3 Reasons Why Lateral Filing is Better in a Busy Office

Good morning everyone!

et’s talk laterals!

Let’s face it, selling is all about problem solving. When a customer comes into your business asking for storage options, the lesser known solution is the lateral filing system. But why would they want a lateral filing cabinet over a vertical filing cabinet when the vertical unit takes up less space? Let’s investigate.

Vertical Filing: The File Less Opened…

It’s true that the vertical file cabinet takes up less space when closed than their lateral counterpart. This makes them prime candidates for archived storage, perhaps tax documents and  old accounting documents. These are documents that you must keep, but don’t need to see on a regular basis. When regular access is a priority, a lateral filing cabinet is the star.

Lateral Filing: The Daily Filer

So what benefits do laterals have then?

1. Fast access to important files: Lateral filing cabinets are designed for lots of files to be accessed quickly. The files are arranged from left to right*, meaning that you can see all files immediately, providing you have adequately organised them. The benefits are twofold. Both faster access to documents you need access to regularly, and;
2. Saving floor space rather than wall space: In many businesses, wall space is less important than floor space. Think of a hallway for example. Running a longer cabinet along a narrow walkway is a better storage solution than a tall one. Particularly when the vertical cabinets need to open almost to double the depth of the cabinet. The drawer in a lateral unit on the other hand, only needs to extend the width of the paper.
3. Style is important: Gone are the days where 20 filing cabinets in a row are seen anywhere other than the archive room. The wider form factor can be more pleasant to look at than a stark narrow filing cabinet. Furthermore, when your filing cabinet is out on display, who wants grey/beige/black? Well, actually most people do 😉 but who said you can’t show off some office flair with a Signal Red lateral unit, or a dual colour even? No one, that’s who.

*Statewide lateral filing cabinets come with an internal divider bar that allows for either front-to-back or side-to-side filing, based on your preference.

What do you think? Are there any other reasons you would choose a lateral filing cabinet over a vertical filing cabinet? Let us know by commenting below!