Something that most firms put on the back burner, feeling that there are other more pressing issues, should it happen good disaster planning could save your business.

Imagine this: You are woken by a call at three in the morning. The fire brigade advise you that your offices are on fire and suggest you come down. When you arrive you find extensive damage and what is now a smouldering shell. Nothing inside is recognisable.

What do you do? Your long term filing was in the cellar and the attic, current matters filed in FE rooms. All gone. Your computer system is also destroyed. Where are the backup tapes? In the safe, melted? And of course your phones are also unusable.

And what are all your staff going to do today? You have court hearings, sale and purchase completions, deadlines.

All this may seem unlikely but if it should happen it will be dreadfully damaging. 70% of businesses that suffer a fire go out of business. Quite apart from the immediate problems, their customers need their goods or services. If they cannot get them they have no choice but to go elsewhere and building turnover back up can be terribly difficult.

Ah! But you were prepared! You know that everything was on your computers - files, diaries, complaints and experts registers, staff lists, all your accounting records, in fact everything you could think of. You knew that in electronic form it was most easily protected from destruction as backups could be saved offsite. Your IT suppliers helped you work this out last year and within two hours they have set up a server with VPN access over the Internet. Your staff all have a sheet of paper at home with instructions, usernames and passwords and can use their own PCs for the time being. Your files are all on computer these days so the loss of paper files is not a big issue and you have photo-copies of your entire stock of deeds and wills stored in a partner's attic. You have insurance cover for document replacement and with these copies it will be straightforward. Your email accounts are running normally through the new server.

You have arranged to divert incoming calls to your home and your receptionist knows to go straight there, where there is a ring binder that covers everything she needs to know. It includes a list of all staff members' mobiles and each has a list of all their colleages numbers so that calls can be passed on without too much difficulty. BT have set up call transfer and are busy adding an additional phone line or two.

One of your people even has a pre-prepared press release with the editor of the local 'paper within a hour, reassuring clients that you have everything under control.

Of course it is all going to be dreadfully hard work, what with finding temporary offices, dealing with insurance claims, and so on but you are still in business. Clients can be reassured and will very probably be loyal and supportive.

Now, this is not intended to be a comprehensive list of what you need to do. Every firm has differing requirements but the vital thing is to get it done. Form a small team and work through what is possible.

If the worst should happen you will then be ready and your business will suffer as little as possible.