Greenwich, CT

<p>As VP of Operations at <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/company/about">Earth Class Mail</a>, my last 8 weeks have been heavily focused on our response to COVID-19. I meet daily with my leadership team to monitor the situation, discuss any relevant developments, and make necessary adjustments to operations. </p><p>We’re a technology company, but we’re human-driven, with teams working every day to deliver, open, scan, ship and deposit mail. Our offices remain open as an essential service, ensuring our customers across the country are able to continue doing business. </p><p>Our COVID-19 response focuses on four major pillars: preserving the health of our staff, ensuring continuous service for our customers, maintaining consistency in our operation, and anticipating additional impacts. </p><h3>The health of our team</h3><p>The health of our employees is our guiding priority. In accordance with social distancing protocols, any Earth Class Mail employee that is able to work from home is doing so. </p><p>We are paying close attention to CDC guidelines. For those essential locations that require on-site work, we have created split shifts and increased sanitization protocols to minimize contact. We are providing assistance with ride-sharing alternatives for those employees dependent on public transportation.</p><p>In recognition of the essential service they are providing, we have increased wages for all our hourly employees. </p><h3>Business continuity for our customers</h3><p>Every day, we process over $1 million in check deposits and thousands of mail documents, services our customers depend on to keep their businesses running smoothly.  </p><p>To continue meeting their needs, we have increased our operations staff and capacity so that we ensure continuity of service. We remain in constant contact with our <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/company/partnerships">vital business partners</a> to understand their responses to COVID-19, and we communicate frequently with our customers to keep them informed of relevant developments. Through these efforts, we have been able to provide consistent service throughout the month. </p><h3>Consistency in mail processing operations</h3><p>Our business is built on a <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/how-virtual-mail-works">refined process</a> to get mail from the USPS, UPS, and FedEx; deliver it to a customer account; and get it opened, scanned, shipped, and deposited. </p><p>As we work to keep our employees healthy and maintain service for our customers, we are modifying operations and making necessary spending cuts. Like every business responding to this crisis, we are finding inefficiencies that can be corrected without impacting our customers’ experience. </p><h3>Planning for the possible</h3><p>None of us knows how the COVID-19 crisis may continue to impact our personal and business lives. The Earth Class Mail team is dealing with this uncertainty by preparing for the possibility of future business interruption. </p><p>We are creating backup locations in Oregon and Texas and monitoring changes with the USPS, UPS, and FedEx daily to understand how their actions may impact our customers. We are also reviewing and testing all facets of our <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/blog/how-to-develop-a-business-continuity-plan-for-your-startup">business continuity</a> and disaster recovery plans, focusing on providing uninterrupted service for our customers.  </p><p>COVID-19 presents a challenge for us all. No matter what the future brings, we remain committed to our values, our customers, and our employees.</p>

As VP of Operations at Earth Class Mail, my last 8 weeks have been heavily focused on our response to COVID-19. I meet daily with my leadership team to monitor the situation, discuss any relevant developments, and make necessary adjustments to operations. 

Earth Class Mail’s COVID-19 crisis response focuses on employee health, service continuity, and operational consistency. Learn more.

 How Earth Class Mail is Responding to the COVID-19 Crisis

<h2>What is a virtual address?</h2><p>Virtual address give individuals and businesses significant flexibility — they can receive and respond to postal mail items from anywhere in the world. Plus, freelancers or independent business owners can use a virtual address to keep their personal mailing address private. </p><p>But if you use a virtual address for your postal mail, are you sacrificing data privacy in favor of agility? </p><h2>Virtual address service</h2><p>The good news is that if you use a virtual address service that follows best practices for security and privacy, your information will be as secure as if you received it in your physical mailbox — perhaps even more so. </p><p>The bad news is that not all virtual address services follow those best practices, which is a major problem. Many of your most private and confidential documents come through the mail — W2s, health care records, tax documents, investment statements, checks. That’s why it’s a federal offense to steal someone else’s mail. </p><p>Arming yourself with updated information about how virtual address services work and what they should be doing to protect your privacy will allow you to make an informed choice about whether to use a virtual address service and how to choose a provider. </p><h2>How does a virtual address work?</h2><p>If you’ve never heard of a virtual address or virtual mail, the concept can be confusing. Isn’t virtual mail just…email?</p><p>Providers use a number of similar phrases — virtual physical address, digital mail, virtual mail, <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/virtual-mailbox">virtual mailbox</a> — to describe a service that aims to digitize mail so that people can receive and respond to postal mail even if they’re not in a physical office space. </p><p>At its most basic level, a virtual address works like this: </p><ul><li><p>You choose an address that’s owned by a virtual address service. </p></li><li><p>Mail sent to that address is received by the virtual address service. </p></li><li><p>The virtual address service scans the mail and uploads it to a cloud-based service where you can see it.</p></li></ul><p>That’s the root process, but there’s a significant variation in the details of what is a virtual address and how an address service actually operates. And those details matter when it comes to your privacy and the security of your confidential information. </p><p>For instance, some best virtual address services contract with third parties to scan or dispose of mail items — an operational detail that automatically creates a reduced level of oversight and security.</p><h2>How do virtual address services ensure security?</h2><p>Any virtual address service’s number one priority must be maintaining the security and privacy of your information. </p><p>There are several <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/company/security">security best practices for virtual addresses</a> you should look for when you’re choosing the best virtual address service:</p><ul><li><p>Authorization by the United States Postal Service to receive and store mail </p></li><li><p>A secure facility that has 24/7 monitoring and restricted access technology</p></li><li><p>Background checks of all employees with access to mail</p></li><li><p>Barcode tracking of all mail items at every stage of processing</p></li><li><p>HIPAA compliance</p></li><li><p>Onsite destruction and shredding of mail items under supervision</p></li><li><p>Mail items only opened and scanned with permission from the mail owner </p></li></ul><p>Putting these practices in place can be time-consuming and expensive and can put some limits on a business’s ability to expand, which is why not all businesses implement them. We decided early on that security and privacy were non-negotiable, so we created a sophisticated production line at Earth Class Mail that prioritizes security, accuracy, and efficiency. </p><p>We get over 5,000 new mail items every day, and each piece that arrives gets its own identifier — a barcode used to audit every single operation that’s performed on that piece of mail. </p><p>For instance, if a customer opens their account and requests that a piece of mail be shredded, an employee doesn’t run over to a shelf, grab a document, and shred it. </p><p>Here’s how it works: the request prompts an internal work order. The operator receives the work order, scans the barcode on the appropriate bin, and verifies the correct piece of mail by scanning its barcode before anything gets shredded. Each step in the process ensures that all actions taken match the customer’s intent. Plus, the customer can see a full report of every transaction.</p><p>We developed our process to give our customers fast and accurate service while providing them the highest level of security and data privacy.  </p><h2>How do virtual address services maintain data privacy?</h2><p>When you’re turning your mail over to someone else, you want to be sure that the correct actions are occurring to your mail as well as that the virtual address service is handling it in a way that safeguards your privacy. </p><p>So what can a virtual address service do to make sure your private data is kept…private? </p><p>We answered that question by focusing on three parts of our business: facilities where mail is received and stored, employees that handle mail, and the processes involved with handling mail.</p><h3>Managing virtual address facilities to ensure privacy </h3><p>A virtual address service that is focused on safeguarding your privacy will have mechanisms in place to limit access to that mail. </p><p>Though we have <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/addresses">more than 80 virtual addresses</a> around the country, all of our mail is received and processed in our main mail processing center in Beaverton, Oregon. Our facility is monitored by camera 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We use best-in-class restricted access technology to ensure that only approved personnel can enter the facilities. </p><p>Some virtual address services partner with local small businesses that have available real estate and are willing to share their physical address. Employees of that small business scan the mail. This practice raises a number of privacy concerns, one of which is whether the local business’s office has any security system in place to keep unwanted individuals out. </p><h2>Virtual address employee practices to ensure privacy</h2><p>A virtual address service must thoroughly vet potential employees and have complete oversight of employee actions so that they can prevent any privacy breaches. </p><p>At Earth Class Mail, we’ve addressed this need by performing background checks on all employees and requiring any employees that handle mail to become HIPAA-certified, which means they’ve received training on handling confidential health care documents. </p><p>And we maintain complete oversight during the mail handling process. Virtual address services that partner with local businesses, as mentioned above, often use the employees of that business to scan received mail. This practice raises an immediate concern about oversight: is someone present while they’re scanning the mail? Would they know if that person took a quick photo with their personal phone? </p><p>We do not contract with any third parties to handle the mail. We have full control over all mail handling activities. </p><h2>Managing the mail handling process to ensure privacy </h2><p>A secure facility and well-trained employees won’t safeguard your privacy unless the virtual address service has security measures built into its processes. Without them, an employee could accidentally scan and send confidential information to the wrong person. </p><p>Again, that’s why virtual address services that contract with local businesses raise such privacy concerns. Even without any intended wrongdoing, there are plenty of opportunities to create accidental data breaches. </p><p>These privacy and security concerns are the reason we spent years perfecting a production line that includes barcode tracking and auditing at every step of the process — so accidents simply aren’t an option. </p><p>This combination of secure facilities, vetted and trained employees, and sophisticated processes means we can feel confident ensuring our customers that their private and confidential information will remain so.</p><h2>Questions to ask when choosing a virtual address service</h2><p>If you’re in the process of choosing a virtual address service, these questions can help you determine whether the service provider you’re considering has security measures in place that will protect your private information.</p><ol><li><p>Is this service provider authorized by the USPS to receive postal mail?</p></li><li><p>Do all employees who process mail undergo background checks?</p></li><li><p>Is the facility that receives my mail monitored and restricted access?</p></li><li><p>Do any third parties handle my mail, either for processing or destruction?</p></li><li><p>Does the service provider have a tracking system in place to audit mail processes?</p></li><li><p>Will I be able to access a record of all the actions taken on each piece of my mail?</p></li></ol><p>At Earth Class Mail, we take the responsibility of receiving mail seriously. And we have a great deal of respect for the customers that trust us to handle some of their most valuable assets — their personal and confidential information. </p><p>And while we would love to provide a virtual mailing address for everyone that needs one, we’re most concerned that anyone using a virtual mailing address service knows their private information is safe. So even if you choose to use a different provider, make sure they’re following security best practices. Ask them the questions we’ve included here, and don’t turn over your postal mail to a company that isn’t 100% focused on protecting your information. <br/>Looking for a virtual address that gives you flexibility and security? Check out <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/pricing">Earth Class Mail</a>. </p><p>See also: <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/blog/how-many-stamps-do-i-need-and-where-to-buy">How many stamps do I need?</a></p><p></p>

Virtual addresses give individuals and businesses significant flexibility — they can receive and respond to postal mail items from anywhere in the world. Plus, freelancers or independent business owners can use a virtual address to keep their personal

Before you buy a virtual address and let someone else open your mail, make sure they take your privacy and security very seriously. Learn more.

Virtual Address - Privacy and Security

Virtual Address Privacy and Security

<h3>Summary</h3><p>Visionary Law Group is a worker’s compensation firm that’s found a steady path to success by heavily investing in creating a world-class experience for their clients. Chris Lyle and Ethan Pease strove to create a practice that gave clients more information and personal contact than the other larger firms. </p><h3>Challenges</h3><p>Over the last three years, the California-based firm rapidly grew and took on a number of new clients. They wanted the growth, but started having difficulty keeping up with timeconsuming administrative tasks like mail management. Crucial information constantly arrived at the office. They had to open and catalog countless discovery documents, medical records, case mail, opposing counsel correspondence, certified deposition records, and multimedia files.</p><p>They knew it would be easier to work with digitized and searchable documents, but the partners didn’t have the time to scan their own mail and documents and still maintain the custom service they wanted to provide. It all became unmanageable. Visionary Law Group is a worker’s compensation firm that’s found a steady path to success by heavily investing in creating a world-class experience for their clients. Chris Lyle and Ethan Pease strove to create a practice that gave clients more information and personal contact than the other larger firms. </p><blockquote><p><i>“Our pain point was eating up time and value – we would rather be in court than opening and scanning paperwork.”</i></p><p>Chris Lyle, Parner at Visionary Law Group</p></blockquote><h3>The Problem at Large</h3><p>Despite the spread of digital documents and e-signatures, the legal profession remains a paper-heavy industry.</p><p>According to Clio’s 2018 Legal Trends Report, lawyers can spend up to 6 hours a day—a whopping 70 percent of their time—on administrative tasks.</p><p>Documents contain critical pieces of information that need to be easily discoverable. This leads law firms to spend countless hours and dollars on in house scanning and digitization. Even large firms are wasting resources and money on in-house mail processing solutions, like a mailroom or in-house scanning services.</p><p>This makes it hard to spend time on meaningful work successfully closing cases, catering to clients, or finding new billable opportunities. Virtual lawyers and individuals do not have the resources or time to be spending on the manual handling of mail. Important documents are being mailed to attorneys and law firms that need to be handled with time sensitivity and easily accessed.</p><h3>Solution</h3><p>Partners Chris Lyle and Ethan Pease realized they wanted a solution that would handle managing their mail from intake to digitization. After some research, they landed on Earth Class Mail’s <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/mailroom">fully digital mailroom</a>.</p><p>Earth Class Mail follows HIPAA standards to ensure that the firm’s critical medical records are securely received, digitized, and stored. Additionally, Visionary Law Group can deposit any mailed checks directly to their bank account from the Earth Class Mail inbox. Earth Class Mail also has transparency related to price and features.</p><p>Earth Class Mail now handles all of the paper documents and postal mail the partners receive at one of the 80+ virtual addresses the service offers. Their mail is now received, scanned and uploaded to Earth Class Mail’s user interface for easy access and sharing.</p><h3>Results, ROI, and future plans</h3><p>Visionary Law Group was able to scale and grow its business with Earth Class Mail aiding in reducing administrative costs. Earth Class Mail has aided in ⅓ of the efficiency in growing their business.</p><blockquote><p><i>“More and more documents came in and we were able to grow and scale because of Earth Class Mail.”</i></p><p>Chris Lyle, Partner at Visionary Law Group</p></blockquote><p></p>

Visionary Law Group is a worker’s compensation firm that’s found a steady path to success by heavily investing in creating a world-class experience for their clients. 

Visionary Law Group was able to scale and grow its business with Earth Class Mail aiding in reducing administrative costs. Earth Class Mail has aided in ⅓ of the efficiency in growing their business.

 Visionary Law Group Goes Digital With Earth Class Mail | Earth Class Mail

Visionary Law Group Goes Digital With Earth Class Mail

<p>Every time you turn around, there’s a new productivity app doing the rounds as the number one thing you need to revolutionize your business. And we’ll be honest, there are lots of great ones out there. </p><p>But how do you know if a particular app or program is the right thing for your business? </p><p>We’re always on the hunt for tools that will help our customers achieve their goals, so we’ve put together a list of six of our favorite companies creating innovative solutions for every type of business. </p><h3>Invoiced: Solution that helps businesses get paid faster</h3><p>Watching the money roll in sounds great, but what about those long invoice-to-cash cycles and all that manual data entry? </p><p><a href="https://invoiced.com/">Invoiced</a> is a cutting-edge financial platform that helps businesses get paid faster, stop wasting time on collections, and provide a better payment experience for customers — three things that every business wants. </p><p>Invoiced has thousands of customers in 92 countries and nearly $50 billion in receivables processed, so you can be confident these guys know what they’re doing. In fact, they’re pioneers in the field of accounts receivable automation and the #1 rated A/R automation platform on G2 Crowd.  </p><p>As an added benefit, the Invoiced platform integrates with Earth Class Mail so that customers with Checkstream-enabled accounts can digitize and automatically apply physical checks. That means you can save countless hours of manual processing and skip all those data entry errors.  </p><h3>Stripe Atlas: Software solution for new startups </h3><p>You’ve got the team, the big idea, and the motivation. But how exactly do you structure a company, especially one that will (hopefully) grow?</p><p><a href="https://stripe.com/atlas">Stripe Atlas</a> is a powerful, safe, and easy-to-use platform for forming a company. Their primary mission is to help entrepreneurs launch their startups — from anywhere in the world. They use a best-in-class legal structure that’s built for scale, and entrepreneurs don’t have to handle all the legal complexity and fees that normally accompany incorporating a company. </p><p>E-commerce companies that use Stripe Atlas get access to powerful financial tools that provide functionality and flexibility to their users. </p><p>And anyone who uses Stripe Atlas gets access to the Stripe Atlas Community, which provides personalized help and learning opportunities — as well as discounts from Stripe partners, like Amazon Web Services and DigitalOcean. </p><h3>Filevine: Case management solution for law firms</h3><p>Managing a law firm is a complex process, to say the least. Too many firms rely on outdated programs that make remote working and collaboration difficult and tedious. </p><p><a href="https://www.filevine.com/">Filevine</a> provides case, matter, investigation, and project management software to over 15,000 legal professionals who manage millions of matters everyday. They provide security and reliability since they’re built on AWS, the cloud network trusted by both Netflix and the Department of Justice (which feels like it’s really covering all the bases). </p><p>Filevine also gives users flexibility so that they can customize their software to automate workflows, create deadline chains, use automated document generation, and generally get more done wherever they are. </p><h3>Justice HQ: Solution for consumer advocate attorneys</h3><p>The resources that accompany a BigLaw job are invaluable, but what if you want to step out on your own? Where do you find mentorship and camaraderie? Not to mention office space?</p><p><a href="https://justicehq.com/">Justice HQ</a> is a membership of elite consumer advocate attorneys, and they’re not afraid to be upfront about one very important fact: <i>not everyone gets in</i>. Attorneys who make the cut get access to the Justice HQ platform, which includes plenty of tech-based solutions for the modern trial attorney. </p><p>Members-only networking and education events (both in-person and online) provide opportunities for referral and collaboration. The platform integrates with preferred vendors in the legal industry (who often provide discounts to members), including Earth Class Mail. </p><p>Plus, members can use Justice HQ’s modern workspaces, with private offices and conference rooms wired to host remote depositions and meetings, as well as discounts with preferred vendors in the legal industry. </p><h3>GroWrk: Ergonomic solutions for remote work</h3><p>Going remote is a time-saving and money-saving option for lots of companies — even when it’s not required by social distancing. But how do you make sure that all your employees have access to an office setup that works for them? </p><p><a href="https://growrk.com/">GroWrk</a> helps companies provide the best remote work experience for their distributed teams. They equip employees with premium ergonomic home workstations and remote services — everything from desks and chairs to dual monitor mounts and standing desk converters. They even provide one-on-one remote assessments with a certified ergonomist. </p><p> All GroWrk’s products are available through an innovative monthly subscription model, with free delivery and scheduled pickups. </p><h3>Relay: Banking solution for growing companies</h3><p>Passing the company credit card back and forth is only slightly annoying when there are just two or three of you. Once you start to build a team, that banking method gets a bit more challenging. </p><p><a href="https://relayfi.com/?referralcode=EarthClassMail">Relay</a> is built for entrepreneurs to make their small business banking easy. With Relay’s platform, team members can collaborate with each other, manage payments, and issue corporate cards — all from their bank.</p><p>Relay is available on the web, iOS, and Android. Plus, it has thoughtful integrations to the solutions you know and love (like Transferwise, QuickBooks Online, and Xero). Signing up takes less than 10 minutes, and there are no monthly fees or minimum balances. </p><p>And of course, what’s the solution for people that work remotely or have giant piles of unread mail on their desks? It’s Earth Class Mail. We’re working to bring postal mail into the 21st century. <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/pricing">Join us there</a>.</p>

Every time you turn around, there’s a new productivity app doing the rounds as the number one thing you need to revolutionize your business. And we’ll be honest, there are lots of great ones out there. 

These 6 companies are creating innovative business solutions to help your company improve efficiency and become more effective. Learn more.

6 Solutions To Make Your Business More Efficient and Effective

6 Solutions to Make Your Business More Efficient and Effective

<p>Creating a business continuity plan is a bit like creating an estate plan — we all know we should do it, but we put it off because it doesn’t feel particularly urgent. Until it does. </p><p>Startups in particular may avoid (or not even think about) business continuity planning. They’re used to pivoting and adapting to new situations, and they’re moving too fast to take the time for a hypothetical planning exercise. </p><p>The problem with this type of thinking is that startups, often running on shoestring budgets or venture capital funding that could dry up, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/01/technology/virus-start-ups-pummeled-layoffs-unwinding.html">are particularly susceptible</a> to sudden disruptions and changes in the marketplace. They need the forethought that a business continuity plan provides.</p><h3>What is a business continuity plan? </h3><p>A business continuity plan is an operational plan that guides an organization’s actions during any situation that causes an interruption in their business. Most business interruptions are caused by natural disasters, such as floods, fires, earthquakes, or tornadoes. In fact, according to FEMA, the biggest risk to businesses is fire. </p><p>But, as businesses around the world are seeing right now, business interruptions can come from things most of us never expected, like a world-wide pandemic.</p><h3>What is the difference between a business continuity plan and a disaster recovery plan?</h3><p>Most business continuity plans include a disaster recovery plan, but a business continuity plan is broader in scope. The disaster recovery portion of a plan is focused specifically on restoring critical systems after a disaster — things like IT assets, hardware, or communications systems.</p><p>Certain types of businesses, like financial institutions, are required by federal and state regulations to maintain a disaster recovery plan.</p><p>In contrast, a business continuity plan isn’t just about recovering the necessities. Its purpose is to create processes and procedures that allow a business to continue their regular operations during and after a disaster. </p><h3>Steps to creating a business continuity plan</h3><p>Before you begin creating a business continuity plan, you want to make sure that you engage as much of your team as possible — both so that you have buy-in and so that you get a thorough understanding of all the processes that run your business.</p><h4><b>Step 1: Understand your business</b></h4><p>Before you can develop any kind of plan, you need to be very clear about how your business works. Some startups have a lot of clarity about their internal processes, but others have a large enough team or are so fast-moving that some digging will be necessary. </p><p>Here are some key questions to get you started:</p><ul><li><p>What are the products or services that bring in the largest percentage of our profits (our profit leaders)?</p></li><li><p>Which clients or customers receive those profit leaders? </p></li><li><p>Which employees have the largest roles in creating, selling, and distributing those profit leaders?</p></li><li><p>What business systems and processes do those employees rely on to create, sell, and distribute those profit leaders?</p></li></ul><h4><b>Step 2: Assess your risk</b></h4><p>This step can be scary, but it’s absolutely necessary if you want to develop a business continuity plan that works. </p><p>You start with this question: <i>What would happen if…</i></p><p>What would happen if our offices caught fire or flooded? What would happen if we were robbed? What would happen if a pandemic meant our entire staff had to work from home?</p><p>The purpose of the exercise is not to catastrophize. It’s to walk through each question methodically and, starting with your profit leaders, identify how each of your business processes would be affected by the hypothetical event. </p><p>For instance, if you were a small trusts and estates law firm, and your profit leader was estate planning services that occurred almost entirely in your office, where you provided the necessary notaries and witnesses for legal documents, closure of your physical office would have massive consequences. </p><p>You would not be able to see clients in your offices. You may not have access to paper case files. You may not be able to witness or notarize documents. You may not be able to receive mail. </p><p>You’ve identified these worst case scenarios. Now what?</p><h4><b>Step 3: Determine alternatives</b></h4><p>It’s time to figure out how to solve them — before they become <i>actual</i> worst case scenarios. </p><p>Identify what you need to put in place now, like redundancies, backup vendors or suppliers, a technology recovery plan. </p><p>If you were that trusts and estates firm, you might consider uploading all documents to a cloud-based file sharing system. You may research case law on the validity of un-notarized estate planning documents and create an up-to-date file — maybe even begin lobbying your state legislators to write legislation that addresses the issue in the event of an emergency. </p><p>You might implement a <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/mailroom">digital mailroom</a> and <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/check-deposit">automated check depositing system</a>.</p><p>You’ll need to determine what steps ensure that your startup will be able to continue operating even if the unthinkable occurs. </p><h4><b>Step 4: Designate a team</b></h4><p>Of course you want everyone on your team fully invested in and knowledgeable about the business continuity plan, but you also need a single individual to own it. </p><p>Designate one person as the business continuity lead, and depending on the size of your organization, create a team of people to support them in the event the plan must be put into place. </p><p>Make sure that everyone within the organization has clarity about their role and the tasks and systems they are responsible for. </p><h4><b>Step 5: Memorialize the plan </b></h4><p>A documented business continuity plan should include a detailed description of the processes and systems involved in the creation, sale, and distribution of the profit leaders so that if someone else has to step in and manage that part of the business, they will be able to do so. </p><p>The plan should include a method for accessing relevant passwords or codes as well as contact information for suppliers, backup suppliers, and major clients. </p><p>The plan should also answer the questions:</p><ul><li><p>What exactly needs to be done in the 24-48 hours after a disaster occurs? By whom?</p></li><li><p>Where will those individuals be, and what resources will they need? </p></li><li><p>How will they access those resources?</p></li><li><p>What needs to be done in the week or months after the disaster occurs?</p></li><li><p>How will key customers, clients, or vendors be contacted? By whom?</p></li></ul><p>Finally, make sure your plan includes an emergency contact list of employees that manage tasks relevant to the business continuity plan (these might not all be executive-level employees).</p><h4><b>Step 6: Test the plan</b></h4><p>Testing your business continuity plan can feel like an awkward step, but without it, you will miss the opportunity to correct errors in your assumptions or to identify potential pitfalls. </p><p>Bring all the key players together and use imagined scenarios to work through the plan. With the plan in front of them, each person should explain how they would respond according to the plan. This process will reveal inconsistencies and false assumptions, guaranteed. </p><p>Re-test and revise the plan periodically — especially after significant changes in the business. </p><p>Right now, businesses of all sizes are putting “create business continuity plan” at the top of their priority lists. Those that complete the task will be in a significantly better position the next time the unexpected occurs. </p><p>If virtual mail is a part of your business continuity plan (and it should be), <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/pricing">sign up here</a>. </p>

Creating a business continuity plan is a bit like creating an estate plan — we all know we should do it, but we put it off because it doesn’t feel particularly urgent. Until it does. Startups in particular may not even think about business continuity.

A business continuity plan guides your actions during an interruption in your business, and startups need them too. Create yours now.

 How to Develop a Business Continuity Plan for Your Startup

<p>Law practices around the world are hustling to transition their teams to remote work — identifying ways to ensure they continue to meet ethics and confidentiality standards, comply with statutory requirements, and keep clients front and center during a time of uncertainty.</p><p>Thanks to cloud-based computing, a plethora of tools exist to help firms create as seamless a transition for their clients as possible. </p><h3>The tech tools virtual law firms need</h3><p>A handful of effective and secure cloud-based tools can help a law firm maintain business continuity and continue to provide exceptional service during an unforeseen disruption in day-to-day operations.</p><h4><b>Video conferencing software</b></h4><p>While many attorney-client and internal office communications will continue to occur over the phone, <a href="https://www.abajournal.com/web/article/top-video-conferencing-tools-for-lawyers?fbclid=IwAR0pbfPQ5mDRpC6-3pXKKoHJz3_Tz0ue8Djy_4zhoJKUYK6VK76Sufcu0Zg">video conferencing</a> often improves the client’s experience and in certain situations, like deposition or witness prep, can be critical to the lawyer’s ability to provide guidance.</p><h4>Virtual mail</h4><p>Most law firms still have a significant postal mail load, and managing that without staff in the office is almost impossible. Even for firms that can have one staff person on-site to receive paper mail, the task of scanning mail and sending it to each recipient doesn’t use their time effectively. </p><p><a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/mailroom">Virtual mailrooms</a> allow attorneys to have immediate digital access to all paper mail and reduces an unnecessary task for staff so that they can focus on better supporting the firm’s work for clients. </p><h4>Virtual filing systems</h4><p>Lawyers working remotely need quick and consistent access to their documents and files. A <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/mail-scanning">virtual fileroom</a> – developed specifically for professions that require heightened security measures – ensures that both lawyers and staff are able to get the documents they need while out of the office.</p><h4>Networking systems</h4><p>Many attorneys rely on networking within their larger firm or at in-person events to build their book of business. Working virtually can drastically reduce the opportunities available for connection with other attorneys — to bounce ideas around or to develop referral partners. </p><p><br/>Social media platforms can provide online networking. Some of LinkedIn’s legal groups are quite active. There are also companies and associations creating virtual networks for specific practice areas. For instance, <a href="https://justicehq.com/">Justice</a><a href="https://justicehq.com/contact/"> HQ</a> is an elite membership of consumer advocate attorneys who receive, among other things, networking opportunities through private Slack channels and membership directories that help them share and refer cases.</p><h4>Practice management software</h4><p><a href="https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/the-ins-and-outs-of-law-practice-management-software?fbclid=IwAR0D8bVzqhJdOaolYEvYhdHVRBEnRa9MRk1nEzMJVWTU2Q3_SUF3znlVm84">Cloud-based practice management systems</a> allow the internal workings of a law firm to transition seamlessly from in-person to remote operations. Having time tracking, contacts and calendars, and matter data all in one place that can be accessed by each team member from their remote workstation safeguards the processes that firms have built through years of careful planning.</p><h4>Voip phone system</h4><p>Smaller firms may be able to rely on team member’s cell phones for continued communication while working remotely. However, for attorneys that don’t want to provide clients their personal phone numbers or for larger teams that need more complex conference calling  or voice mail options, cloud-based VoiP (voice over internet protocol) systems offer attorneys the ability to engage in phone communication as if at the office. </p><p>These tools will allow you and your team to continue to focus on your clients instead of on the frustrating logistics of working remotely. </p><p><br/>At Earth Class Mail we’ve developed our tools in collaboration with legal teams to provide the features that matter most to you. Earth Class Mail offers many other solutions for you legal practice, including <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/virtual-business-address">virtual addresses</a> and <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/check-deposit">automated check deposit</a>.</p>

Law practices around the world are hustling to transition their teams to remote work — identifying ways to ensure they continue to meet ethics and confidentiality standards, comply with statutory requirements, and keep clients front and center.

The right tech tools can help law practices transition their teams to remote work. Find out how to create a virtual law practice.

 Is Your Law Practice Prepared for Remote Work?

Is Your Law Firm Prepared for Remote Work?

<p>Founders and entrepreneurs leading a remote company face a unique set of challenges when it comes to employee engagement, business operations, and team communication. You’re creating company culture virtually, without the luxury of in-person management. With your team’s increased mobility it becomes more important to centralize and standardize your business practices and keep everyone in sync. <br/></p><p>Thankfully, there are many options to choose from when it comes to affordable cloud-based tools that make it easier for your remote team to collaborate, as well as a wealth of information from companies that have paved the way. If you are about to launch a remote company or are looking for ways to improve an existing business operating remotely now, we’ve got a few core practices that will keep you organized and your team optimized. <br/></p><h4>1. Don’t underestimate (virtual) face time</h4><p>We’ve written about the importance of<a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/blog/6-communication-best-practices-for-your-remote-team"> remote communication</a> before, but it’s worth mentioning again. A simple way to strengthen rapport with your team is to replace conference calls with video conferences. It’s a great way to connect with colleagues who would prefer to put a face to a name while easing the barrier of remote communication and helps create clarity on tasks and projects . Start with free, <a href="https://medium.com/@CanvasFlip/best-apps-and-tools-for-managing-remote-teams-f730dfdf3ec2">easy to use tools</a> like <a href="https://zoom.us/">Zoom</a>, <a href="https://gsuite.google.com/products/meet/">Google Hangouts Meet</a>, or even <a href="https://get.slack.help/hc/en-us/articles/115003498363-Slack-Calls-the-basics-">Slack Calls</a>.</p><h4>2. Use the cloud</h4><p>Storing data in the cloud allows you to access and analyze important information quickly, enabling you to make informed decisions more readily. Instead of creating an Excel spreadsheet that can’t be shared in real-time, leverage cloud-based apps until you need a more robust tool, like a cloud-based Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution. Avoid the trap of investing in software that your employees might not need by testing a free or inexpensive tool and by being strategic about how the tools you’ve put in place interact with one another. </p><h4>3. Put yourself in your client’s shoes</h4><p>Running a remote company has its benefits, as well as its trade offs when it comes to your client base. I recently spoke with a customer who was turning down clients that were only able to send payment via mail (paper-based billing and paying by check are more prevalent than you might think). Since this client relocated from the US to Europe, receiving and processing payments from abroad was taking too long, checks were occasionally lost in transit, and the company was at risk of not making payroll. A <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/how-virtual-mail-works">digital mail solution</a>, also sometimes called a virtual mailbox, gives you access to important correspondence, such as postal mail, documents, and checks, all via an online platform. You’ll have continuity in your mailing address even if you want to travel the world or set up shop in another state. <a href="https://www.earthclassmail.com/blog/what-is-a-virtual-mailbox">Some solutions</a>, like Earth Class Mail, even offer remote check depositing solutions, which allow you to keep clients whose billing practices might not be as automated as your own.</p><h4>4. Start with data</h4><p>And don’t stop. Without a doubt, centralizing customer and prospect data is a must when starting a remote company. Even if you’re a solopreneur, or work on a small team, begin with something as simple as <a href="https://gsuite.google.com/products/sheets/">Google Sheet</a>s, a live document that’s accessible from anywhere. As you add employees, give them access and review the data that you require them to enter. At a minimum, start tracking your business prospects and customers. Collect relevant contact details and lead source information, the product of interest or the product purchased, as well as other data – such as the time it took to close the deal or the reason why you lost the deal – to inform future decisions. When the time comes that you have too many data points to manage, move to an affordable cloud-based CRM to centralize customer and prospect data. </p><h4>5. Standardize processes</h4><p>As you add employees to your team, be sure to communicate and train each employee on the tools you have in place and your expectations on how the team should use them to collaborate. Otherwise, you could end up with disparate data and inefficient processes. Create an on-boarding document or new hire training so that you minimize the time spent bringing new employees up to speed. And, don’t think of standardization as infringing on your employee’s autonomy. You’re building consistency among your remote workers the way it might more organically be built if you all were working in the same physical location. </p><p>Remember, if you’re just getting started, use free cloud-based tools to build out your core business processes and make it a practice to have all your information living in a central repository. If you and your employees have conquered your business workflows with free cloud-based tools and feel like you’ve outgrown them, then it’s time to begin looking for a more specialized solution. </p>

Founders and entrepreneurs leading a remote company face a unique set of challenges when it comes to employee engagement, business operations, and team communication. You’re creating company culture virtually, without the luxury of in-person management.

With remote work on the rise, we’ve put together a list of 5 tips to help startups with remote workforces establish a solid foundation for success.

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