Paper Tiger Blog

Each year we hear the same new year’s resolutions over and over again, “I’m going to exercise more this year” or “I’ll be nicer to my family this year” but sadly most of us drop these resolutions within the first ninety days of the year. One of the most popular resolutions that people make is to get organized. The National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) caught wind of this and named January “Get Organized Month” or “GO Month”. They started this initiative in 2003 to help people with organization and productivity. According to NAPO, the bulk of their clients request help with organizing their home offices. It’s safe to assume that clients are referring to paper clutter in the office. Paper Tiger Filing System Software is the perfect tool to get 2013 started off on the right foot if you were planning to be more organized this year.

Here are three reasons Paper Tiger can help you keep your new year’s resolution to get organized this year:

-       Efficient: Paper Tiger can help one file and organize all paper and digital files. Once you really catch on to the concept of indexing paper files and setting up locations in your database, you won’t know how you were able to organize without Paper Tiger. And since Paper Tiger isn’t just for paper, imagine all the other rooms of the house that you can organize. Paper Tiger’s basic concepts will help you master the software in a matter of minutes; bringing your organization troubles to an end, making it easy to keep your resolution for the entire year.

-       Versatile: Paper Tiger not only helps you to organize and actually find paper files, but with Digital Tiger, powered by Google Docs, you can also find digital files! Using Google Docs as your digital file storage location, you can access scanned documents such as PDFs and also other types of documents. Google Docs gives users five gigabytes of storage free to store your digital files that you want in the cloud. Using Google Docs allows users to easily share digital files and even access them from mobile devices. Digital Tiger is a free add-on with a paid Paper Tiger Online Basic or Pro account for now, and is the function that connects your Paper Tiger Online account to your Google Docs/Google Drive account, then you will be able to search from Paper Tiger to find your paper/physical items that you’ve indexed into Paper Tiger’s database and your digital files that you’ve created, scanned or uploaded to Google Docs format through a Gmail or Google account.

-       Practical: Paper Tiger may be one of the best investments ever as far as time is concerned. How much time do you think you waste on average looking for something? Each year people waste hours and entire days looking for something. Experts estimate that people waste 150 hours per year searching for lost items. Calculate your cost of disorganized here. A small investment in Paper Tiger will save not only time but also money. How many times have you paid a bill late because you lost it? Every time a document is filed and indexed  into Paper Tiger, you can feel sure that you will be able to find it again quickly and easily.  The days of trying to figure out where a document was left are over! With Paper Tiger’s search engine like feature, a few keywords will help you find exactly the document needed.

If organization was at the top of your New Year’s Resolution list, look no further; Paper Tiger is here to help. Its resourceful system will be so easy to use, it will be hard to stop organizing! The ability to organize both digital and paper files will not only clear up clutter on the desk but also inside the computer.

During this “Get Organized Month,” take advantage of the expertise of one of the productivity consultants that are Paper Tiger experts who can help you work more efficiently in every area of your life. They will work with you either virtually or in-person, whichever you need, and will help you to get organized and create a customized system for the way you work.

Finally, all the time and money wasted from disorganization will be returned on your simple investment in Paper Tiger, and you’ll be able to keep at least one new year’s resolution.

This article from the blog of Denise Landers, founder and CEO of Key Organization Systems Inc. and a Paper Tiger Expert, is helpful as it relays a few tips to us on storing electronic files. With an effective filing system in place, finding electronic files are an easy task. Denise also suggests Paper Tiger Filing System Software and Document Management for your paper files and proficient organizing.

Managing Electronic Files

Just because paper is becoming less of an issue for filing does not mean that a good filing system is unnecessary.  You may now store electronic files instead of paper files, and these also need to be organized for quick searches.  A few simple tips can be really useful in managing your electronic or digital files efficiently. We’ve also provided additional helpful hints within Denise’s article as it relates to how Paper Tiger and/or Google Drive might assist you in managing your electronic digital files.

• Save all the digital documents in one place

Save and place your digital documents in one place, preferably in the My Documents/Documents folder. All of your text files, spreadsheets and presentations should go in one main folder. Note: if you use Gmail, you can now download Google Drive as a folder to your harddrive that will synchronize everything between this folder on your harddrive and your Google Drive location in the cloud from your Gmail account.

• Make subfolders

My Documents is like a closet where you need to have various drawers and sections to categorize or arrange things.  Creating subfolders will act like drawers of that closet.  Choose meaningful names for these.  As a simple example, if you have a main folder with a name “Reports”, make subfolders with “2010”, “2011”, and “2012” for quicker searching.  These subfolders can also contain more subfolders. Note: You can do the same thing with your Google Drive folder from your Gmail account.

• Be consistent with file names

If you start some with dates, then continue that practice.  If they all relate to a specific project, you might put the project names or initials at the beginning of the name.

• Assign detailed labels

Your file names must be specific and so relevant that you can tell what is in the file without opening it. For instance, if it is an invoice to a company named ABC sent on Oct 2, the file name could be “invoice1012abc”.  Giving generic names like “invoice” will make it extremely difficult for you to track and use it for the next time.   As above, relating to consistency, you might start all invoice files with that word before adding more description. Note: When creating or uploading a scanned or other digital file to Google Drive, you can choose to have it converted to Google Docs format which will OCR up to 10 pages, which will allow you to search for words throughout your digital files.

• Put it in the right place when creating it

It is wiser to make a habit of saving your file in the right place at the time of its creation instead of storing it on your desktop for quick access now.  The desktop ends up becoming cluttered and another task to clear off later.  When you have faith in your filing system, you won’t worry about keeping on the desktop to be sure of finding it.

• Arrange  according to frequency of use

If there are some files which you use often, force them to arrange on the top. You can add an asterisk or other symbol that will keep them above the other files.  When you know longer need this file on a regular basis, take off the symbol so that it drops down to alphabetical order.

• Delete unwanted files regularly

Plan for a time annually where you clean up your files.  Get rid of the ones that are no longer pertinent.

• Create Backups

Periodically it is smart to create backups of all your files. You might consider both local storage devices and an automatic online process.

Keeping your business documents organized is another step to a success. Windows has strong search features to find your files in the system, but if your file name is too generic, even the search feature will not be helpful.

The ideas for this guest post were contributed by Lewis Edward, one of the owners of The Office Providers.

Denise Landers
Key Organization Systems Inc.
Author of Destination Organization

productivity@keyorganization.com

Have you ever tried to “get organized” only to be frustrated after a day, or a week, or a month?  Destination: Organization recognizes that reaching your organizing goals is a journey, not a one-time event, as you develop processes to cope with daily demands that constantly change. For help, call Denise at (281) 397-0015

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The paperless office has been a myth up until just recently but does going paperless mean having no paper at all in your office? Of course, that depends on your office and the type of documents you have. Legal, accounting or medical offices would probably have a harder time going paperless due to the types of records in these offices.

There are lots of questions to ask and your answers to these questions would determine if your office should go paperless. So would you say that a paperless office might mean less paper instead of no paper? It may be very hard to go to a ‘no paper’ environment for any office, and there are pros and cons.

Pros of a Paperless Office

Cost Effective: If your office and workflow does not have to have a printed copy for every document, your printer ink and paper budget will decrease. Think about how you process your mail and if you could possibly distribute via email instead, which will also cut down on your postage. Simply rethinking about how you print and distribute from your office will be a great savings to you.

Environment: It goes without saying that reduction of paper will help the environment in reducing landfill waste, all that goes into production of paper, greenhouse gas emissions, energy used by printers, and production and disposal of ink cartridges.

Easy access: If you decide that going paperless would mean that you put your digital files in the cloud, Google Drive is a great tool to use. Google is a secure cloud environment, and it is included in your Google or Gmail account so every time you sign into your Gmail account, you also have access to your digital files. Google has also priced the digital file storage to be very economical.

Cons of Going Paperless

It takes time: As Sherry Borsheim of  International Association of Business Organizing (IABO) says, “going paperless is a process.” It is not an overnight process, and it will take time. Depending on the amount of paper files you have in your office will depend on how much time it will take you to transition to a more paperless environment. Time to make a plan for transitioning, and time to implement the changes in your staff workflow.

Changing current processes: The first step of transitioning to a paperless environment will mean that you’ll need to review your current processes and systems. Think about the types of paper files that can be switched to working with digital files instead of printing them out. Is there a way to work with some types of files digitally instead of everyone in the office printing the same document? Do we need to keep receipts for accounting and tax purposes? And what about contracts and other legal documents that need to be kept in the original format?

Cost of digital storage: There is a cost for digital file storage whether you decide to back up all your digital files to Google Drive as mentioned previously or in-house to CDs or Flash Drives or external hard drives, or other cloud services such as Carbonite, or Dropbox. You will need to decide what is best for your office. There are always concerns about cloud service security, but also think about how safe your in-house back up situation may be because you would be responsible for thinking about loss of these devices, system failure or crashes, in addition to weather circumstances such as flood, fire, tornado, etc. In addition, you have to think about digital formats that are no longer supported, such as moving digital files that you had on the old floppy discs to Flash Drives or external hard drives, and upgrade your older files from time to time to make sure they remain usable; or again decide to go to the cloud with your digital filing. Do you have a business continuation and back up plan?

Some things to think about to go paperless:

Decide on your target goal. What is your objective in reducing paper in your office? Do you have a records retention policy? What types of documents do you need to keep and how long should you keep records? You and your staff needs to agree on a records retention policy for the types of paper and digital files you retain to use as a guideline for how you want records kept and how long certain files should be kept. We have several articles at records retention guidelines that you might find helpful.

Remember not everything needs to be switched to digital at one time. Some of your old records may not need converting to digital at all, and just simply discard them when they reach a certain age. It may not be efficient for you to scan every document in your office if you won’t need to keep them or retrieve them later. Then start with your current workflow processes, and you’ll most likely see what can be converted during your daily activities. Make a policy for these workflow processes that you can easily identify. Get comfortable with one daily activity at a time, then move on to another.

Deciding on your filing system

Decide what files will need to be kept in paper hard copy format and what files can be digital format. Be sure to decide on a naming system for filing both your paper and digital files. If you use Google Drive, decide if you want every digital file in Google Docs format, which makes the contents searchable.

For the paper files that you decide that you need to keep in hard copy format, index them into Paper Tiger Filing System software so that you’ll have a system to keep track of where they are. You can file with ease of mind that you’ll be able to find them later. Paper Tiger allows you to put an item name on every document, but also allows you to input all keywords relating to the documents in each hanging file folder, because as you know some files could have multiple item names that just won’t fit on the file tab. You will be able to search for any keyword that you’re thinking about on any given day for the file that you need.

Paper Tiger Online connects to Google Docs/Drive to activate Digital Tiger. To further explain, Digital Tiger is a free add-on with a paid Paper Tiger Online Basic or Pro account, and is the function that connects your Paper Tiger Online account to your Google Docs/Google Drive account, then you will be able to search from Paper Tiger to find both your paper/physical items that you’ve indexed into Paper Tiger, and your digital files that you’ve created, uploaded or scanned into Google Docs format.

Google Drive is an extension for Google email account holders that allows an account holder to download a Google Drive folder to their personal device(s), such as, your desktop PC, Mac, Laptop, Mobile Phone, iPad, etc., in order to save/store digital files into the folder which are then synchronized into your Google Drive account within Gmail. Google Drive is compatible with the Mac and Windows operating systems. So if you have multiple computers that you have documents saved to, you’ll now be able to synch those digital files to one cloud location and be able to access from any computer where you sign into your Gmail account. Click here to see more information about Google Drive.

See one of our previous articles Not Just Any Filing System to Get Organized! that might help you see how Paper Tiger and Digital Tiger, powered by Google Docs works. Whether you use Paper Tiger together or separately from Google Drive, using these two software tools is a great way to organize your paper and digital files so that you can get organized and find what you need, when you need it!

One of the most important parts of being a small business owner is being organized. No matter what type of business you have, you are going to have records to maintain. Some small businesses require much more than others; it just depends on whether you also have to keep things on file such as client records. Regardless of what your small business is, you will have to keep records even if for just things like your income, expenses and other data for tax time. You also have to keep these organized in case you are ever audited.

If you are thinking about opening a small business, you are probably not even aware yet of how much paperwork goes into the behind the scenes part of the business. You have to keep your business license on file first and foremost. Take opening and managing a yoga studio, for instance. You will have papers for the copies of your yoga teachers’ certifications, the liability waivers of each and every student and receipts from all of your purchases that are related to the business as part of your expenses for tax time. This is just a fraction of the types of documents you will need to manage.

Getting Your Filing System in Order

Don’t let the thought of all of this records keeping startle or scare you off. Just knowing this is the reality should simply prepare you to make sure you have a good organizational system in order from day one. This may seem obvious for businesses such as Certified Public Accountants or even doctors opening their own private practice office. The truth is all businesses have a better chance for success and survival by making sure to have a good record management system set up before the business even opens.

More than likely your record management system will consist of filing cabinets of some kind. The problem is the alphabetical filing system alone is just not efficient. For example, unless you are dealing with just sorting files by clients’ or patients’ last names, alphabetizing can actually make things more confusing. What you may label one document, someone else may not think to call it when trying to look it up. In fact, you could honestly forget what you called the file in the first place.

Utilizing an Indexing Filing System

The best manner in which to organize your record management is using an indexing system like Paper Tiger Filing System Software for document management. You number your files, enter the data into the software relating to each document or set of documents such as the item name and additional keywords that you might relate back to the files, and never have problems retrieving your data again. By inputting multiple keywords into the software database for each document, you can also rest assured you or someone else will be able to find the file at a later date.

For example, you can enter key search terms such as “taxes,” “expenses,” receipts,” or “write offs” all entered for the same file. Later you can use any of these terms and the search engine will inform you of where the file is located. No more searching because you can’t remember if you filed it under ‘T’ for taxes or ‘E’ for Expenses or ‘R’ for receipts, etc. You owe it to yourself and the future success of your business to get and keep your record management system organized from the very first day.

Paper Tiger is an indexing system for your physical files that has an easy-to-use search engine built in so that lost information is virtually eliminated in your office. You would simply type in the information into the database relating to your files or other physical items to get organized so that you can find what you need when you need it, without time-wasting searches.

You would keep your paper in its original form (you do not have to scan it) and use the power of the computer to index the paper that you need to keep in hard copy format, and also index other physical items. Paper Tiger can index anything! Some things just can’t be scanned, i.e., passports, contracts, binders, books, CDs, DVDs, etc. That cannot be done with systems that require scanning into an electronic file.

For paper filing, you would first set up all hanging file folders in your file cabinets at one time using the numbered tabs that you print out from the software and they never change. You input information relating to each document in the database’s digital file location. You can give the document any name you want without any worry about finding it later. This is because the system will allow you to add as many keywords as you want that describe all documents that you put in your hanging file folders. For documents that you want to add to the same file, simply edit the Item and add additional keywords necessary for the new document(s).

Because the hanging file folders are already setup and waiting for your information, you eliminate the time-consuming hassle of having to find and create a file folder each time you want to file something.

When you’ve indexed your paper files to Paper Tiger, and you need to find a file, you simply conduct a Google-like search in the database to find where your file is located.

This solves problems with filing such as:

-       You can’t decide what to name something;

-       You don’t like making new folders when you need to file;

-       You can’t remember where or what name you filed something under;

-       Staff sharing files in the same filing cabinets, everyone thinks differently and anyone can search a keyword;

-       Staff turnover or the one person in the office that knows where everything is gets sick or on vacation.

If you haven’t already, please view our videos on our Paper Tiger page, which may help you understand better. Please also see our Not Just For Filing Paper page for ideas to index other items in addition to paper files. You might also check out our article Customize Your Filing System with Paper Tiger’s Indexing Method for additional helpful tips in how to set up your filing system.

Keeping Up With Paper and Digital Files

Some people are trying to set up their filing systems to a more paperless environment, and scanning incoming paper files that is not necessary to keep in hard copy format. In the case where you’re going to keep some hard copy files, but you also want to keep up and be able to find your digital files, we recommend Google Docs through a Google or Gmail account for your digital file storage. Google Docs is great for storing the digital files that are scanned and those files that you can upload from your computer.

With the addition of Digital Tiger function in Paper Tiger Online filing system software Basic and Pro plans, you can connect to Google Docs for a combined document management software solution. Digital Tiger, powered by Google Docs, is a free add-on with a paid Paper Tiger Online (Basic or Pro plan for now). You can still index your paper files that you need to keep in hard copy format and other physical items such as books and manuals into Paper Tiger Online, and use Google Docs for your digital file storage. Google Docs is the lowest cost digital file storage system available, and is more convenient than storing your digital files on your hard drive (or multiple computers) that would take up valuable memory, or keeping up with CDs or Flash Drives.

Combining Paper Tiger’s indexing method, there’s a way to organize and index all those items that simply cannot be scanned, i.e., passports, contracts, binders, books, CDs, DVDs, items in safe deposit box, etc. Then by using the Digital Tiger function in Paper Tiger Online, you will be able to search and find both your paper/physical items that you’ve indexed into Paper Tiger and your digital files that you’ve uploaded or created into Google Docs format relating to the same keyword search from one software system, Paper Tiger.

The bottom line is, when you get organized it makes it that much easier to stay organized. Start your business off the right way with Paper Tiger Filing System Software for document management to help keep your records management organized.

One of the things that many people worry about when it comes to their computers is how safe are their electronic or digital files. After all, there are many things that can happen to cause people to lose important files, like a computer crash or a virus that corrupts your harddrive, and often, it is pretty much impossible to get these files back once they are lost. Thank goodness there is a really easy way to get around this problem; and that is to use a digital filing system that is Internet based, like Google Docs. That way, no matter what computer you are using, you can access the files you want, and if something happens that causes you to lose files on your computer, you will be able to access them through the Internet. You will never lose a file again when you are using an Internet digital filing system.

Don’t Be Afraid of Computer Crashes

Computers can be truly wonderful things, but when they are not working right, they can also be some of the most annoying machines in the world. There are all kinds of little problems that can crop up for computer users, with one of the most common being computer crashes. Unfortunately, most of the time when a computer crashes, there is no way that you can get back the information that you had stored on it. This means that you will lose all of your files, including really important things such as family photographs, or that critical presentation from the office that would take hours to recreate. Instead of waiting for something like this to happen, you can have all of the files on your computer organized, or at least backed up to an online digital filing system. That way, even if you do have a computer crash and lose everything on your harddrive, you will still have access to all of your important files.

Work from Anywhere

Because of the Internet, it is possible for many people to be able to work from anywhere they want, and they don’t have to be chained to a desk in an office all day long. If you want to do work from home and your employer has given you the go ahead, you are going to need to be able to access certain files just the same as you would from the office. If your employer is using a digital filing system, you will be able to access all of the files you need to be able to do your job from anywhere, using any computer. This means that even if you are not able to make it to work, such as on a day when there is severe weather, you will still be able to get your work done, especially if you are on a tight deadline.

There are a lot of advantages to using a digital filing system. You can access files from anywhere in the world, so even if you are traveling on business and you have forgotten an important file at the office, as long as it is in a digital system, you can get your hands on it. If your employer is not already using a digital filing system, make the suggestion as soon as you can. You may even receive credit for saving the company time and money.

How Google Docs Works

Using Google Docs, you can store your digital files, and you will also be able to work on the files in the same location that they are stored. Google Docs is part of the Google Eco System that includes Google Apps through a Google or Gmail account – there are modules to perform word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, email, calendar, to-do list, contacts, photos, music, etc. This makes it very easy to work on the files you are storing in Google Docs.

In addition, if you want to continue to use your Microsoft Office software (Word, Excel or PowerPoint), you can do that and get many of the benefits of the Google Cloud. Google’s product “Cloud Connect” allows you to continue to use your Microsoft Office software on your local computer but store, share and collaborate. This is a great way to use software that you already know but have the benefits of the cloud, including automatic backup, using Google. See Google Cloud Connect…..Sync Your Microsoft Office Documents

Google Docs makes sharing and/or collaborating your digital files very easy. Now you can scan in your paper and immediately share the PDFs with your business associates.

Google Docs (all your digital files) can even be backed up offline to your local computer, as you can see from this article at Now You Can Backup Your Google Docs to Your Local Drive!; or you can select another service that will automatically and constantly backup all your files stored in Google Docs (including your GMail – Google Mail) to another entirely different system for safekeeping.

You can now Work Offline With Your Google Account and, Google Docs users not only have the ability to easily share and collaborate with others, to view data from any web device, but also have the peace of mind of automated backups, for an efficient document management system for organizing digital files.

Keeping Up With Paper and Digital Files

We recommend using the Digital Tiger function in Paper Tiger Online filing system software to connect to Google Docs for a combined document management software solution. You can still index your paper files that you need to keep in hard copy format and other physical items such as books and manuals into Paper Tiger Online, and use Google Docs through a Google or Gmail account for your digital file storage. Google Docs is the lowest cost digital file storage system available, and is more convenient than storing your digital files on your hard drive (or multiple computers) that would take up valuable memory, or keeping up with CDs or Flash Drives.

Some people are converting their filing systems to a more paperless environment, and Google Docs is great for storing the digital files that are scanned. Combining Paper Tiger’s indexing method, there’s a way to organize and index all those items that simply cannot be scanned, i.e., passports, contracts, binders, books, CDs, DVDs, etc. Then by using the Digital Tiger function in Paper Tiger Online, you will be able to search and find both your paper/physical items that you’ve indexed into Paper Tiger and your digital files that you’ve uploaded or created into Google Docs format relating to the same keyword search from one software system, Paper Tiger.  Digital Tiger, powered by Google Docs, is a free add-on with a paid Paper Tiger Online (Basic or Pro plan for now), to connect your Paper Tiger Online account to your Google Docs account.

If you choose to use the combined document management software solution with Paper Tiger Online and Digital Tiger, powered by Google Docs, you will be setting yourself up for enhanced productivity for the future so that you can find anything in five seconds or less!

Do you work from multiple computers, such as your computer at work, your home computer and your laptop? If so, then you probably already have a pretty good idea of how difficult it can be to keep all of your digital files in order and how much of a pain it is to look for a digital file, only to remember that it is on a different computer or CD or Flash Drive.

Let’s say that you had to call in to work sick, but there are things you can do from home that will keep you from getting too far behind. Sure, you have the capabilities to do the work, but unless you have the right files, which of course are going to be on your work computer, there isn’t a whole lot you can do but wait until you are back at the office.

Then you also have to think about keeping up with technology….remember the floppy disk? Did you remember to copy files to a newer digital file storage location before getting a computer that doesn’t accept floppy disks? This can be a real problem.

Organize Your Digital Files

There is one way that you can overcome the problem of not having the files you need on every computer that you use. All you have to do is get them organized, and take advantage of a digital filing system. Sure, you probably have some sort of system on each of the computers that you use, but this isn’t going to help you when you are using a different computer and need to access a file that is not on it. In addition to having a system on each of the computers you use, why not use an Internet based filing system? Then, you can access whatever files you need, when you need them, from any computer that you are using.

You don’t have to limit yourself to just storing your business files with a digital filing system. You probably have all kinds of personal files, from family photographs to personal documents, and you can organize all of these and access them easily from any computer when you have them integrated into an online digital filing system. Only you, and anyone you share individual files with (such as employees who need access to certain files), will have access to any information that is stored in these files.

Digital Filing Systems Keep Your Files Safe

It happens all the time – a computer crashes and we lose everything that has been stored on it. You could be losing a lot of important files, from business files to your own personal files, and there is no way that you will be able to get these files back, unless you have a good back up system. When you use an online digital filing system, you will never have to worry about losing anything again.

Instead of having to wade through a ton of paperwork to get to a file, or not being able to access a digital file because you are not at the right computer, have all of your digital files organized with an online digital filing system. You will be able to get to on any file you need in seconds, no matter where you are and what computer you are using.

We recommend using the Digital Tiger function in Paper Tiger Online filing system software to connect to Google Docs for a combined document management system software solution, you can still index your paper files that you need to keep in hard copy format and other physical items such as books and manuals into Paper Tiger Online, and use Google Docs through a Google or Gmail account for your digital file storage. Google Docs is the lowest cost digital file storage system available, and is more convenient than storing your digital files on your hard drive (or multiple computers) that would take up valuable memory, or keeping up with CDs or Flash Drives.

Some people are converting their filing systems to a more paperless environment, and Google Docs is great for storing the digital files that are scanned. Combining Paper Tiger’s indexing method, there’s a way to organize and index all those items that simply cannot be scanned, i.e., passports, contracts, binders, books, CDs, DVDs, etc. Then by using the Digital Tiger function in Paper Tiger Online, you will be able to search and find both your paper/physical items that you’ve indexed into Paper Tiger and your digital files that you’ve uploaded or created into Google Docs format relating to the same keyword search from one software system, Paper Tiger.  Digital Tiger, powered by Google Docs, is a free add-on with a paid Paper Tiger Online (Basic or Pro plan for now), to connect your Paper Tiger Online account to your Google Docs account.

How to Organize Your Digital Files for Most Efficiency

Again, we recommend using Google Docs through a Gmail or Google account. Google Docs is Google’s free, web-based office suite that provides word processor, spreadsheet and slide show solutions similar to Microsoft Office. Using Google Docs, you can create and edit new documents online, upload documents created on your local computer or document attachments sent via email. (Note: the 1st GB of digital storage with Google is free. Click here to see more information on Google Docs digital file storage and at Google’s knowledge base here: http://support.google.com/a/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1047457)

In addition, Google Docs can also be used as a reliable and budget friendly digital file storage solution for all your file types including document management for electronic files, video, music and image files.

Google Docs allows you to upload and store files in the cloud. You can upload both files and folders, including an array of file types ranging from document types to image types to video formats. Here are some of the things you can do when you upload files or folders to Google Docs:

• Access your files and folders from any computer, anywhere in the world by signing into Google Docs. The only requirement is that you have an Internet connection and a Gmail or Google account.
• Share files and folders with friends, family members or colleagues, allowing them to view the files in the Google Docs Viewer.
• Convert files to Google Docs format and collaboratively edit these files online.
• Upload photos and videos to view or share.
• Organize your digital files in folders called ‘collections’ and individual files can be organized to appear in multiple collections.

Commonly asked questions about uploading files and folders to Google Docs:

• Are uploaded files secure?

Uploaded files have the same privacy and security as any of your other documents in Google Docs. Additionally, the default visibility setting for uploaded files is “Private.”

• How big can an uploaded file or folder be?

An uploaded file or folder can be up to 10GB. If you’d like to convert a file to Google Docs format, the size limit depends on the file type. Learn more about size limits in Google Docs.

• Why aren’t my uploaded files showing in my Documents List?

If your Document List is sorted by Priority, uploaded files and folders may not show at the top. If you’d like your uploaded files and folders to show at the top of your Documents list, you should switch to the Last Modified view.

• Can I share and collaborate on a file I upload?

Google Docs also allows for real-time collaboration with other GDocs users, file sharing, and access documents on your mobile device. You can share any uploaded file with another person, and you have full control over who can do what with your shared files. If you’ve converted that file to Google Docs format, you can also collaborate on that document in real-time with other people, meaning that everyone that you share a document with can edit the document at the same time, and each person be able to view the changes real-time. So, when the shared file is updated, there is no need to re-send it as an email attachment, because it is automatically updated for everyone.

Click here to see more information on how Google Docs works.

As you can see from this article at Now You Can Backup Your Google Docs to Your Local Drive!, Google Docs users not only have the ability to easily share and collaborate with others, to view data from any web device, but also have the peace of mind of automated backups, for an efficient document management system for organizing digital files.

This article has some great suggestions for steps to get organized and create a system for yourself that will keep you organized. Notice that one of the suggestions is to implement a document management system in your office. Paper Tiger-Digital Tiger Filing System Software for Document Management. Digital Tiger promises to help clear your desk without clearing out your wallet! You may not be able to go completely paperless, but you can sure de-clutter your desk to create a more productive environment.

Ahhh, the enlightening feeling of a clear and focused mind. Everything on your “to do list” is done, time to relax on the couch, and slip in to that Zen state. Chances are this isn’t you because most people spend more time trying to organize their lives than actually making progress. Keeping organized is a daunting process that requires discipline and, most importantly, knowledge of what to do.

Once you start figuring out how to plan, and differentiate your daily tasks, you will become more proficient at accomplishing your goals. Whether you are looking to better achieve the items on your to-do list, or you are trying to better organize the electronic clutter at work, you should understand organization is a learning process. Some people are inherently detail oriented; others learn their disorganization is negatively impacting aspects of their lives. This is the way life works, but for those of you looking to better improve your organization to save time and be more productive, here are few tips and tools.

1. Create a List That Works For You

Whether you work better on a Google Calendar or you are more of a physical calendar person, determine what works best for you and go with it. Create separate lists for work and personal. Carry both of these lists in portable form, around with you wherever you go (Whether it is mobile device or a hipster PDA, planner or day-timer type calendar). Keep these items in terms of priority with short term first and long term next. Once you begin achieving items on your list, you will learn how to breeze through your goals or obligations.

2. Document Management Software

Document management software allows you to organize your work files by indexing and assigning tags or keywords to each document you file. This software is incredibly powerful because it allows instant retrieval of documents by storing your files in one place. Digitizing your documents can also save space, according to Eco-officiency, “Current estimates show that 50–70% of space in an office is still dedicated to filing and storage of documentation. The real clincher is studies showing that over 45% of the files in those cabinets are duplicated information, and 80% is never accessed again.” Save yourself the hassles of cost-heavy activities and implement a document management system in your office.

3. Hipster PDA

The hipster PDA is for everyone out there like me. The person who loves mobile apps, but knows there is nothing that drives you to a call to action like a physical piece of paper. I make my hipster PDA every weekend, and it guides me through personal, work, diet, fitness and social “to do’s.” Hipster PDA planner pages are available to help you put everything you need on to an index card.

4.  Eliminate Clutter

Organize your computer’s folders, itemize your Google docs, and clean your desk. Spend a weekend to get “uber” organized. This will serve as a base for your productivity as you move forward on your goals. You will find that eliminating clutter enlightens your mind. Hopefully making you feel more at peace with your current situation, and allow you to function more effectively.

5. Gcal

Google calendar may be the best way to organize and compile upcoming events on the web. Because it’s made by Google and hosted remotely, Gcal is accessible from any computer or phone. The recurring feature is great for consistent weekly events and allows for multiple different themes and skins. Gcal also has added functionality with your other personal accounts, having the ability to sync Facebook events and link them with your Mac’s iCal App.

Whether you are using a bit of tips and tricks to get yourself on the fast track to time savings or productivity apps to get organized; you will find that as you progress into a mode of functionality, things will happen faster and you will approach each “to do” differently. Good luck! Stay healthy, focused and productive.

Matt Krautstrunk is an expert writer on point of sale systems based in San Diego, California. He writes extensively for an online resource that provides expert advice on purchasing and outsourcing decisions for small business owners and entrepreneurs such as restaurant pos systems at Resource Nation.

How to Clear Your Desk Without Clearing Out Your Wallet!

Why we choose Google Docs to help you go paperless.

This is an interview with James D. Grady, President and CEO of The Monticello Corporation.  In this interview Jim tells us why Monticello waited to bring out its new Digital Tiger product, what things needed to be in place and at what cost to customers and why the company choose Google Docs as its storage engine.   Digital Tiger, powered by Google Docs, is designed to allow its customers to better manage their digital files, digital paper management and document management (PDFs, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.). Listen and/or read the full interview below.

Digital Tiger, powered by Google!

Beta testing to begin soon.

Hi, I’m Janet Baker with The Monticello Corporation, makers of Paper Tiger Filing System Software for Document Management. I have the pleasure today to interview my boss, President and CEO, James Grady. Better known to us here in the office as Jim. Jim, thank you for taking time out with us today to allow me to introduce you to our audience.

JIM: Hi, Janet. I’m glad to be here and glad to answer some questions about Digital Tiger.

JANET: I’m going to jump right in and ask you what is Digital Tiger?

JIM: We started out many years ago, launched Paper Tiger in the market 1998 and since that time have added tens of thousands of customers all over the world using our indexing system for physical paper including physical items that you might store in a storage bin and so forth, but mainly focused on helping people organize their physical hanging files and that’s where we started many years ago. And what has become obvious over the last 5-7 years that more and more people have gotten comfortable with .pdf files and comfortable with the internet and comfortable with the larger hard drives, is that you could take your paper and now digitize at least some or all of your paper in the office which would give you portability, it reduces the office space required for file cabinets and allows you to have better access in many ways than paper. So after looking at this for a long time and really trying to consider what our customers might want, we really started working on this idea of Digital Tiger and we have taken a lot of different directions with it and thought about it really hard about how we might approach the problem and help people in an economical and simple way manage the physical files in their office in a different way using .pdf, so that is when we came up with Digital Tiger. What we have really come down to now is that Digital Tiger is going to be powered by the Google engine. We looked at all different options out there from everything that you can possibly power the back end of this with and we really settled on Google and that is what we came down to. So let me just tell you a little about what Digital Tiger does. Digital Tiger does all the customary functions of online document management storage, and it does it in a very economical and simple way. Really here’s the kind of things we went after when we did Digital Tiger. We wanted it to be cheap, we wanted it to be stable, we wanted it to have multiple scanner support, We wanted it to be shareable so you can share the files with people in the office easily, We wanted it to be scalable so you could add digital storage to the system in an economical way, we wanted you to have one place to put all of your files. We wanted you to be able to manipulate those files in that same place. In other words, have the ability to actually work on your Word files or work on your Excel files or work on your .pdf’s  or your presentations, which is what Google Docs does and then we wanted you to be able to back that up in a different way so rather than just being tied into Google which is a fantastic company and very profitable and should be around a long time, we wanted you to be able to back that up on a different place and that’s what you have with Google. And then really we wanted you to be able to have the future of what Google can provide with their Eco System. The Google system really provides tremendous value today and it’s just getting better all of the time especially with the tie-in now with the Android phones. So that’s kind of what Digital Tiger is and what we were going after when we actually developed it.

JANET: Wow! That’s a lot of information in one aspect of everything so you’ve covered the whole scope of it without breaking the bank.

JIM: Right, and that was our whole intention is that it is really designed for people who want to simply get their paper files into a stable, reliable, inexpensive storage system that they can easily search their files, they can share, they can manipulate their files all in one place, and that is what we were really going after.

JANET: What is the difference between Digital Tiger and other online document management systems?

JIM: It’s very confusing when you start looking at the document management, paper management, digital paper management, online storage bucket systems out there. It becomes a mishmash in your head in trying to figure out the differences are and what you really need and what would suit the purposes for doing what we call digital paper management which is what most people really want to do. It becomes very confusing, so the main difference from what we’re offering and what’s out there is if you start getting into document management, which it’s very hard to tell what the differences even are now between document management and digital management or digital content management, but if you start getting into it, you find out the cost is very high. Per month/per year, very high and you start really analyzing what they give you, what is it that you need, you find out that a lot of it or most of it, you can get with Google. So when we designed Digital Tiger, we really went after that. Simple. Inexpensive. It allows you to do things that I mentioned. And there are other systems out there that do content management. There’s Dropbox and SugarSync   and there’s a whole host of products like that, but they really can’t do what you need to at least today for managing .pdf files, making them indexable, searchable and that’s not really designed for that. They’re really designed for a different purpose and it’s not designed for actually doing what most people consider digital paper management. They are not good tools for that. So that’s kind of the difference between what we see out there now and a lot of our customers, knowing that all of these systems are available, have not done anything yet. They’re waiting until they get the right tool at the right price and that’s what we think we have now.

JANET: Why did you and your management team choose Google as the engine and storage system for Digital Tiger?

JIM:  We did an exhaustive, exhaustive search on this and actually developed part of this on our own first before we decided to actually go with Google and the more we developed, and the more we looked at it, and the more we looked around, the more we decided that really there’s going to be two major players in this online document management systems that allow you to, and when I say online, Google will soon be able to actually allow you to look at your files locally as well and sync to the cloud. So you’ll have the benefits of both worlds – a local file storage and you’ll have it synced to the cloud so when you need it in the cloud. So there will be two players. There will be Google and Microsoft. Microsoft is coming out with their version of this shortly. It’s in beta right now. And so with the Google system is open, it’s inexpensive, you can manage all of your file types there and basically manipulate your files using a form of Word or Excel or Powerpoint or whatever you need to do. It actually indexes your files for you, makes them searchable in .pdf, for now at least for the first 10 pages or you can index them locally and put them up there. So it is just an all-around great system. You have your calendar, your contacts, you have your music, you have your photos, you have your news reader, and you have everything in one place and you are able to share your storage so when you buy storage, you are able to share it across the host of all the applications using Google. And they’re just becoming more and more every day. And then that’s before you actually get into the more mobile aspects of Google. So that’s why we chose Google as our engine and as the back end for what we’re doing and tying Paper Tiger into a digital system and we’re very excited about it.

JANET: So tell me what problems will people encounter when converting their paper-based information to digital?

JIM: So there are really two major types of .pdf files. You have a digital .pdf which means you actually have it in .pdf form like from your bank and documents that you see in .pdf form, your credit cards, etc. and you can take those straight into your Google engine and they don’t need converting to be searchable because; they are searchable. The other way is taking physical paper, which is what we deal with a lot and having customers that have banks and banks and banks of file cabinets, and they’ve decided to take some, part, all of their paper information and put it into a searchable .pdf and that becomes mechanical and somewhat cumbersome depending on what kind of equipment that you have. So some people take a printer that can be a scanner and they try to do it that way, which is fine. It’s a little slower and it can be little bit cumbersome or they can take a high-speed scanner, which the price has dropped on those dramatically and some of the software that’s built in actually converts the files very quickly, and does not jam the paper, and converts those into a searchable .pdf. And many of them now, amazingly so, because Google has such a presence; they have tens of millions of users with Google Docs. They actually convert those files into a searchable .pdf and load them directly into Google Docs in one step. So it’s just an amazing tool. You can save the information right into Google Docs, and soon you’ll be able to save them locally and they will go into Google Docs or you can save it into the cloud directly. And so they are all starting to interface into Google Docs and so again another benefit. But some of the problems people have is getting their information converted and getting it done in a speed that makes it plausible and then when they get it in there, it’s how they organize it. Again Google is an amazing tool for this. They use a system, not of folders, so you don’t wind up with a hierarchy of one folder has some files, but you want to share it with two different folders, but you can’t. They use what they call collections, so you’re able to take your file and show it in different Collections within your Google world and that makes it useful so when you have an example where you need a file that multiple people need to see and multiple environments and multiple Collections or Folders in there, so you can do that easily with Google, so it’s not an idea of folder system but a collection system and they use this also for Gmail. So it’s just amazing, amazing tool and it eliminates a lot of the problems that people have up front. So that’s some of the things I have seen as I was working through with this problem.

JANET: What equipment does one need to actually do the job?

JIM: If you’re going to convert physical paper into digital format, you want the right scanner. It’s very important. There are a number of them out there, and some are better than others, but you really want the right equipment. And that equipment has to have the right software that does those things I mentioned about imaging and then also converting the image and also being able to upload the image. And it’s also better if the software is designed and written by the scanner manufacturer because they know the equipment very well. And then you’re going to want to have the right tool for storage and you’re going to want to have the right tool if you’re doing paper management, in our case, Paper Tiger Online. You want to have the right tool for that so that if you’re doing paper and digital together, that the system will work together. And that’s what we have tried to build. Then on the back-side, if you’re going to convert your own files, fine, but if not, you might want to look at having a service do it for you. Then one other recommendation is, because most people know the security issues, and they are aware that anyone can get into trouble with this, and our recommendation is to have your information backed up to a totally separate system either locally on your hard-drive or to a third party that allows you to recover in case there were any problems in anybody’s cloud storage. So that is kind of what I think you need to do the job.

JANET: In your opinion, what is the future of digital filing and/or document management?  What is the future for paper-based information?

JIM: Well, let me start with paper-based. We think that the world has existed on paper for a long, long time. There are millions of file cabinets in the world, and paper is not going away. Paper still continues to come and we think that indexing paper using a method similar to Paper Tiger is a great way to do that. Some people want to digitize all of their information and they are willing to get rid of their paper altogether. So for them, that’s fine, they can do that. Using this system, they can easily digitize all their information, put it up in the cloud, store it locally if they want, back it up, and have their information available to them. Some people want to have all their information in the cloud or stored in .pdf format, but they want the hard copy in case something goes wrong or in case they need it or in case they get audited or need some other way to get at it. The other thing is that some people might use a hybrid, where they have some information in paper and some information in digital form depending on what the paper is…if it’s a bound document or original signature or something they want to keep in it’s current form. So indexing is great for that. You can use this information, you can use the world of paper versus digital in any way that suits your purposes if you’ve got the right tools. Both of them have a place. What we’ve attempted to do with Digital Tiger and Paper Tiger is make it so that you can search one place for everything, and that’s what we’re trying bring to the market. So as far as we know, it’s really one of the best total systems out there and certainly the best low-cost way to get their information up there. So let me answer the question of the future. You will be able to put your hands on your information, whatever form that takes, virtually anywhere you are on any device, whether it be a tablet or phone, an Android phone, iPhone, whatever, you’ll be able to look at it, get the information you need quickly and easily. You’ll be able to share that information and collaborate that information. So that’s all the digital side, and we are already starting to see that, and that’s what Google brings to the table naturally. There are no extra things required. And then the paper-based information will be the things that you keep potentially back at your office that you need to get your hands on there. That’s kind of the future as we see it evolving and everybody is seeing that with the devices coming out.

JANET: Right. So can you tell me why should I put my information in the cloud?  Can I keep my information on my local computer as well, either laptop or desktop?

JIM: Well I’ve probably already answered this as I’ve talked but the answer is yes, you can keep it locally. Google is working on the local sync as we speak today. They had it, they’re changing it to a new format that’s more robust and it is imminent that it will be out. A lot of people want that. They want to be able to see it locally or manipulate locally or offline, and that is certainly coming. The reason you keep stuff in the cloud is because it is ubiquitous. You can find it anywhere and it is backed up and very, very securely, very redundantly on a multitude of servers. Google has servers world-wide and they are fully redundant. So if one goes down, you still have access to your information. They have 99.9% plus uptime. So they are virtually down never. So it’s a great way to store your information, it’s a great way to collaborate on your information with other co-workers, and it’s a great way to share information with other people. It’s a one-place to keep your information.

JANET: What is the future for Digital Tiger development?  And I know one question that I get asked a lot, will Digital Tiger work with Google’s mobile or Android apps?

JIM: The answer is, we’re not sure about Digital Tiger and where we will go with it. We can only see so far, and what we can see right now, based on our surveys of our customers, is that people the things we talked about, inexpensive, very robust, really oriented toward the future, meaning the developments are really rapid place to store their digital information. They want that to work seamlessly with how they store their paper-based information so there is one search, you find everything in my world. One of the things we will most likely add is the ability to search not only your digital files, not only your paper files, but also your email, so that you’ll even be able to pull that, and we may even look at going into other things, photos and so forth, because there are cases where people have all that information and they’d like to find it across all their Google apps which includes photos and their bookmarks and their calendar and so forth. We’re not there on the first development, but we can certainly see that coming. Then the mobile apps, all of this same functionality would be available to you on mobile, at least for Android and maybe for the IOS or Apple platform.

JANET: Wonderful. I think you’ve already answered the question as far as how secure our data is at Google, but what can you offer for additional backups?

JIM: Everybody gets concerned about their data in the cloud and want to make sure it’s secure and safe and backed up and so forth. The reality is, for almost everyone, your data is much safer in the cloud than it is on any local computer that you may have. So if you take some precaution in the sense of, in our opinion, get a back up of that data in the cloud locally, pull it down locally or put it to a third party. There are services out there that we recommend and that you have a full redundancy of the systems. So the chances of data loss then are even further out the statistical curve, so your chances are that you’re going to keep your data in those cases. So that’s what we see. I think the cloud is very safe at this point and not without mishap, but in general a very secure way to store your data, especially if you’re dealing with someone as robust as the big players out there.

JANET: So what if we need help getting our system setup and/or my data converted. What can Monticello do to help me?

JIM: Our commitment was this, on the Digital Tiger, when we brought it out, what we were trying to do is to offer one-stop shop for people that don’t have the time, they didn’t want to break the bank, they were worried about putting their data with unknown company that they don’t know if they’re going out of business tomorrow. In this case, the data is stored with Google, your data is all at Google. So that’s a reasonably good bet. They don’t have time to do the research all the systems that are out there and keep up with all that stuff. They want to make sure their data is backed up. They want to make sure they have someone to call; someone to keep them abreast of what’s going on in the market. As Google brings out new features, they want the company to interpret that for them and tell them this is how they can use it; here’s how you can use it; here’s how it will help you, because there is a lot of new stuff coming from Google. So that’s what we’re really trying to do with Digital Tiger, and that’s why we locked into Google as our engine and our back end, because what we can provide is help on understanding what to do and how to do it. As you have turnover in your organization, we can help the new people understand how this works. We can help you get your data converted; bringing it into Google. We can help you with training of the staff. We can also help you think about how you want to set up your data. So kind of an overall planning of this is how we are going to use it, this is how we should divide it, this is how we should put it up there and this is our workflow. Again, all of this we tried to make this very, very inexpensive on a yearly/monthly basis, so that people could have a partner in this at a very reasonable price point. And the price point for Google storage is just exceptionally low. In many cases, 1/48^th of the cost of some of the systems out there. Almost 1/50^th of the cost, not half (1/2), but 1/50^th so you can afford to put your stuff, all your things, your digital files into Google, and then have Monticello, the makers of Paper Tiger and Digital Tiger as your partner in getting all your data converted and getting it in there and having us to help support you and back you up. So that’s really what we can do at this point to help people actually make the conversion or start the conversion over to the digital world and/or organize their paper information at the same time, so they have one place for everything.

JANET: Jim, you keep saying paper, but I know from experience that we also index more than just paper. Can you touch just a little bit on what else can possibly be indexed with Paper Tiger with Digital Tiger combined.

JIM: On paper files alone, there’s three parts of the life-cycle. There’s actionable files that are in the proximity of your desk usually. There are reference files, which are usually located in filing cabinets in your office. Then there are archived files, which are usually located off-site or in a storage room. So we index all of that and we can move paper through it’s life-cycle, and we will be able to do that with digital too in this case with Digital Tiger now. But what a lot of people end up with are other physical items, and those can take the form of storage bins that have things in them for personal use or for business. It can take the form of books, or can take the form of any physical item that you want to index. Any modern warehouse today, a computer has indexed everything in it and knows exactly where those things. So you can use Paper Tiger, which is kind of a misnomer, and maybe should be ‘Physical Tiger’, but you can use Paper Tiger to index virtually anything. Our customers do; and we see them all the time responding to surveys about all the different things that you can index with Paper Tiger. We actually have a blog post about it that one of our Paper Tiger Experts, Stephanie Calahan, wrote up that’s really well done that talks about 17 or 18 different things that people are organizing with Paper Tiger. So it’s not just about paper. It’s really about anything physical and it really saves a tremendous amount of time when you go looking for those items to find them index on your computer.

JANET: Sure. That blog post that you’re referring to written by Stephanie for us is actually now a webpage on our website, which can be found on our Why Paper Tiger tab, and over to the left, you’ll see Not Just For Filing Paper.

JIM: Right, www.thepapertiger.com

JANET: Absolutely. Well thanks Jim. We appreciate your time today. Awesome information. We look forward to everything Digital Tiger will offer everyone. So thanks again!

JIM: You’re welcome and we look forward to answering questions from everybody. This is a journey we’re all actually embarking on this digital world. The cloud has become very topical now, so this is going to be very interesting, but I think there will be a lot of productivity gains and cost reduction and cost savings for business owners out there and I think it’s ready for primetime. It’s going to be an amazing tool for helping people get organized and streamline their business and reduce the cost.