Now that your association is starting to get bigger and bigger and have different projects, started to deal with a lot of documents as governing documents, contracts, financial reports, invoices… and you feel disorganized with your team.
That means that the next step is to work on how to manage the association’s documents.
It is important as an association to have a good filing system for both soft and hard copies to save time and effort for all the members within the association.
11.1. The process of organizing your documents
Designing a good filing system is the first step to ensuring that your documents are easily accessible. most common way is to start by separating your documents by type.
Example:
- Legal Documents
- Financial Reports
- Contracts
- Invoices
Then you can create subfolders and sort these documents in chronological order.
There are other aspects to consider when setting up a file system, such as:
- Using a file naming convention
- Color-code your tabs or folders
- Define who has access and who can edit a document
- Add dates
You can organize your documents in different ways. However, the filing system you choose should make sense for your association and for current and future members.
11.2. Online storage
Keeping digital records makes easily accessible for everyone. It reduces the chances losing important documents.
Transitioning from hard to soft copies can increase your association’s transparency and trust. It makes it easier for members to access their governing documents and any important information concerning their association.
You can store your documents online on cloud storage (Microsoft OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox…)
