I think maybe Buffalo and I are on the same page. I keep a Flash drive with all my shops on it, separated by year since 2008 when I started to shop. At the beginning of a year, I start a new folder for the year. Every month I start a sub-folder for that month. Under the month, each client gets a sub-folder. If I shop multiple locations for the same client, each location gets its own sub-folder. I download guidelines to the sub-folders. I file pictures, receipts, and a copy of the report in the sub-folder. The flash drive drives with me and I can use it with my tablet, which also travels with me everywhere. Every quarter, I back up my Flash drive to a mini hard drive.
Everything is filed by year, month, and client. It shouldn't be time-consuming to find pictures from a shop I did a week ago. Actually, I could easily provide photos or a receipt from a shop 6 months ago - or a couple of years ago.