Do you have a data backup solution? Your business collects and stores data for a number of reasons, including keeping track of sales, gathering analytics for your different marketing efforts and collecting information about your employees and clients. Wirral Accountant explains why backups important and what you should do about it.

Data Loss Is More Common Than You Think

Data can be lost if a computer or server stops working. Physical failure of the hard drive could result in important data being lost. There are services that specialize in data recovery but this is an expensive process. Data loss can also occur if there is a fire or if a laptop or USB memory stick is lost.

Data Loss Is Expensive

What would you do if the data your business needs to operate were wiped out? You would find yourself unable to access clients accounts or to see what is in your inventory. If you offer subscriptions or payment plans, payment and account details could be lost.

Compliance Issues

Depending on the industry you are in, you might not be compliant if you do not back up your data. Organizations that offer financial advice need to save communications with clients for a certain amount of time. They can be subject to fines if this data cannot be accessed, even if there was an accidental data loss. Find out more about the rules and regulations that apply to your industry and make sure you are compliant when it comes to handling and saving data.

Accountant Explains Why Backups Important

Backing up your data is something you can do automatically. There is a number of affordable solutions that will help you save money on the long-term. Backing up your data should be among the best practices your business follows since it would protect you from a loss of income if important files were lost or accidentally wiped out.

Implementing A Data Backup Solution

Assess your needs before choosing a backup solution. Figure out how much storage space you need, how often your data should be backed up and how this information needs to be accessed. Consider using a service that will encrypt your data if you need to save sensitive information.

Develop A Backup Plan

You can choose to use an automated solution that will save all your data to a remote server once a week or once a month depending on your needs. If this is not a good match for your organization, you will have to develop your own backup plan and manually upload the data that needs to be saved. This will give you the opportunity to delete the files you don’t need to keep and to determine which files should be encrypted or restricted.

Losing data could have catastrophic consequences for your business if you do not use a backup solution. There are many products that allow you to automatically back up all your important files at a very affordable cost.