Company and work status are different information
A folder called “Business Alfa” identifies who the documents belong to. “Sent” means you have sent them, not that the accountant has received them. Record confirmed receipt only when you have their confirmation or other verified evidence of receipt. “Email” identifies the source. Put all these labels side by side and one invoice fits several folders at once.
For example, an invoice for Alfa arrives in your personal email and is waiting for a customer-detail correction. It still concerns Alfa; the work is simply unfinished. Neither the source nor the pending correction should make it harder to find under the right business.
First separate documents by business. Under each, you can have folders for Ready to prepare, Needs attention, and Handed over. In an app, statuses and filters can do the same job without manually moving files.
Start with fewer places
For a small volume, you do not need a separate folder for every supplier and purchase type. It may look tidy but adds decisions that help neither you nor your accountant. Create a new category only when you actually search or hand over by it.
For two companies and personal purchases, those three groups plus one place for uncertainties may be enough. A stable period label helps with handed-over packages. The priority is knowing what your accountant already received and what still waits, not hiding every file in the deepest possible structure.
Try the new system on a few real documents. If you need to open your own manual for each one, adjust the names or number of choices. A good name should still make sense after several weeks without touching the setup.
A filter speeds repetition; it does not resolve an unclear rule
You can set rules for recurring messages in your email client. Options vary: some use folders, others labels. Check which messages the conditions actually select before enabling automatic sorting. When connecting through IMAP, also select the folder your rule moves invoices into.
A sender filter recognises that a message came from a particular shop. It may not know whether the invoice belongs to Alfa, Beta or your household. If the rule confuses supplier and customer, it can do the wrong thing quickly and reliably.
Before setting up automatic forwarding, confirm the recipient too. Resolve new businesses or conflicting rules first. Do not extend an existing filter to other documents simply because they came from the same address.
Source for this section: Google: Rules for filtering emails
One shop, two customers
In an example month, you buy a monitor for Alfa and a phone for Beta from the same shop. Both messages have similar subjects and both attachments are called faktura.pdf. “From this shop to Alfa” would classify the second document incorrectly.
The specific document details and purchase context are decisive. Once you have checked such a case, adjust the rule to distinguish customers. If the customer is wrong too, leave the document to resolve and fix billing with the supplier. More folders alone do not correct a wrong detail.
Notice when the system becomes more complicated than the work
If you repeatedly wonder where the same document belongs, the system needs clarification. If you spend most of your time renaming and moving correct invoices, it may need simplifying instead. Folders and labels should support finding and handing over, not create their own monthly task.
When changing the setup, do not carelessly delete old handed-over packages or silently change what your accountant already references. Try the new arrangement on the next period and preserve clear continuity. Success means finding a document quickly and knowing what to do with it — even when you have no time to tidy up.