Internet Doomsday - protect yourself

Another hacker-created crisis approaches in July. Read this article Internet Doomsday - protect yourself for explanation of the malware and how to cope with it.

I just don't understand the mentality of destroying others' computers, information, and systems. A scientist friend of mine says that it is a "power" thing.  Do you think these nerds need to get a real life?

What can I do to help?

Have you or a loved one ever been in an overwhelming situation such as major accident, chronic illness, fire, or other situation? The needs are critical, the friends wanting to help but the responsible person is overwhelmed and time challenged by the event.

I'd like to recommend an on-line resource to get help needed in ways that make it comfortable for both the givers and the recipients -- LotsaHelpingHands.com. This has been a blessing to one of my clients dealing with a family member's critical health issues.

The opening lines of their homepage explain the concept:

"It’s the question everyone asks in a crisis—but often, people don’t know how best to answer it, or even how to get started. Lotsa Helping Hands provides an answer.

Create a free, private Community web site to organize family and friends during times of need. Use the calendar in your private Community to match volunteers to needed tasks. Send announcements to keep everyone up to date. Tap into resources from leading caregiver and health organizations.

Coordinate Caregiving With A Community

If you’re a caregiver who’s feeling overwhelmed, know someone experiencing a difficult time, or are simply working with others in your community, we provide a way to turn heartfelt intentions into acts of good that truly help. Lotsa Helping Hands brings:

• Peace of mind for a family in crisis
• Respite for caregivers
• An efficient solution for eager friends and family

Lotsa Helping Hands is always free. Community web sites are always private and simple to use."

May this be a blessing to you or your loved ones who are in a crisis situation.

Security Issue-Facebook "Timeline" Looms: What you need to know.

Facebook plans another change. FB will soon be putting in a new sharing feature to all accounts. However, the information it wants to make public may be far more than you wish to share. PC World advises you to prepare for "Timeline."

Are you saving every record/document since Noah? -- Don't

Are you saving every document, e-mail, correspondence, and receipt accumulated since you started business, or feel guilty because you don't? Well, stop. Should you face legal issues for you or your client, that carefully saved napkin from 1989 could trigger lots of irrelevant questions.

Don't cry "but, but I might really need that." Yes, there are records you should keep, must keep, keep briefly, or don't keep. Your solution to having what you really need and getting rid of what could be a problem lies in creating  a records retention plan.  Do contact your financial planner, accountant, and/or business attorney for guidance. Find samples of plans on the internet. Then put together a plan for your business to save time, space, and headaches.

Here is my plan as a sample of a records retention plan for solopreneurs.
Happy planning.

Type of Record	Retention Period
Accident reports and claims (settled cases)	7 yrs
Accounts payable ledgers and schedules	7 yrs
Accounts receivable ledgers and schedules Inventories of products, materials & supplies	7 yrs
Audit reports of accountants Invoices to customers	Permanently
Bank reconciliation	1 yr
Capital stock and bond records; ledgers, transfer registers, stubs showing issues, record of interest coupons, options, etc.	Permanently
Cash Books	Permanently
Charts of accounts	Permanently
Checks (canceled, but see exception below)	7 yrs
Checks (canceled for important payments, i.e. taxes, purchases of property, special contracts, etc. - checks should be filed	Permanently
Contracts (expired)	7 yrs
Contracts still in effect	Permanently
Correspondence (general)	3 yrs
Correspondence (legal & important matters)	Permanently
Correspondence (routine) with customers or vendors	1 yr
Deeds, mortgages, and bills of sale	Permanently
Depreciation schedules	Permanently
Duplicate deposit slips	1 yr
Electronic Messages (email)	30 days
Expense analyses and expense distribution schedules	7 yrs
Financial statements (end of year, other months optional)	Permanently
General & private ledgers (and end of year trial balances)	Permanently
Insurance policies (expired)	7 yrs
Insurance records, current accident reports, claims, policies, etc.	Permanently
Internal audit reports (in some situations longer retention periods may be desirable)	3 yrs
Invoices from vendors	7 yrs
Journals	Permanently
Notes receivable ledgers & schedules	7 yrs
Property records, including costs, depreciation reserves, end of year trial balances, depreciation schedules, blueprints & plans	Permanently
Sales records	7 yrs
Scrap and salvage records (inventories, sales, etc.)	7 yrs
Tax returns & worksheets, revenue agents' reports, and other documents relating to determination of income tax liability	Permanently

Use the holidays to LOWER stress.

The holiday season is frantic and bustling for retailers and businesses providing holiday-related services. However, for those businesses not very involved with the holidays, activity is often slow. So I try to use those non-producing hours to get my tax records up to date, clean out files both paper and electronic, service my computers, and plan business and marketing for next year. It sure makes the new year, especially tax season, much more relaxed.

Are you leaving the key under the doormat?

As we can have trouble remembering all our passwords and usernames, we often write and hide them - but are they really hidden. Alan Henry gives some vital information on protecting these.http://lifehacker.com/5852667/the-most-common-hiding-places-for-workplace-passwords

I Get It Done, But I Don't Do It All

Working as an Administrative Specialist, aka Virtual Assistant, I support my clients completely. Does that mean I am an expert at everything? No, but what I am an expert at is getting the task/function accomplished either using my own expert skills or finding the best resource to do the task at hand.

The Oct 18 post in Anastacia Brice's Virtual Moxie explains the concept very nicely. If you are wondering how Virtual Assistance works, read this article. You will be glad you did.