Book excerpt: This survival guide incorporates professional records management principles in teaching small business owners those with fewer than 20 employees, home-based businesses, and the self-employed who have no employees how to organize and manage their business records. Organize your Office answers these questions: 1) What records are vital to your business and how should they be handled to ensure privacy, business continuity, and regulatory compliance? 2) What legal issues apply to your small business and its records? 3) What business records do you need to keep and for how long? 4) What do you need to do to ensure you can access the information you need when you need it? Written in simple, non-technical terms, this book will - describe the benefits of effective records management - explain inventory procedures to identify operational records - introduce records retention practices - explain vital records procedures - explain filing fundamentals - introduce records management automation