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Expert No. 4:
Records Expert
Who:
Teri Mark, author of Organize Your Office: A Small-
Business Survival Guide To Managing Records, and state
records manager for Nevada
Where:
Carson City, Nevada
What:
A certified records manager
Why:
For tips on organizing your office and your records
How to Contact:
tjmark@clan.lib.nv.us
Q What
organizational steps can a massage therapist take to
ensure a secure financial future?
A Basically,
make sure that all your important documents are well
protected and backed-up.You can back up everything on a
computer, or you can store important documents off-site;
a good rule of thumb is in a place 25 to 50 miles away.
All small business owners must think about if their
primary location was destroyed, what would they need to
set up business again? It would likely be your accounts
receivable and information on clients. Certainly the
client list is a very valuable asset.
Q What
are the three organizational touchstones to effective
financial planning?
AThe
first is coming up with a routine for organizing your
records. The second is knowing what records you need to
hold onto. The third is knowing that it’s OK to throw
things away—not letting things collect so that it’s
overwhelming. (A fourth is keeping everything in good
condition!)
Q What
is the purpose of a certified records manager?
A A
certified records manager can help you with business
records.To find one, visit the Association for
Information Management Professionals at
www.arma.org.
When interviewing records managers, you may ask what other clients they’ve had who have the same
issues as you do. Also, ask if they’ve had experience
with what you’re asking them to do, and if you can have
references. Also, ask about their main strengths in
organization. For under $1,000 you should be able to get
someone to organize your records. You also may want to
check out a professional organizer, someone who will
organize anything you want—from your spice drawer to
helping you move and unpack.To find a professional
organizer, you can visit the National Association of
Professional Organizer’s web site at
www.napo.net.
You can look up organizers in your own area.
Q What
are the most common mistakes small business owners make?
How can they best avoid them?
A I
think that not dealing with incoming mail and important
documents that can pile up is a common mistake. Then,
when it comes time to find something, you can’t.
The best way to avoid this is to set up daily and weekly
routines. For example, when mail comes in, deal with it
immediately. Another tip is to set up a 1 to 31 file—put
it in that day, and check it daily. A 1 to 31 file is an
accordion file—also known as a tickler file used to
“tickle” your memory —with one slot for each day of the
month. You can find them at your local office supply
store.You just drop material into the particular date
you have to do something with it.
Q What
is the most concise piece of advice you can give about
recordkeeping that gets the greatest results?
A Protect
your assets.You have to know what’s of value to your
small business. If everything were to disappear through
a natural or man-made disaster, what would you need to
start up your business again? That’s what is of value to
your business.
YOUR OFFICE SPACE…
First, decide on broad categories according to the
particular work materials in your office.
Then, file alphabetically or chronologically within
these categories.
Business files:
Licensing and certification records, including all of
the supporting documentation
Financial files:
Accounting, insurance, property, equipment and tax
records
Sales/Marketing:
Promotional items, events and publicity
Client files:
Information maintained on each client
Action files:
A 1-31 accordion file for each day of the week. These
are items that need action by a given date: client or
prospective client follow-up information; appointments,
directions and other materials needed; bills to pay;
event tickets; invitations; RSVPs; registrations;
greeting cards; meeting agendas; and support materials;
sale flyers, coupons; travel tickets, itineraries and
reservations.
Reading files:
A collection of articles, reports and long e-mails. Rip
articles out of magazines and/or print long e-mails and
file them to read when time allows.
YOUR PERSONAL WORK SPACE…
Weed through all papers that have been collecting and
trash anything that is expired or not vital to your
existence. Move the rest into a reading or action folder
or file it. Other suggestions:
• Toss outdated reading materials such as journals and
magazines that are older than six months. If you find an
article you would like to read, rip it out and place it
into your reading folder.
• Toss catalogs and sales brochures in which you have no
interest.
• Toss old business cards and update your contact
database.
You can protect your assets through organization. If you
can’t find something, it may as well be gone. It’s
another form of loss. It can disadvantage you as much as
loss through fire.
All of those important records need to be taken care of,
and in a location where you can find them easily. If you
can’t put your finger on it in the first 15 seconds, it
doesn’t make you look very professional.
Every record has a life cycle: It is used, stored and
then disposed of. Keep a system together so that you can
routinely destroy outdated records.
It’s good practice.
When we hear the word disaster, we normally think of the
major disasters we read about in newspapers such as
earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, fires, tornadoes and
terrorist attacks. Just as devastating, but with greater
likelihood, are the small, localized disasters such as:
• Computer viruses, hardware failures, disk drive
crashes;
• Human error, human sabotage;
• Theft, vandalism;
• Leaky or broken water pipes;
• Toxic mold;
• Power fluctuations, including power outages, power
spikes and brownouts;
• Insect and rodent infestation;
• Coffee, soft drinks or food spilling onto documents or
into computers.
Remember all the fire drills you had to go through in
elementary and high school? They were necessary for
students, teachers and other school employees to know
what to do if a fire started. The same precautions apply
in business as well. You need to have a plan and
practice it so that you know what to do if an emergency
occurs.
Here are some questions you need to be asking yourself.
You should know the answers to these questions before a
disaster happens.
1.
In the event of a disaster, who should be notified of a
work slowdown or stoppage? Clients? Colleagues?
Suppliers? Dealers? Contractors? Do you have this
contact information? Where is it located?
2.
If the office or facility is uninhabitable, where will
you relocate? Who has the authority to set up this site?
What supplies, equipment and software are needed at this
site? What records will you need and where are these
backups located?
3.
If the office or facility became unstable, e.g., from an
earthquake or explosion, but you were allowed back into
the area for a 10-minute retrieval and recovery period,
what would you retrieve? Do you know exactly where these
items are located?
4.
Do you have insurance information available? Do you have
photographs or other identifying information of your
insured assets, such as model numbers and year
purchased? If so, where are they stored?
5.
Do you have bank account and loan information available?
Where is this information?
6.
What legal concerns could arise? Do you have succession
instructions? Where is this information? Would a power
of attorney be necessary? If so, who can arrange for it?
Set a goal to create a one-sentence vision statement.
The vision statement describes what you expect your
business, department or branch to look like in a
measurable number of years. It might go something like
this:
Within the next year I intend to grow
(your company name)
into a(n)
(adjective that that fits your business, such as
successful, premier, local, regional, international,
global, etc.)
type of company, providing
(describe products, services, functions, roles, etc.)
to
(describe target customer)
with
(quantity)
sales.
1. Know which documents you need.
Make a list of the supporting documents you need to
obtain or maintain your business license and
certifications.
2. Keep your documents accessible.
The goal of every filing system is to provide quick and
accurate access to information; in other words, to find
records and information. A good system will result in
faster retrieval, fewer misfiles, less time spent filing
records and fewer lost documents.
3. Protect your document assets.
Document assets are those records that are vital to the
continuation of your business. Such records are
necessary to re-create your legal and financial status
and to determine your rights and obligations. Keep these
documents in either a safe deposit box, a fireproof safe
or distribute copies in a location that is separate and
away from your primary place of business. Tell family
members how to access this information in the event you
are unreachable when it is needed.
4. Keep after it.
Don’t allow documents to pile up. Every document that
comes across your desk requires an immediate action of
some type. Take a few moments once or twice a week to
sort and file your paperwork. Allowing these documents
to accumulate only creates a larger, more intimidating
chore.
5. Shred it!
With identity theft on the rise, it is important that
you shred fiscal and client records, and anything with
social security numbers, bank account numbers, credit
card numbers, credit card promotions and other personal
information. Your local office supply store likely
offers many low-cost, cross-cut shredders about the size
of an office wastebasket. This simple investment will go
a long way in safeguarding you and your clients.
Expert No. 6:
Communications/Marketing Professional
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American Massage Therapy Association®
