Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

To Do lists are a must.  I heard once that you should make your daily to do list and then re-write it in order of importance.  Then start at #1 and work on it until it is done, scratch it off your list and then move to #2.  Anything that isn't scratched off by the end of the day gets moved to tomorrow's list.  It works.

I recently started using small notepads and I made a list for every day an different pages.  Some of my activities are daily, some weekly and some monthly so planning the month helps.  I'm trying to find a software program that does the same type of thing for me because I'm tired of writing it out and the notepad is just more desk clutter.  I did set up an electronic calendar which is nice but it doesn't do the to do tasks the way I want.  I'm going to try to use it for now though.

Tracy

The easiest way I have found to stay organized is to just take one day to prioritize everything.  A good filing system is also a major help.

I'm not sure what type of business you have, but tweak away at what I do and build a system to suit your needs.

Incoming- When purchasing materials or products, set aside a place to put all of the quotes, purchase orders and packing slips for everything that comes in.  When the invoice is either mailed or faxed, you can match it up (knowing you received everything and are being charged the price as quoted) and move it to the tray for things to be paid.

Outgoing- All of the invoices for things you shipped or work you have done, can be kept in one place and matched to checks or c/c payments as they come in.   When the payment comes in, match it to the invoice and put it in the tray for deposits.  Also payment descrepancies can be caught quickly and resolved with little to no issue.

Accounting processes can be done rather quickly on one set day per week.  All incoming payments and deposits processed, then outgoing payments can be made. It goes really quickly and requires little time, since you aren't searching for everything, trying to match up paperwork or pricing.

Doing it on one day, lets you focus on the financial part, at one set time and everything else the rest of the week. The lines at the banks are long on Fridays and Mondays, so choose another day for it to minimize you time spent there.

For these first two things I use the expandable folders marked by the alphabet. Put everything inside by customer name.  It's easy to go through once a month and check for old packing slips to be sure you recived the invoice or old invoices to be sure you received payment.

Quotes- Have another set of expandable folders for quotes you give. File all quotes during or at the end of the day by customer name.  At the end of each month, put this file into the filing cabinet drawer.  At the end of the year, quotes can be put into a regular folder and the expandables reused.

Purchase Orders- can be filed by month, by order number. This folder can also remain on your desk or close by and move to the cabinet at the end of the month. Ever have to go back and look? Knowing the month and order number, cuts wasted time drasticly if not out altogether.

Prioritizing, scheduling and having a place for everything will make it easy for things to run smoothly and you will get more accomplished.  Good luck!

Agree, even if you do not want to work 9 to 5, you will need to create a schedule that follows somewhat normal business hours to ensure that your customers can reach you.  Also, to save cost, do not overlook purchasing opportunities at garage sales, going-out-of-business sales, Craig’s List, or surplus auction

well, nice to read some tips here..happy to be able to read it here..

Hi,
to stay organized and to keep your entire business organized and overseen, you can also use a business software. Some of them are available on line for free and they enable you to run each part of your company.

I have a better organization since I was advised to use such a tool.

In my case, I use TioLive (http://www.tiolive.com). I make my accounts, I run my contacts, my emails, my professional and personal documents, and almost everything.

Staying organized is necessary to have an efficient workflow.  People have different ways and different systems.  What is important is that your system meets your requirements and your working style.  I know of people who adapt an organization system and then drop it because they say that their "organization system" is work in itself and they just don't have time for it.

Choose something that fits your working style and it will all be easy.

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Kate

Medifast Coupons

Nutrisystem Coupons

Hi Kendra! Your user name suddenly makes me want to eat some cookies, hmmm...

Anyways, a planner is a great idea for staying organized as far as getting your tasks done in an orderly fashion.

If you are having trouble staying organized with sales/invoices and tracking orders, you might benefit from a web-based application like Easy-Bill from SimplifyThis. They have a free 30 day trial too. This isn't a full-fledged accounting software like Quickbooks, but I think it might help you stay organized with your business.

Also, I took a look at your website, Kendra, and see that in your "Shop" section you say that "Online Ordering is Coming Soon!". In case you don't already have something picked out, SimplifyThis can actually integrate their web application into your site, so you can have the convenience of customers ordering from you without them ever leaving your web page.

Anyways, I'm going to eat some cookies now. Yay!

I use a to-do list just like any others and I allocate specific times to get certain tasks done.

The most simple way to stay organized is to make a list of things you have to do on the day before you plan to do them. The key thing is to order them in a sequence based on priority and ease. The hardest and most important first. The critical point is to make a list from 1 to wherever, if you just make a bullet list you will keep have to prioritize them instead of taking them one by one.

Everyone seems to have a lot of helpful ideas to stay organized.