Alphabetical
Filing from A-Z using meaningful letters of a name to determine placement into the sequence. This may be the first letter, second letter, or any other letter in the name. Generally used for name files, such as Personnel, Patient, Customer, Correspondence Files, etc.
Subject
Almost any business will have a certain amount of correspondence that can be filed under SUBJECT headings: e.g. – matters relating to the general management of the business and its transactions with branches, factories, agencies, trade connections etc. If care is taken to compile a logical scheme of SUBJECT headings and their sub classifications, filing by SUBJECT co-ordinates and groups all relevant data and correspondence for easy reference. SUBJECT filing thus concentrates information more effectively than any other method. The primary guides in a SUBJECT file carry main headings. These can be divided into as many sub-headings as required.
Geographic
Where concerns, such as wholesale distributors, deal with many small firms scattered over a wide area, location is of prime importance. Electricity and Gas undertakings are typical GEOGRAPHIC filing users. When, for example, ledger accounts are arranged by town and county, a simple arrangement may be desired for orders and correspondence. In GEOGRAPHIC filing, the main guides indicate counties, with second position guides for towns, followed by folders for individual correspondents in each town.
Straight Numeric
In many kinds of office work reference numbers are more convenient, and more generally known, than names. Suitable cases for NUMERIC filing include contracts, jobs and orders and invoices as well as material requiring extensive cross-indexing.
The NUMERIC folder is active only for the duration of the specific contact, case or job. On the termination, all paper bearing the same number can be removed en bloc, thus freeing valuable drawer space for new and active material with the minimum disturbance.
Terminal Digit
Straight numeric filing can have serious disadvantages in certain circumstances and to overcome these, a Terminal Digit Method was introduced, which was a simple, fast and accurate system of numerical filing.
The fundamental difference between Terminal Digit Filing and ordinary numeric filing is that numbers, in group, are read from right to left: The numbers are divided into three parts without regard to prefix, suffix, comma or hyphen. The last figure (whether one or two digits) on the extreme right is a terminal figure and is called ‘primary’; the two figures on the left are ‘secondary’ or sub-terminal figures. The remaining figures to the left are filed in strict numerical order, known as final numbers.
Terminal Digit is especially efficient for those files with large gap numbers. New files may be added and old one removed, but dreaded ‘back shifting’ is never necessary. The system also facilitates economy of equipment and floor space because the installation as a whole is always in use.
Terminal Digit is simple and flexible. Ease of sorting is achieved by a filing clerk referring only to ‘primary’ number(s) in question – not ‘reading into’ a multi-digit figure. Since the numbers are broken into sections, accuracy and speed is introduced into the filing and retrieving of folders. A balanced growth is maintained at all times – as folders are closed and removed new ones are added in their place to provide unlimited expansion. The very fact that folders are filed according to their ‘primary’ digit ensures their even distribution over the filing installation, preventing bottlenecks and human congestion.