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There is an old construction saying, "measure twice, cut once". Now with so many of our business records stored on computers, that saying should be "save once, backup twice". Why backup your files? If you have never lost any information on your computer, you've been very lucky. There are many ways a computer can lose information: power surges, computer viruses, corrupt files, lightning, disasters, and of course, sometimes computers just seem to fail for no particular reason at all. So if you have not backed up your cleaning company's information you can have a long struggle to recreate those records, client information, letters, bookkeeping files and other data you had stored on your computer. A backup plan is extremely important! Your first decision is what to backup. If you use your computer for strictly business there is no reason not to backup everything. However, if your computer is also for personal use there may be files that you won't necessarily miss if they are lost. Either way, if you have files you can't easily recreate it is best to have at least one backup copy of those files. Following are some examples of files you should have backup copies of: *Client lists *Billing information *Bookkeeping software and company data *Supplier and vendor information *Letters to clients *Marketing materials *Bidding packets *Employee records *Spreadsheets *Forms you use in your business *Digital photographs *E-mail program and copies of saved emails *E-mail address book *Software you have downloaded from the Internet *Software installation programs How do you backup your computer? There are many ways. You can do a simple data backup by copying files in their original location to a removable media such as an external hard drive, a flash drive or another computer's hard drive on the network. There are software programs you can buy, such as Shadow and Second Copy, which will automatically back up your files at either periodic intervals or anytime a file changes. This is convenient because you don't have to remember to back up your data, and if you're like most people, it's something that keeps getting put on the back-burner. If you do not have an external hard drive, you can burn your files to a CD or DVD. Most computers come with a built in CD/DVD recorder and a software burning program. Backing up to a CD or DVD is a manual process and you will have to remember to set time aside every week or month to do your backups. Another option is to do an online file backup. With an online backup you contract with an Internet based company that allows you to backup your data on their server. Most online backup companies will provide you with software that makes it easy to backup your files. The costs of an online backup service will vary depending on how much space you need and the specific services you are looking for, but may run from around $50 to several hundred dollars a year. If you do your own backups with CDs/DVDs or an external hard drive, it is a good idea to make a copy periodically. Then take that copy and store it at a different location - that way in case of theft, fire, flood or other natural disaster; you will still have copies of your computer's data. No matter how reliable your computer is or how competent a computer user you are, backups should be a part of your routine. You should set up your computer to backup your files on a set schedule. In just seconds your computer can lose some or all of its data. Make sure you don't lose days, weeks or even years worth of work by having a good backup system in place. Below are some resources for computer backups: Online Backups: http://www.carbonite.com/ http://mozy.com/ http://www.ibackup.com/ http://www.shadowbackup.com/ Software Programs: http://www.secondcopy.com/ http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/index.html http://www.handybackup.com/ Copyright (c) The Janitorial Store (TM)
Article Source: http://www.cleaningarticles.com
For more cleaning tips and information on starting and running a successful cleaning business, visit Jean Hanson at www.TheJanitorialStore.com. And while you're there, sign up for Trash Talk: Cleaning Tip of the Week. Read cleaning success stories at www.cleaning-success.com.
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