Leave Your Archiving Mess in 2020!

2020 is finally drawing to a close. Here at Archive Boxes Australia we believe that there is always a smarter way to store your documents.

When is the last time you thought about your Archive storage? You know, that dark room with the collapsing shelves that is always a complete nightmare to search through? 

Document storage continues to be an integral part of business operations. Even as businesses transition towards paperless offices, some documents are just far too important not to have in hard copy. 

As we begin to look towards the future, preparation is key. This year has been a mess and it’s important that we don’t bring mess into the new year. What kind of mess comes to mind for you?

Here are a few of our top archiving tips to save you time and money before the year is out. 

Saving space means saving money

Office space is a big cost for any business. Every square metre of your space should be contributing to improving your business. Ineffectively managed archives can take up far more than its fair share of space. 

It’s worth considering whether the convenience of on-site storage is worth the cost. If you are based in Melbourne, Off-site Document storage with our partner company, Smart Storage, can be an incredibly cost effective way to keep your documents and make the most of your office space.

Always Look to Minimise your Archives

Prefer to keep your archives on-site? There are numerous ways which you can reduce your footprint within your office space:

Keep an Accurate Log or Register / Time for an Audit

Do you know where all of your documents are kept, and how long they have been there for? We are always surprised when organisations approach us needing to search through hundreds of boxes for one file. Now is the time to either start a new archive register, or update your old version.

If you’re sick of using an Excel spreadsheet that crashes every time you try and open it, have a look at our online archive register software – you can search for documents in seconds at the click of a button.

The document register forms a basis to help you understand what you’re currently storing.

Destroy Outdated Documents

Do you know your retention schedules? Are there documents which should have been destroyed 5 years ago? It can be difficult to keep on top of these things. Plenty of people take an “out of sight, out of mind” approach to document storage but this only creates a bigger job down the line. The best time to bring your documents back in check is today.

Check your archives against their retention schedules and you will find that you do not even need to store a large amount of the documents taking up your precious space.

Depending on the state of your archives, this can range from a simple 10 minute job to a tedious hours long task. Our advice is patience and diligence. Alternatively, experts can be hired to simply do the job for you so you can enjoy all the benefits without any of the hard work.

Destroy Duplicate Documents

You might say we are repeating ourselves, but you may be surprised at how many of your stored documents are completely unnecessary. Copies can add up over time and take up a lot of space. The only files you should be storing are the original copies.

Optimise your storage supplies

Not all storage supplies are created equal. For example, lever arch files can be useful when you’re frequently accessing files but once they’re moved into storage there are smarter ways to store. We offer Australia’s best archiving supplies, including the lever beaver, the easiest way to transfer documents from lever arch folders to more space efficient, purpose built archive boxes.   

Utilise an effective shelving system

The most effective way to optimise your document storage is with an effective shelving system. Stacking archive boxes to unsafe heights is detrimental to the integrity of the boxes, it’s also a workplace hazard. Shelving can improve accessibility and the longevity of your archives as well as reducing floor space. The SmartStack storage system is a great solution for space effective, on-site archiving. 

If your archiving still sounds like too much effort get in touch with us and we’ll find a smart storage solution for you.