Office Safes: A Straightforward Guide For the Small Business Owner
As an owner of a small business, the security of your information is crucial: your backed-up electronic files holding important information relating to clients and customer contact details, not to mention any cash that is kept in the office for general everyday expenses. When it comes to buying a safe for your office, the vast array of options available can be intimidating. Consider the following quick guide to the important points to consider when purchasing a safe for your office.
Size What will you be storing in your safe? Important operating documents relating to insurance, or other important contracts are best kept in a safe, rather than a filing cabinet, for security reasons relating to restricting employee access, but also for their preservation in the event of a fire or flood. Safes are available in many specialised variations for documents, data or cash. As a small business owner, it is likely that you will require some combination of all three in one unit: this will likely be more cost effective than having separate safes for distinct purposes and will also save space in your office.
Fire safety An office safe if not merely a means for protecting against theft, but is also a guarantee that, in the event of a fire or flood, your valuable goods and information is kept protected for the continuation of your business. Fire resistant safes are usually given a rating from 30 minutes to 180 minutes, buying you some time in the event of an emergency and ensuring that all is not lost. For peace of mind, go for the highest rating you can realistically afford. 70% of businesses that go through a major fire fail within 5 years, so make sure that yours is not one of them.
Security ratings
Safes are designed in accordance with highly specific standards relating to burglary and fire protection. To consider all of these permutations in proper detail would be beyond the scope of this article, and generally not particularly useful to you, the consumer. The main areas of concern for a small business owner will be the broad areas of protection (fire, burglary, explosives), and the length of time the safe will withstand these factors, without getting lost in all of the specific ratings and industry-specific codes. Talk to your supplier about the needs of your business (fire resistance may be a priority for you, where protection against explosives may seem excessive) to ensure that you get exactly what you need.
Where Security Ratings matter While you will want to avoid getting bogged down in overly complicated security ratings and codes, there are specific criteria that you may be required to meet if this is stipulated in your insurance agreement. If in doubt, talk to your insurance provider beforehand to ensure that you are still covered.
For more information, contact Askwith Company or a similar company.
