In most small businesses, the important information lives in one person's head: which bills are due, which vendor to call, where the formation papers are, what the bank needs. If you were suddenly out for a few weeks, or something worse happened, the people around you would be guessing. A simple continuity plan changes that. It doesn't need to be a 50-page corporate document. It needs to answer the questions someone would ask on day one.
1. The business snapshot
- Legal name, entity type, owners and ownership percentages
- Registered agent, and where the EIN letter, formation documents and licenses are kept
- Your attorney, CPA, banker, insurance agent and payroll provider, with phone numbers
2. What keeps it running
- Money: bank and payment accounts (write the last four digits, not full numbers), merchant processors and who can sign
- Software and logins: which systems you use and where credentials are kept, never the passwords themselves. A password manager with emergency access is a good fit here.
- Vendors and key customers: contacts, contracts and anything with a renewal or cancellation date
- Team and payroll: who works for you, how payroll runs, and who to call if it stops
- Every deadline: rent, loans, sales tax, payroll tax, license renewals and insurance renewals
3. The stand-in plan
Decide who steps in if you're out for a while, and write down what they can do:
- Signing authority and spending limits
- What they can decide alone, and what waits for you or a partner
- A first-30-days checklist: payroll, customer commitments, bills, and who to tell
- How the work actually gets done: the weekly routine nobody else has seen
Many banks and payment processors will only accept a stand-in who is already authorized on the account, so set that up ahead of time.
4. If something happens to you
- Where your operating agreement or partnership agreement, buy-sell agreement and business power of attorney are
- Any key-person or business insurance policies
- Personal guarantees and business debts your family should know about
- Your wishes: keep the business in the family, sell it, or close it carefully
- A letter to whoever steps in, in your own words
An ownership transfer usually needs the right legal documents, not just a note. Talk with a business attorney and your CPA about what fits your entity and state.
Continuity checklist at a glance
| Section | Key questions it answers |
|---|---|
| Snapshot and advisors | What is this business, and who already helps run it? |
| Keep it running | What's due, who do we pay, who do we call? |
| Stand-in plan | Who's in charge, and what can they decide? |
| If something happens | Where are the agreements, and what did the owner want? |
Get it on paper this week
A binder or a shared document built around these four sections is enough. Add a first-30-days checklist, a decision log and a letter to whoever steps in, and write it in English and Spanish if a partner, manager or family member prefers the other language. For the medical part of being prepared, get the free ER-Ready Kit: the one-page Emergency Health Summary, the "Where should I go?" guide and interpreter wallet cards, in English and Spanish. See also our guide to leaving your digital accounts to family.
Not sure where to start? Take the free 2-minute Readiness Score quiz.
The Ambos Health team
General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Ask a business attorney and your CPA about your situation.