CPA firm disasters come in many different forms:

Accounting firm server crashes, hard drive failures, disgruntled employees and of course the all too unfortunate natural disasters. When the storm hits – how prepared is your accounting practice and your clients?

Every accounting firm should have a Disaster Recovery Plan, here are the essentials to get you started:

1. Offsite backup of all accounting firm data. Tape backups are not reliable. Backups need to be regularly scheduled and automatic.

2. Know your accounting office functions. Being able to recognize what materials, procedures and equipment are essential to keep your business running is the first step to taking inventory of what needs to be recovered promptly.

3. Have a list of your accounting firm employees phone numbers readily available. Have a person in charge of contacting accounting clients during a disaster, communication is key.

4. Create aan accounting firm website that is password protected so employees can get information regarding plans after a disaster. Have someone in charge of entering and managing this information.

5. Have remote access accounting capability so employees can work anytime anywhere.

6. Internal messaging service within an ASP/SaaS/Cloud environment will help keep the accounting firm communication lines open and everyone on the same page.

7. Install anti-virus systems and keep them up to date. Firewall appliances are the first line of defense against unwelcome visitors to your CPA firm network.

8. Use strong passwords (6-8 characters with upper and lower case as well as numbers and symbols) to protect your client accounting data. Don’t share passwords + change them every 30 days.

9. If you don’t know from whom, what or where an e-mail came – don’t open it!

10. Create a checklist of responsibilities for your CPA practice employees to follow in time of emergency.

Cloud9 Real Time offers the e-Dashboard technology in a SAS70 Type II Data Center with a Disaster Recovery System included for each user.  Find out why Cloud9 is the #1 choice of accountants* for QuickBooks hosting and much more.

*See - Cloud9 Nabs Top Accounting Host Award

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