Somewhere on your shared drive is a file called final_FINAL_v7_USE-THIS-ONE.psd. Next to it is final_FINAL_v7_USE-THIS-ONE_amends.psd, which is newer. Nobody is quite sure which one went to the client.
In short
"Final" is a hope, not a version number. Leave it out of file names.
Date first, then client, then what it is, then a version: 2026-11-13_Acme_Brochure_v03.
Let the shared drive keep the old versions. That is its job.
Why "final" never is
Because the client has not seen it yet. Calling a file final only guarantees a sequel called final2, followed by final_ACTUAL. The name is trying to say "this is the one", and the only thing that can really say that is a rule everybody follows.
One rule that works
Date, client, thing, version. In that order, joined with underscores.
Date first, written backwards. 2026-11-13, not 13-11-26. Year, month, day sorts itself into order in any folder, on any computer. It also ends the argument between the London and New York ways of writing a date.
Client or job code next. Whatever you already call the job: Acme, or 26020.
Then what it is. Brochure, Storyboard, Roofplan. One or two words.
Then a version with two digits. v01, v02, v03. Two digits so that v10 does not sort itself in front of v2.
The result is 2026-11-13_Acme_Brochure_v03.psd. Anyone can read it, and the newest is always at the bottom of the list.
Three small habits
Skip the odd characters. Slashes, colons and question marks cause trouble when files move between Mac, Windows and cloud drives. Stick to letters, numbers, hyphens and underscores.
Mark what went out. When a version is sent to the client, save a PDF of it in a folder called Sent, with the date. Then "which one did they see?" has an answer.
Initials go last, if at all. If it matters who made the change, add it at the very end: v03_SK.
Let the software remember
Most shared drives quietly keep earlier versions of every file for a few weeks at least. So there is no need to save a new copy every time a comma moves. Save a new version number when something real changes: a round of amends, a new direction, a file going out of the door.
Too late for the drive you have?
Do not rename the past. You will break links and lose a weekend. Start the rule on the next job. In six months, most of what you open will follow it.
Want the drive itself sorted?
A naming rule works best on a shared drive that is laid out sensibly, backed up properly and has the right people in the right folders. That is the part we do. Talk to us, or read about cloud migrations and backup.