Monday 27 May is a bank holiday in the UK and the start of Spring half term for schools. Many business owners, particularly those with children of school age, will be shutting up shop for the week and heading on holiday with their families. If you are planning to go away, whether for a long weekend or the whole week, make sure your business premises are secure before you go. It wouldn’t be a good end to your holiday to find that you had been broken into while you were away.

Here are our top tips on how to keep your business secure and ensure robust business continuity:

Make sure all your doors and windows are secure – all external doors and windows should be fitted with locks approved to British Standards. It may also be appropriate to fit padlocks as an additional precaution to some doors. Shutters provide additional protection and have the added benefit of preventing burglars from seeing into the premises and identifying valuable goods.

Install a monitored alarm system – this has the benefit of ensuring that police arrive quickly at the scene if the alarm is triggered. Fix the box for the alarm in a visible place as this will act as a deterrent to burglars.

Make sure your perimeters are secure – padlock all entry and exit gates and check there is no damage to any perimeter fence.

Install external lights and CCTV cameras – fit security lights and CCTV cameras to the entry points of your business premises. These will also act as a deterrent to any burglar.

Lock valuable assets away – use lockable cabinets for important documents and, if it’s necessary to keep cash on the premises, make sure this is locked in a safe. If you have expensive business equipment that isn’t moved around, it might make sense to secure it to the floor or wall to make it more difficult to steal.

Secure access to your online systems and data – make sure that you are always using the latest version of your operating system and keep firewalls up to date. Secure access to your computers and other online devices.

Educate your team on cyber security – make sure everyone is up to speed on the different types of cyber attack and that they can recognise suspicious emails and other online activity.  Instil a culture of strong passwords and ensure everyone locks their work station when they are away from their desks.

20% of all UK crime is against business so it’s important to remain vigilant and adopt a strong attitude to business security. After all, where your business is concerned, prevention is definitely preferable to cure.