they would be a lot less happy if all of their data disappeared or became corrupt.
You're doing it properly despite what the client may think.
Actually, why are the clients complaining about you taking such sensible precautionary measures? Are they assuming that backup time is lost time? Do they think that we sit there just watching screens and drinking coffee with our feet up whilst backups are running!
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
Well that's what I thought. I have always done it, whether I am employed or self employed. I have quite a few memory sticks but my client asked me what I was doing last time I was there and it just made me feel awful. So you know how things play on your mind I got to thinking maybe what I was doing was wrong...you know stealing their data etc.
Ask the client for a memory stick rather than using your own and leave the memory stick secured at the client premises rather than taking client data away with you (however inadvertantly) without specific authority to do so from the client.
Simply explain that the process is a security measure to protect their data from corruption and explain the new process that you will be putting in place to ensure that their backup data remains securely on site.
I'm sure that they will see what you were doing was in their best interests and folowing their concerns you are looking to put new procedures in place.
Hope that they are reasonable clients who can see the benefit of what you were doing to protect them.
kind regards,
Shaun.
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
I always take backups of my clients' data and on my own memory sticks. I have one for each client which are totally encrypted so nobody would be able to access it without the password (well, unless they were really determined) and I take them off site. I thought this was a sensible precaution as none of my clients have fireproof storage on site. (Perhaps they should).
All my clients (ok, I only have 4) were happy with this once I explained the procedure. To be honest I don't think any of them would bother making backups if I didn't do it!
That's exactly what I have been doing Pauline, and never thought anything of it.....uptil now. But I will asked them for a memory stick in future and back up and hand it back.
It is a case of looking at how important the data is. If it was lost, would that put the client out of business, how much would it cost to put right? I think an off site back up is important, it is relatively inexpensive. If the property is totally destroyed or a thief took the backups, then not having the accounts data is one extra worry. Insurance companies expect businesses to take reasonable measures to secure their data.
Your client sounds a bit paranoid to me. I always insist on a company backup now, the amount of times I have taught individuals how to take backups of their own work only to find later they forgot when they had to leave their virused computer in to get wiped/hard drive fixed after a failure etc etc is unreal.
If they are suspicious, my motto is tough, if they can't trust their accountant/bookkeeper with their info, who can they trust? I mean, what do they think are going to do with it? If you were the type to pass on financial info to their competition, you don't need a backup to do that anyway.
This client has really got me down with one thing and another and am on the verge of walking away. I don't give up easily but if I can't do the job or be trusted enough to do it then there's not much point is there.
Trust is one thing I had to learn working in this field and I had to spend 3 years proving myself to the FD that I wasnt going to empty out the company bank accounts as I had quite a bit of responsibility looking after the banks as I did all the payents. Thats even when it took two people to make a payment, they would want to now why I was paying their suppliers all the time and they were not cash straped thats for sure. After a while they trusted me fully and all the silly questions stopped and I could make a payment for thousands to and individuals account without them asking me a question. So it just went from one extrem to the next.
