Filing Types

Alphabetic filing is the arrangement of files by names -individual, company or subject- in dictionary order. People are comfortable thinking about filing information by names, therefore alphabetic order is the most commonly used filing method for systems with less than 5,000 records. A major advantage is that no cross-referencing is needed -if you know the name you can go right to the file (some larger numeric systems use indexes which usually require look up of numbers in order to find a file).

A drawback to a straight alpha system is that the volume of common names can be great, leading to difficulty locating a file among many look-alikes. One solution is to incorporate a first (given) name initial, thereby breaking up the large group within the file.

Alphabetic Color Coding Labels

Numeric filing is the filing of numbered documents in a sequential order. It is probably the most practical system for large volume of files and is recommended when file volume is over 5,000. Unlike large alphabetic systems, there is no duplication of color coding-each file is unique. File confidentiality is also enhanced. Straight numeric filing is a simple system to use because numbers are easier to put in order than letters

Numeric Color Coding Labels

Alpha-numeric filing is simply the filing of letters and numbers in a format that suits the file situation. For example, you may want to group your customer files by state, then file by account number within each state. In this situation you could use a two-letter color code at the top of the file to represent the state, then a numeric code at the bottom for the account number. Alpha-numeric files need not be complicated. The combination of letters and numbers used gives added dimension for presorting, filing and retrieval.

Terminal Digit filing is an arrangement of numeric files that groups together all file numbers that end in the same last two digits. Although file numbers are assigned in straight numeric sequence, location is determined by reading them in reverse order (right to left) in groups of two digits. The filing area is divided into 100 equal sections marked 00-99.

Example: To find file number 17234, first go to section 34, then the area with 72, file 1.

This system has advantages. The 'traffic jam' surrounding new files that are sequentially filed is eliminated. So too is the need to shift files to the front of the file system when purging-all sections are used equally. It is often used in large file areas (over 10,000) such as hospitals, insurance companies, banking and government agencies.