Running a small business from your home can be a great way of gaining financial independence. Like many people, you store all of your tax paperwork in the cloud and rely on it not to fail. But if it does, you can protect yourself by placing duplicates of your tax paperwork in an office filing cabinet.
Cloud Failures Can Happen To You
The cloud seems magical to many people because it is typically heavily backed up and safe from hacking. However, those perceptions aren't quite accurate. While rare, cloud server failures could result in deleted or corrupted files that suddenly leave you with no tax information. Trying to explain all of your tax information after losing these files will be troubling and difficult.
As a result, it is important to backup your cloud with a separate server. However, it is also a good idea to keep paper versions of all of your tax information. While this might seem like an old-fashioned way to store your information, a filing cabinet is a great backup for situations in which you can't access your cloud or if your information there is lost or corrupted.
Office Cabinets Can't Fail Like The Cloud
The most obvious benefit of office cabinets is that they simply cannot crash like a cloud server. While you may misplace information in a filing cabinet, once you place it in there, it will stay there until you move it. As a result, it can provide your home office with the kind of backup that prevents a serious emergency when your cloud server fails.
However, it is important to choose the best model for your needs and to identify a secondary backup method that creates a nearly fool-proof method for protecting your tax information from getting lost if a fire or another emergency impacts your home.
Picking The Best Model For Your Needs
Choosing a backup office cabinet for your small business requires understanding the various types available on the market. Lateral markets are a good choice because they are designed for small areas but still provide a high-level of storage capacity. The classic vertical filing cabinet is good if you have a spot in your office for one but may be too heavy for some people to move.
After picking a cabinet for your office, make sure to scan your important paperwork and create duplicates of them. Place these items in a fire-proof safe that is stored in an isolated area of your home. By placing these doubles in this kind of storage area, you are creating a nearly fool-proof collection of documents that will protect you if the cloud fails on you.
By now, it should be clear that office cabinets are a great addition to your small business. They provide you with a traditional place to store your paperwork and help protect you in case the cloud decides to fail and leaves you stuck trying to explain your tax situation to the IRS.