How to Keep Your Small Business Organized and Productive

A lack of organization is one of the main reasons small businesses fail. A business might start small, often with a single entrepreneur controlling all aspects of the company. As the business starts to experience growth, though, there are many more elements to manage. New employees might be hired and marketing, sales, customer support strategies get more complicated. Maintaining an organized and productive business is always tricky, but various techniques can help you stay on top of the business.

Organize Your Working Environment

Your working environment can refer to both online and offline worlds. Decluttering a desk and getting rid of unnecessary files and folders can increase productivity. Many people are working from home now and could benefit from focusing on the area of the house they work in. Additionally, you can apply the same strategies for your computer. Organize your desktop and remove old programs and folders that don’t get used.

Use Notes and Collaboration Software

Software can be a major benefit to developing organized systems. Software like Slack and Trello are used by successful companies to communicate within teams and improve accountability. The ability to see work progress and a project timeline ensure everyone understands what to do. Notes can be arranged and shared easily, allowing for better workflows across your business.

Streamline Customer Support

Customer support is an area of a business that can get out of hand. You may start small, answering customers using email. As your business grows, though, messages can get lost and there is often no clear thread of communications with customers. Consider using dedicated customer service software that lets you label each customer request. Employees can then take ownership of each question and prioritize their workload.

Track Your Time

Anyone who starts to use time tracking software is usually surprised by their findings. It is hard to manually keep track of how you or your employees spend time during working hours. You may find many hours are lost to unproductive work that doesn’t offer any real benefit to the business. Using a tool like Toggl or RescueTime is a useful way of planning and structuring your working day and ensuring you prioritize crucial tasks.

Plan Bookkeeping and Taxes

Bookkeeping and accounting are critical parts of running a business. These factors are not as compelling as building a brand or developing a product, so they often get pushed to the side. Failing to keep accurate accounts will be a problem, though, and makes tax reporting more difficult. Developing a system for bookkeeping will be something that pays off as your business grows.

Schedule Email and Social Media Time

Email and social media are two elements of running a business that can damage productivity. Both email and social media are integral to most companies, offering effective communication with customers, clients, and employees. However, many people get distracted and constantly check their accounts. Try to schedule blocks of time for email and social media during the day, maintaining discipline with your time allowance.

Make Short-Term and Long-Term Plans

A lack of planning usually leads to a lack of organization. If you don’t know where you are headed, it is easy to get distracted by new tactics and strategies. Look to develop short-term and long-term plans that help you stay on target. A short-term plan might involve planning activities for the next day, so you complete the most important work first. A long-term plan is broader and can be adapted as you assess your progress.

Without careful management, a company can quickly lose structure and efficiency. Whether you are a solo entrepreneur or run a small team, growing enterprises have a lot of moving parts. The ability to develop processes can ensure operations run efficiently. Simplifying tasks to ensure the work can be completed helps you run a lean operation. A business can lose focus if you let it, so always be conscious of the factors that guarantee quality output and productivity.