The invoices, the registration papers, the delivery schedule, and you can’t forget the pigs. The only way to stay sane is to get organized. When pigs fly, you say? Remember, the goal of organizing is to make your business functional. Being organized doesn’t have to be difficult, just keep it simple.

Leslie Cobb Lyerly, with Steve Cobb and Family, shares how she stays organized. Try implementing these 6 tips to create an organized foundation for your business.

Tip #1- Invoices are Your Best Friend The first thing Lyerly does the day after the sale is print out all the sale invoices. Lyerly said the invoices have all the information you need from your buyers. Having hard copies of the printed invoices is her key to getting and staying organized.

Tip #2- Sorting System More than likely, you will have buyers from all of over the country. When they call, don’t waste time sorting through all of your invoices. Lyerly suggests first sorting your invoices by state to easily access an induvial buyer. After Lyerly makes contact with the buyers to confirm delivery and registration options, she sorts the invoices by delivery stops.

Tip #3- Checks and Balances Create a system of checks and balances within your business. Lyerly said, after she double checks everything, there are others who double-check her. “Adding the step in to double-check each other has really paid off,” Lyerly said. “We have limited our mistakes and caught ourselves before mistakes happen too.”

Tip #4- Use Labels Sometimes a handwritten four can look like a seven. To prevent any confusion in your process try typing things out versus handwriting. A good way to do this is by using labels. Lyerly said she types out the buyer’s name, the lot number, the pig’s number and the pen number on a label. The labels can be used for the load list, making it easy for anyone to read.

Tip #5- Health Papers When printing out invoices, print out an extra copy for your vet too, Lyerly suggested. The additional copy of the invoice will contain all of the information your vet will need to do all the health papers. After you get the health papers back, match them up with your invoices and staple them together. This step can also serve as an additional checks and balances for you.

Tip #6 – Registration Papers One of Lyerly’s favorite things about showpig.com is that they send you a list of your registered pigs by email. She then uses this email to keep track of the registrations so that she can promptly mail out registration papers to the buyers.

Though these tips and systems have served the team at Steve Cobb and Family well, keep in mind that there is more than one way to skin a cat. Take this one last piece of advice from Lyerly herself.

“The main thing I would advise is to get organized with a system that works for your farm.”