Surviving and back-up data

See if any files, including electronic files can be recovered, including any back-up data you may have.

Accountant

Your accountant may have copies of financial statements and tax returns for your business.

Banks, credit unions and building societies

Past bank statements are a great resource for reconstructing your records. For example, a business may remember or take a good guess at what many of the transactions on a bank statement were for, even though the primary records of the transactions are gone. Banks can charge for replacement statements; however they may waive such fees following a disaster.

Off-site sources

Consider whether any files are kept off-site, for example, where activities are outsourced for example, IT, payroll. In such a situation, the service provider may have information on file. If you have cloud data you may be able to retrieve the data quickly.

Employees

Ask employees if they have records off-site, for example emails, documents on their computer, memory sticks and other electronic storage devices.

Lenders

If your business has borrowed money from a bank or another lending institution, they may have financial information on file, such as annual financial statements, forecasts and budgets and other information regarding the loans.

Customers and suppliers

Customers and suppliers may have invoices, remittance advices, purchase orders, receipts that they may share.

Corporate regulator

Your financial statements may have been lodged with the corporate regulator. In Australia, the regulator is the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

Auditors

If your financial statements are audited, your auditors may be able to provide copies of work papers and other records obtained during an audit as well as any policies or procedures they may have taken copies of and financial statements.

Insurer

Your insurer may have a list of the assets owned by the business.

Other government agencies

If the business has received government funding/grants, the awarding government agency may have records.

Accreditation, certification or licensing bodies

If your business is subject to any other form of certification, licensing or accreditation, those bodies may have records that could be used.

Land registry

The government body responsible for holding titles to properties, such as the Titles Office, should have copies of titles to properties you own.

Lawyers and finance companies

Lawyers and financing companies may have copies of contracts your business has entered into which could include hire purchase, leasing, rental agreements.

Landlord or landlord’s agent

Your landlord or your landlord’s agent should be able to provide you copies of your lease agreement.

Email correspondence

The business, the business’s internet service provider or employees may have copies of emails and documents forwarded to clients, suppliers and other relevant parties. This will also have the additional benefit of assisting with the reconstruction of contact lists if not backed up. If a mobile phone was in use, data may be available from the carrier if the handset was lost.

Share registries

Where the business owns publicly traded securities, share registries may be able to help you determine what shares the business owns.