1. Is your critical business information organized in one clearly defined and secure location?

Consider whether important business records, documents, account information, and operational information can be found without searching through multiple computers, email accounts, cloud drives, or personal devices.

2. Can you quickly locate your company’s key legal and compliance documents?

This should include incorporation documents, contracts, licenses, permits, insurance policies, regulatory documents, and other records your business may need to operate.

3. Do you maintain a current inventory of the software, cloud platforms, AI tools, and digital subscriptions your business uses?

Consider whether you know what each system is used for, who manages it, what it costs, and when subscriptions or contracts renew.

4. Are your domains, websites, hosting accounts, and business email systems fully documented?

Could a trusted person identify where each service is registered, who controls it, how it is accessed, and what would be required to keep these systems operating?

5. Is your customer, supplier, employee, and professional-advisor information organized and kept current?

Consider whether important contact information, relationships, responsibilities, and key account details can be easily accessed when needed.

6. Do you have a complete inventory of your business’s digital assets?

This may include websites, domains, social media accounts, digital files, databases, cloud storage, AI tools, software licenses, intellectual property, online accounts, and other digital resources owned or controlled by the business.

7. Are your critical business processes and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) documented?

Could another qualified person understand how important recurring tasks are performed without relying entirely on your memory or one employee’s knowledge?

8. Are administrative passwords and access credentials securely stored and managed?

Consider whether critical passwords are stored in an appropriate secure system rather than spreadsheets, email, paper notes, personal devices, or one individual’s memory.

9. Does every critical business system have a designated backup administrator or secondary person with appropriate access?

Consider what would happen if the primary administrator became unavailable, lost access, or left the company.

10. Could a trusted person take over essential business operations if you were suddenly unavailable?

Consider whether they could identify the systems, accounts, documents, contacts, procedures, and permissions necessary to keep the business operating.

11. Are employee responsibilities and system permissions clearly documented?

Do you know who has access to each critical system, what level of access they have, and whether that access is still appropriate for their current role?

12. Do you regularly review your software subscriptions, vendors, and technology expenses?

Consider whether you identify unused services, duplicate subscriptions, unnecessary costs, expired agreements, and systems that should be cancelled or replaced.

13. Are your financial systems and payment platforms properly documented and protected?

This should include business banking, accounting systems, payment processors, merchant accounts, payroll systems, and other platforms essential to receiving or making payments.

14. Are your AI tools, automations, workflows, and AI-generated business assets documented?

Consider whether your business knows which AI systems are being used, what they do, who controls them, what information they access, and whether important AI workflows could be recreated if necessary.

15. Does your business have a documented Digital Business Management Plan?

Does the plan identify your critical digital assets, systems, access requirements, responsibilities, recovery procedures, and key contacts?

16. Have you formally identified who is responsible for leading the business if the owner or primary decision-maker is unavailable?

Consider whether that person understands their responsibilities and has the authority and access required to act.

17. Could your business continue its essential operations for at least 30 days without the owner or another key person?

Consider whether the business has sufficient documentation, system access, procedures, customer information, financial access, and delegated responsibilities to continue operating.

18. Do you formally review and update your Digital Business Management Plan at least once a year?

Consider whether changes to employees, passwords, vendors, software, AI systems, banking, websites, legal documents, and business processes are reflected in the plan.

19. Does your business have a documented response and recovery process for a cyberattack, system failure, loss of access, or other major digital disruption?

Could your team identify what happened, who to contact, what systems to secure, and how to restore essential operations?

20. How confident are you that your business could remain operational if you were suddenly unavailable or a major digital disruption occurred?

Consider the overall strength of your documentation, access controls, backup procedures, operational knowledge, and ability to recover.