Steps To Organize Your Home Office

Follow the lead of a well-organized home office.

Using the checklist below, incorporate many of the organizing tips found on the list.

You will have both a professional and efficient home office.

ORGANIZE YOUR BOOKKEEPING

• Prepare and send invoices to clients
• Enter monthly transactions into bookkeeping software
• Reconcile bank, credit card, and other account statements
• Send reminders for paying bills on their due dates
• Write and prepare checks to be signed to pay bills

ORGANIZE YOUR DESKTOP PUBLISHING

• Design and print brochures and business cards
• Create flyers, price lists, and other marketing documents
• Lay out, printing, and mailing regular client newsletters
• Prepare professional-looking certificates for seminar participants
• Print labels using company logos or clip art

ORGANIZE YOUR DATABASE MANAGEMENT

• Enter business card data into a database
• Send an introductory letter to new prospect leads
• Send scheduled marketing pieces to clients and prospects
• Track marketing efforts and summarize the results in a report
• Send regular follow-ups, reminders, and communications to clients
• Call people for missing contact information
• Send fax and email broadcasts

ORGANIZE YOUR TELEPHONE AND FAX SERVICES

• Receive telephone calls while a client is out of town
• Forward important messages that require immediate attention
• Retrieve voice messages and responding to routine requests
• Receive and handle faxes while a client is out of town

ORGANIZE YOUR TRANSCRIPTION SERVICES

• Type letters and memos from tape or handwritten notes
• Type legal transcripts from cassette tape
• Type medical reports from tape or handwritten notes

ORGANIZE YOUR WORD PROCESSING

• Type handwritten notes from a meeting or seminar
• Type letters, printing on stationery, addressing, and mailing
• Proofread, edit, and check spelling / grammar
• Lay out larger documents

ORGANIZE YOUR MARKETING SERVICES

• Send out the appropriate sales brochures for inquiries
• Create and mail a customer feedback questionnaire
• Track the responses to this questionnaire
• Summarize the responses and suggestions in a report

ORGANIZE YOUR INTERNET SERVICES

• Maintain a newsletter subscription database
• Post announcements and newsletter issues to the list
• Perform an internet search for an item or piece of information
• Edit or upload new information to a website

ORGANIZE YOUR MAIL AND EMAIL SERVICES

• Retrieve email and mail, sort, and get rid of junk
• Respond to routine email requests
• Forward items of importance to the client for attention
• Track and forward urgent issues while client is out of town
• Prepare packages and mail out products as orders arrive

ORGANIZE YOUR RESEARCH

• Research potential locations for an upcoming seminar
• Find which locations have the appropriate dates available
• Find which can accommodate the size and type of event
• Research the services available (decorating, food, entertainment)
• Obtain written quotes and specifications from each location
• Monitor periodicals and clip articles of interest
• Visit the library to copy specific articles

ORGANIZE YOUR PERSONNEL SERVICES

• Send reminders for annual performance reviews
• Prepare or update resumes and introduction letters
• Review resumes and summarize each in a short biography
• Sort resumes for a job according to pre-arranged criteria

ORGANIZE YOUR PRESENTATIONS

• Prepare PowerPoint slides from sketches of diagrams and charts
• Send questionnaires to seminar participants before the talk
• Track completed questionnaires and call non-responders
• Summarize the questionnaire results in a report

ORGANIZE YOUR SECRETARIAL SERVICES

• Confirm upcoming appointments
• Schedule or reschedule appointments
• Get directions for a meeting or appointment
• Store back-up computer tapes for safekeeping
• Track birthdays, anniversaries, and other important dates
• Send out the appropriate cards or gifts for special events
• Manage lists of necessary office supplies and ordering refills
• Coordinate air travel, car rental, and hotel reservations