Ways to Organize Your Business Files and Documents

To organize a business, you need good ways to manage your “stuff.” 

And by stuff, I mean files. 

I’m talking digital documents, data, spreadsheets, media, forms, financial records, content, etc. 

Your business will suffer without an effective way to find and manage your stuff. It will be chaotic and inefficient. And growth will be limited. 

On a personal level, chronic disorganization works against us. 

It creates frustration and negatively impacts the basics we need to thrive: work-life balance, good time management, self-care habits, and efficient workflows that support creativity and energy.

I have a few simple, practical methods for staying organized in your business. I’m tapping my system for inspiration and linking the resources I find especially valuable. 

What’s a System? A Quick Refresh

Systems are how you run your life and online business. They’re the specific methods, tools, and procedures necessary to operate and execute a process, project, or task. 

Examples of Business Systems:

• Email lists, newsletters, or campaigns
• Social media marketing (each platform can even require its own “mini-system” depending on how you like to use it)
• Product delivery
• Content creation
• Collecting payments, finances, or paying taxes
• Time Management
• File management and organization
• and the list goes on . . . 

Read more info. about building business systems.

How to Organize Your Business

When Organizing Your Business Files, Consider these Two Things:

What types of files do you want to organize?

• Text-heavy documents like newsletters, emails, workbooks, and blog posts?
• Graphics like social media posts, email headers, infographics, and branding assets?
• Photography files or a portfolio?
• Tax documents, sales receipts, and other financial records?
• Links to databases, course delivery systems, and social media accounts?
• Strategic plans?
• Brainstorms and ideas?
• All of the above? (If this is the case, start with one:)

Where are these files currently stored? Are they stored in the most efficient and logical place?

Say you want to organize your visual media. 

You have files scattered in apps, Google Drive, Asana, Canva, Photoshop, your phone, and on various social media platforms. Choose a logical space to hone in on first.

This would be where you already store the most files. 

For example, if most of your visual files are in Canva, you’d organize your Canva files.

Once you’re finished, you could organize further by moving other visual files into Canva. This would create a “master hub” for your visual files.

Remember to focus on one space or platform at a time and organize it until you’re finished. You can work in short, scheduled sessions to prevent overwhelm.

How to Organize a Business Using Seamless Resources

There are countless ways to organize your business - perhaps too many, if you know what I mean. 

As one Kanbari organization expert said, “Limitless online storage makes it easy to accumulate too many photos, emails, and files.”

I have a few ways to do it. But only a few since I want a streamlined system that saves me time and frustration. 

I find keeping things simple is especially important for my ADHD. A simple approach helps me proactively manage overwhelm, stress, and specific triggers.  

When I use the following resources together, I benefit from a solid file management system that meets all my needs. 

Sighs of relief are incoming, are they not?

How to Organize Your Business with Google Workspace

Google Workspace is a one-stop shop for creating and storing digital files. 

You may already use parts of it, like Google Drive, Photos, or Gmail. Workspace includes these as well as an extensive suite of other applications. 

In Workspace, you can create text documents, forms, surveys, photos, graphics, slideshows, or spreadsheets. You can even make “no-code” apps. Although I haven’t used it to build an app, it’s great to know I could if I wanted to connect with my people through their phones.

Drive integrates external applications like Surfer SEO, Grammarly, and AI writing assistants. It also features its own AI assistant. 

And this is what I mean by “one-shop stop.” Using the integrations and internal features, you can:

• research keywords
• use AI to help brainstorm, outline, or draft
• optimize for SEO
• Get a Grammarly edit and run plagiarism checks
• Access a majority of other business files, including spreadsheets 

It’s $12 a month for the full Workspace suite. It’s well worth this small fee, and I use it constantly.

If you’d like to try it out, use my affiliate link* for 10% off your first year of Google Workspace for business.    

Canva Designs and Stores Visual Media

Canva covers almost all of my design needs. 

You can design graphics, photography, video, graphs, and marketing materials. 

It has a built-in YouTube video editor and can create print materials like business cards, invitations, and flyers. 

Most importantly, Canva allows you to easily store and organize all your design files in folders - including your stock images or photography.

Templates Automate and Create Brand Consistency

Templates help organize information into one file you can use repeatedly. This goes a long way in automating repetitive tasks.  

I use templates to pre-format graphics, newsletters, or workbooks. You can also create templates for text files. These would have a pre-formatted structure or outline, writing prompts for various sections, and branded visual files. 

I also like to use them for communication and customer service. An example would be replies to commonly asked questions. Having a pre-prepared reply that I can tweak saves me from repeatedly rewriting the same answer.  

Airtable Organizes ALL Your Links, Projects, and Workflows

Airtable (cute affiliate link) is a file management, project management, and workflow hub. 

Essentially, it keeps all the “stuff” in one place.

I’m still in the process of storing and organizing my business essentials. I’ve got places for my email funnels, marketing channels, two years of blog links and topics, workbooks, courses, and even market research. You can also plan with features like timelines and kanban boards. 

I love being able to have my links and workflows in one place. Airtable also makes it easy to collaborate and delegate tasks and projects. I’m super happy with it!

When Organizing a Business, Remember  the Basics

Choose one digital space to organize your files. Stay focused and organize files in this space until you're done. Schedule short work sessions if you feel overwhelmed. And make sure you stop when the session ends (hello, boundaries!)

If you want support organizing your business, I’ve got a wicked-good, super-quick Organize the Chaos Workshop.

In true Jewels fashion, you can look forward to quality, actionable content and zero pitches.