Solving the document version control problem

Founders tend to generate multiple versions of documents and presentations – or at least they should be, as they learn more about the market, gather helpful feedback, and seek to constantly improve their communications – kaizen.

This can results in many, even dozens of versions of sales projections or PowerPoint presentations. While it can be tempting to just jettison the old versions, many times their is value in keeping them around for reference or for copying and pasting still useful sections into new documents.

So here’s a simple way to name the various version of your files so you can keep track of them, use this format: filename YYYY-MM-DD. Then you can sort the various versions of your budget or whatever file you have by date. You’ll always know what the latest version is and what the previous version was.

You can also easily search by name and/or date. You will still have the issue of what filename to use, but whatever you do be consistent. For example, don’t use contractions like “sls proj 2016-10-15.xls” for your sales projections and full titles elsewhere “Investor presentation 2016-9-7.ppt” elsewhere.

Author: Mentorphile

Mentor, coach, and advisor to entrepreneurs, small businesses, and non-profit organizations. General manager with significant experience in both for-profit and non-profit organizations. Focus on media and information. On founding team of four venture-backed companies. Currently Chairman of Popsleuth, Inc., maker of the Endorfyn app for keeping fans updated on new stuff from their favorite artists. View all posts by Mentorphile