketer known to man. If I’m busy and I see “Generic Office Supply Company” here, I don’t pick up the phone, simple as that.

2, Call Forward. Now that I work from home more often, I need to be reachable. But I don’t want to give out my cell phone or home number to every person on the street – I did this once before and trust me, people will abuse it. Instead, for no charge, I can forward my office calls to my cell phone. I use this feature only occasionally, however, as I don’t want to be inundated with calls at all hours.

3, Voice mail. I have voice mail at the office and I love it. It’s a great time saver for the sales calls (see #1 above). Make sure that you are familiar with your voice mail – you can usually check messages remotely (including online!) and change your message as appropriate.

4, Mute. Learn to use your mute! For one, when on a long conference call or speakerphone, do your colleagues a favor and hit the mute button. We don’t need to hear you clear your throat, check your email (ping!) or type a letter. Along those lines, however, when you have a long call or a long wait time (as I do often with IRS), it’s handy to put the phone on speakerphone AND mute so that you can get work done while you wait.

5, Speed Dial and Programming. Self explanatory. Most of the people that I know don’t know how to program their speed dials. When you do it correctly, it can be a time saver. Some numbers, I know off the top of my head. But the Chinese Restaurant down the street? The copy guy? I must call those folks several times in a month – why look for the number each time?

6, International Calling Plans. We added our international plan to our cell phones because we travel for business. No more figuring out country codes, etc. When I’m abroad, I dial just like always. If you travel abroad, consider buying a phone that works in both countries.

7, IM and Text. omg. This isn’t just for teens anymore. It’s handy when you’re stuck on a subway, late for a meeting or need a quick answer from a colleague. Most text plans are included in your cell phone package. I use text messaging constantly. It can be quiet and unobtrusive – much nicer than making a call in the middle of a meeting to let someone know that you’re running late.

There are lots of other features like busy redial, distinctive rings and call block that can make your life easier. Many are already included on your phone or in your package. Check out your own phone as well as your provider – and see what’s there.

And for the fanciest among us, look out for phones that feature live person-to-person video calls, multimedia downloads and video messaging!

The photo above, by the way, is a NEC phone, very close to what we have at our office.

Post from: My Organized Biz

We all know that having a web presence can be good for promotion. But it can also be good for organization.

What?

Communications can be time consuming. Newsletters, press releases and the like are important but they can also eat up your time and money – and sometimes the results are limited.

With a web site, you can supplement your existing promotions. Even better, you can quickly get the word out about last minute specials, immediately combat potentially bad press if something goes wrong, post hiring and other personnel announcements, solicit feedback… The possibilities are endless.

Don’t always think of your web site as an end product. Think of it as an extension of your office.

For more information about how your website – especially if it includes a blog – can help your business, check out business and blogging.

Post from: My Organized Biz

In our office, we assign each client or customer a number. Sometimes, it’s just a regular number, like 156 – sometimes, there’s a trailing number as well like 156.01. There is a method to our madness.

But what are the perks exactly?

For one, I don’t always do my own filing. In the beginning of my practice, I spent a lot of time going through piles of papers where it was not clear to the person who was doing the filing where the papers actually belonged. This was especially confusing if there were similar names with different matters (Erb real estate versus Erb estate planning, for example). We had always assigned client numbers but really only used them to find the files – now we use them to help our office staff figure out where to put papers.

Second, we use the same client codes for filing as for billing. When I send a FedEx that should be billed to a client, I use the client code as my reference number. At the end of the month, I am not struggling to differentiate which client to bill for which package – it’s all there. It’s also helpful for running reports to compare expenses.

I know that most businesses have client and customer codes and numbers – but how many of us actually use those effectively? Consider ways to incorporate these codes into your daily routines for correspondence, billing and other purposes. Ideas?

Post from: My Organized Biz

Everyone uses colored folders – even me. But what about colored paper?

I’m not saying that your files have to be a giant rainbow – that’s distracting and who can remember all of your codes anyhow? But using colored paper to set important information apart can be smart.

In my office, I use yellow pad paper for my client notes. It works out great because when I’m searching through the files for notes, I immediately look for the yellow sheets.

Another colleague used to make copies of all original court documents on pink paper. I’m not crazy about the pink but there was some method to her madness.

Don’t go crazy with the colors or you’ll miss the point. But if you want to distinguish a type of correspondence from other papers, be it notes or original docs, consider introducing some color to your filing.

Post from: My Organized Biz

Long before we moved into our building, our neighbors found an interesting pile of boxes outside on the curb, put out for the trash. They were patients’ medical records from the prior tenant, a doctor who had moved on.

My guess is that the doctor did what most businesses did: he hoarded things that he could not bear to throw out until it completely overwhelmed him.

Why? Because, as a society, Americans in particular, hate to throw things out. And business owners are the worst. I think we hold onto things partly because we’re scared to throw them out but also partly because we don’t know how to throw them out.

Our solution at the office? A shredder. And not a small, one page at a time shredder. And not the “shred an entire car” variety. But somewhere in the middle.

You can buy a decent shredder for between $100-1000, depending on how high end you need to go. “Medium” sized shredders can usually cross shred 10-15 pages at a time, plus envelopes, staples and CDs.

It has been a lifesaver for our office. I receive lots of personal information at our office with respect to clients and worse, former clients. It’s nice to be able to let it go by shredding it instead of filing it away somewhere.

What do you need to save? Well, it varies from profession to profession with respect to client records. But with respect to your business and financial records, I suggest holding onto your tax returns for 3-7 years, depending on your circumstances. Supporting documents for those returns should last as long. But other financial records? That parking ticket from 2 years ago? Throw it out.

Absent fraud, failure to file or serious/gross understatements, the statute of limitations is 3 years after the latest of the filing date or the due date for most federal returns. That means that a properly filed return (again, absent fraud or serious/gross understatement) cannot be audited once the 3 year statute has run. After that time, you can dispose of the return and/or supporting documentation (though many of my clients will keep their returns permanently and simply destroy the supporting documentation). Supporting documentation also includes canceled checks, old bills and bank statements. Shred away!

There is no need to keep resumes and employment applications older than one year on hand. Chances are, the candidates’ positions have changed since that time anyway.

With respect to employment records, a good rule of thumb is to keep personnel files on hand for the term of employment plus four years. It may been shorter, depending on the circumstances, but it’s often better to err on the side of caution when it comes to employment-related matters.

Never throw out licenses and permits, incorporation documents (like Articles of Incorporation or minute books) or papers related to the purchase or sale of real estate that you retain an interest in (yes, you can throw out old agreements of sale for properties that you didn’t buy or property that you sold more than three years ago).

Of course, these are just rules of thumb for clearing away the clutter. It’s always best to consult with your tax professional or accountant before you take any action that you can’t reverse.

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Post from: My Organized Biz

I’m not old. But as the mother of three who runs her own business, sometimes I feel old. At at the end of a long day, my eyes are not functioning quite as well as they did first thing in the morning when I was bright eyed and bushy-tailed. It’s even worse in the winter when forced air heat dries out my contacts.

So that’s why I was thrilled to find this product about two years ago. They’re called Magni-Files and you can buy them from one of my favorite office supply stores, Ultimate Office.

Basically, they’re well made hanging colored files with a clever magnifying strip of plastic over the top that enlarges the text. So, at the end of the day, when you need to find the folder of “bills to pay” – it’s not hard to find.

Check ‘em out, I think you’ll like them.

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Post from: My Organized Biz

Nothing causes more folks to want to pull their hair out than doing their own finances. Whether it’s doing the monthly bookkeeping or finalizing payroll, managing your finances takes up a huge chunk of your time.

Yes, you could do it yourself. But remember that time value of money thing? How long do you think it will take you to do your own taxes? What is your hourly rate? When you consider that a CPA will usually be able to prepare your return for between $200 and $500 (depending on the complexity and your geographic location, it could be more), do the quick math. If you can do your own taxes – and you want to – for the equivalent of $200-$500 of your own time, then do it. If you can’t, hire someone.

There’s no shame in hiring someone to do your taxes. It’s not waving a white flag. It’s smart business. Do you really think that Donald Trump is hunched over a computer with TurboTax trying to make sense of it all?

You likely didn’t start your business to do taxes. Hire some help and do what it is that you like to do at the office – not compute depreciation deductions.

For information on finding a good tax preparer, click here.

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Post from: My Organized Biz

Yep, you read that correctly. I think that you should stop multi-tasking. It’s a time waster, not a time saver.

You think you’re saving time when you’re on the phone, sending email and filing all at once but you’re not. You’re doing three things half way instead of one thing with your full attention.

I know because I’m guilty of this – actually, lawyers are notoriously bad at this. Hubby and I will be sitting down, lap top in hand, purportedly discussing work matters, all while answering email and trying to schedule our calendars. The result? Typos in the emails, we forget what we were talking about and we never actually get everything on the calendar that’s supposed to happen.

Try doing one thing at a time. You’ll be more effective. And chances are, it will take less time to get all of the things on your list accomplished – because you’ll only have to do it/ask/type/call once.

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Post from: My Organized Biz

I’m not talking about a diary a la Bridget Jones. You don’t have to keep track of your weight or how many cigarettes you’ve had. I’m talking about an ideas journal.

Writing down notes whenever the inspiration hits you is important. Writing those notes on hundreds of little pieces of paper that you’ll never find is frustrating and wasteful. Admit it – how many times have you torn your desk apart looking for that great idea that you wrote down?

Keep a journal – a spiral notebook will do – with you, near your bed, at your desk, wherever you are. Jot down inspiration when it strikes. Later, when you’re searching for that new marketing idea, the list of contacts that you wanted to make, the clever idea for your newsletter, it will be all in one spot. Search over.

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Post from: My Organized Biz