Even though we’re not in tornado alley here in Indiana, tornado and hurricane season is upon us. Tornadoes and hurricanes put your company’s computer servers and hard drives, and all your financial information, at risk.
Natural disasters can create flooding that can wipe out all your computer systems. Power surges — even if you believe your computer is protected with surge protectors — can damage your hard drive, rendering your data unreadable. And heavy winds can even cause buildings to collapse and cause shock damage to your hard drives or servers, again, making it impossible to access your financial records and other data. It happens.
Data back-up best practices recommend having three back-ups of mission critical data, including one version off-site so that you or other authorized personnel can access it, even if you can’t get in to your main offices, which could be the case during a natural disaster.
But when you rely on accounting software in the cloud, you’ll know your data is safe, regardless of your back-up practices. We still recommend keeping at least one other copy of your financial accounting data backed up, because no storage system is ever 100 percent safe. But if you’re looking for consistency and reliability, along with data you can access from any device with Internet access, 24/7, cloud-based accounting software is the way to go.
As we enter the worst time of year for flooding, hurricanes and tornadoes, it may be time to evaluate your data back-up systems and your accounting software. While you’re at it, take a good look at your bookkeeping and accounting practices. Are you maximizing your company’s potential with the right business accounting software and a bookkeeper, CPA or part-time financial controller you can trust?
