Business Continuity Checklist

By reviewing and addressing the questions below, your business will be better prepared for unexpected events and disruptions.

Does our staff have the ability to work remotely?

• If not, what do we need to ensure we have in place? Are there people/positions who cannot work from home? How do we keep them working safely?
  • Space at home?
  • Technology (laptops)?
  • Ability to contact the server (Office365 or VPN)?
  • Internet?
  • Work uninterrupted?

Do we have backups? Can we access them if we need to evacuate?

• Onsite backups (for redundancy for human error)

• Offsite backups (if the office is inaccessible)

• Cloud-based backups. Office365 retains data for 30 days after the license is terminated, then it is purged. Therefore other backups are needed for temporary layoffs, which might last longer than 30 days

Will we have access to cash?

How will we handle accounts receivable?

• Consider that receiving cheques may not be possible

How will we handle accounts payable?

• Consider that printing cheques may not be possible

Do I have contact information for employees? Vendors? Clients? Partners?

• Employee Records

• Vendor Records

• Client Records

• Are there digital copies available that you can access?

• What do you do to access/secure physical copies?

What risks do we have? Do we have a mitigation strategy?

• Building/asset security (fire, theft, flood, break-in, and intentional damage)

• Data loss (if we do not have digital copies of the paper we keep, how are we going to access it?)

• Are we covered for crypto events (with all of this digital data, are we protected if that data is encrypted?)

• Data theft – (with employees working from home, could an employee access sensitive data and steal, sell, or store it)

• Data leakage – how safe is our intellectual and physical property secured while it is outside of our building?

• If an employee is terminated (voluntarily or involuntarily), do we have a plan to block access to company data and equipment and to ensure the return of any assets (cell phone, computer, vehicle)?

What are the critical needs of our clients that we will need to ensure we meet?

• How will we provide the services that we have contractually committed to doing?

Do we have appropriate insurance?

• Physical building?

• Contents?

• Accounts Receivable?

• Business Interruption?

• Risk Management/Liability?

• Do you have an actual inventory of physical assets and equipment, as well as video recordings?

What is our communication strategy?

• With clients?

• With vendors?

• With employees?

How do we ensure we can get what we need from our office?

What processes or procedures would temporarily need to change or adapt? (eg. Time and materials instead of full project charters)