The best protection in any emergency is knowing what to do.
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Essential Business Documents Kit Checklist

An essential record or document is one that is considered to be vital to the operations of an organization. To recover after an emergency or disaster, you will need to access your organization’s essential records. If the information contained in those records is lost your business may not be able, or permitted, to resume operations.

Assemble the documents in a waterproof, portable container and store it in a secure, easily accessible location.

Your essential business documents kit should contain:

  • Constitution, bylaws, charters, franchises and orders-in-council
  • Accounts payable and receivable
  • Bank and audit records
  • Capital and fixed assets records
  • Contracts and agreements
  • Licenses and permits
  • Leases, deeds, property and land files
  • Blueprints and technical drawings
  • Inventories
  • Mailing lists
  • Organization charts
  • Financial signing authorities
  • Union agreements
  • Software
  • Supplier listing
  • Insurance policies
  • Procedural manuals
  • Personnel records, payroll documents, pension fund files, salary deduction lists
  • Annual reports
  • Research, technical data and specifications on specialized projects
  • Special agreements with clients
  • Sales records and guarantees
  • Other documents you deem essential to the operation of your business

To find out more about what the City is doing and what you can do to be prepared, visit ottawa.ca or call 3-1-1. The City’s web site is your best source of complete emergency preparedness information for your business.

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