Don’t have your Nedbank ID yet?
Nedbank ID single sign-on gives you full digital access to Nedbank’s banking and lifestyle products and services on the Money app or Online Banking.
Log in
Log in to Online Banking or another one of our secured services.
Get in touch
Find us
- Login & Register
- Online Banking
- Online Share Trading
- NetBank Business
- NedFleet
- Nedbank Greenbacks
- Nedgroup Investments
- Nedbank ID
- Bank
- Accounts
- Credit cards
- Digital banking
- Switch to Nedbank
- Fraud awareness
- Forex
- Greenbacks
- Explore Bank
- Accounts
- Everyday banking
- Kids accounts
- Youth banking
- Seniors accounts
- Private Clients
- Private Wealth
- Digital wallet
- See all accounts
- Premium banking
- Get help choosing
- Goal saving
- Family Banking
- Refugees and asylum seekers
- FAQ
- How-to guides
- Discontinued accounts
- Everyday banking
- MiGoals Premium
- MiGoals Plus
- MiGoals
- Kids accounts
- MiGoals4Kids
- Youth banking
- MiGoals Premium
- MiGoals
- MiGoals Plus
- Seniors accounts
- MiGoals Premium Senior
- MiGoals Plus
- Private Clients
- Pay-as-you-use
- Young Professionals
- Private Bundle and Private One
- Private Wealth
- Private Wealth Bundle
- Digital wallet
- MobiMoney
- American Express
- Amex Gold
- Amex Platinum
- Digital banking
- Switch to Nedbank
- Fraud awareness
- Send and receive international payments
- Safe and secure incoming international payments
- Secure outgoing international payments
- To Africa
- Greenbacks
- Exclusive discounts
- FAQ
- How-to guides
- Save & Invest
- Accounts
- Investment services
- Share trading
- Explore Save & Invest
- In 24 hours
- JustInvest
- PlatinumInvest
- Tax-free Savings
- MoneyTrader
- EasyAccess Fixed Deposit
- PrimeSelect
- In 32 days
- Electronic 32Day Notice
- 32Day Notice
- End of term
- Tax-free Fixed Deposit
- Electronic Fixed Deposit
- Electronic Optimum Plus
- Platinum Fixed Deposit
- Fixed Deposit
- OptimumPlus
- Investment services
- Share trading
- Borrow
- Personal loans
- Home loans
- Student loans
- Overdrafts
- Vehicle finance
- Solar finance
- Debt assistance
- Explore Borrow
- Personal loans
- Loan consolidation
- Secondhand car loan
- Home improvement loan
- Exclusive short-term loan offers
- Explore loans
- FAQ
- How to guides
- Loan consolidation
- Secondhand car loan
- Home improvement loan
- Exclusive short-term loan offers
- Home loans
- Building loan
- Switching home loan
- Repossessed properties
- Start your home buying journey
- Solar-energy Finance
- Earn R32,000 p/m or less? See offer
- HomeVision extra funds
- Home-buying Toolkit
- Managing your home loan
- Explore home loans
- FAQ
- How to guides
- Track application
- Building loan
- Switching home loan
- Repossessed properties
- Start your home buying journey
- Solar-energy Finance
- Earn R32,000 p/m or less? See offer
- HomeVision extra funds
- Home-buying Toolkit
- Managing your home loan
- Student loans
- Explore student loans
- Overdrafts
- Vehicle finance
- Solar finance
- Debt assistance
- Consolidate all your debts into a simple loan | Nedbank
- Short-term payment relief | Nedbank
- Take charge and restructure your finances | Nedbank
- Assisted-sales solutions for homes and vehicles | Nedbank
- Flexible payment plans for loans and credit | Nedbank
- Understanding how repo rate works | Nedbank
- Consolidate all your debts into a simple loan | Nedbank
- Short-term payment relief | Nedbank
- Take charge and restructure your finances | Nedbank
- Assisted-sales solutions for homes and vehicles | Nedbank
- Flexible payment plans for loans and credit | Nedbank
- Understanding how repo rate works | Nedbank
- Insure
- Life cover
- Funeral cover
- Short term insurance
- Credit Life
- Travel insurance
- Business cover
- Secure investments
- Explore Insure
- Life cover
- Get a call back
- Explore MyCover life
- Funeral cover
- Individual R10,000
- Individual R30,000
- Family Cover
- Build your own cover
- Get a call back
- Explore MyCover Funeral
- Individual R10,000
- Individual R30,000
- Family Cover
- Build your own cover
- Short term insurance
- Vehicle insurance
- Building insurance
- House contents insurance
- Valuables insurance
- Valuables insurance
- Get a call back
- Explore MyCover short term insurance
- Vehicle insurance
- Building insurance
- House contents insurance
- Valuables insurance
- Valuables insurance
- Credit Life
- Home loan credit life
- MFC Vehicle Finance Assurance
- Overdraft Assurance
- Balance Protection Plan
- Personal loan Assurance
- Get a call back
- Explore credit life
- Home loan credit life
- MFC Vehicle Finance Assurance
- Overdraft Assurance
- Balance Protection Plan
- Personal loan Assurance
- Travel insurance
- Business cover
- Secure investments
- Guaranteed Growth Income Plan
- Guaranteed Growth Plan
- Get a call back
- Explore MyCover Funeral
- Guaranteed Growth Income Plan
- Guaranteed Growth Plan
- Plan
- Financial planning
- Estate, wills & trust services
- Nedbank Private Wealth
- Speak to a financial adviser
- Explore Plan
- Financial planning
- Investment planning
- Insurance planning
- Give
- Retirement planning
- Investment planning
- Insurance planning
- Give
- Retirement planning
- Estate, wills & trust services
- Will drafting
- Ensure your estate is managed by an executor | Nedbank
- Trust services
- Financial accounting
- Tax services
- Leave the admin of your estate to us, and not to your loved ones | Nedbank
- Will drafting
- Ensure your estate is managed by an executor | Nedbank
- Trust services
- Financial accounting
- Tax services
- Leave the admin of your estate to us, and not to your loved ones | Nedbank
- Nedbank Private Wealth
- Speak to a financial adviser
- Learn
- Blog
- Explore Learn
- Blog
- Contact us
- Talk to us
- Find us
- Explore Contact us
- Talk to us
- Find us
5 ways to disaster-proof your business
Spot a crisis early and you can avoid it, but having protection in place also helps.
As a small-business owner, the only certainty you can count on is uncertainty. Whether you run an established business or a start-up, solving problems and planning for new challenges never end. Sometimes, however, an unexpected challenge arrives as a full-blown crisis.
There are sure to be extraordinary events from time to time that happen without warning and cause absolute havoc. Emerging in one piece from such disasters is never easy, but it’s not impossible – provided you have planned for them. In some cases, you may be able to predict an oncoming disaster and avoid it. You can also put certain measures in place to stop an unforeseen emergency threatening your company.
Here are 5 ways to disaster-proof your business.
1. Make sure you have the relevant insurance cover
It’s hard to not begrudge the cost of business insurance when you’re trying to keep business expenses to a minimum, but it’s healthier to think of it as a lifejacket or a parachute – it must be there the first time you need it. As the past few years have demonstrated repeatedly, it’s wise to invest in a range of insurance products to cover all potential disasters.
You need to insure your business buildings, vehicles, contents and stock against fire and theft, but ensure that Sasria cover is also embedded in your policies. The state-owned insurer is the only body able to cover individuals and businesses against losses caused by riots, civil unrest and terrorism, or vandalism caused by public disorder. Always check that Sasria coverage is included in any cover you take out to protect your physical assets.
It’s also a good idea to have key-person insurance, or a death, disability and dread disease policy if you’re the owner and sole company member. An intensely personal loss like the death of the owner or a key executive can be a major crisis in a small company. Depending on the nature of your operations, you might need third-party liability cover if your business activities could cause anyone accidental injury.
Extreme weather events are likely to occur more often
You may also need further specialised policies, depending on the location or nature of your business. If your business is based in an area prone to flooding, for example, you’ll need flood insurance. If your business is in entertainment, live events or catering, business interruption insurance or income protection cover protects you if external events shut down your ability to trade.
It’s important to discuss all the details with an insurance advisor to identify all the potential threats to your business that you should insure against. If you’re a Small Business Services client or Private Clients accountholder, speak to your relationship banker about your insurance needs. They can put you in touch with a financial planner or risk advisor.
2. Pay attention to your online store
Offering your products or services for sale online has become a modern business requirement, so creating an online store is part of a sound strategy during normal trading, not just when disaster strikes. If you haven’t set one up already, you might want to read this blog that explains how easy it is. It’s worth investing in the advice of an expert to ensure your online store offers a seamless shopping experience, including reliable payment options and delivery partners, to build repeat business.
You can also be accessible to more customers if you register your online store with the AvoSuperShop. If you optimise your online store, you not only add an income stream to your current business, but you also have a potential lifeline if a disaster shuts down in-store trading.
3. Know where to find help
Making use of the free tools available can help you create a workable plan for your business to survive a sudden emergency. In a community like SimplyBiz powered by Nedbank, you can get new business skills, get funding for business development, get discounts on business supplies and get advertising across a broad market. The platform allows you to interact with potential mentors and other businesses, share experiences and tips, and find the right experts to help with any issue you face. You can learn more about business continuity disaster planning, for example, in this SimplyBiz article.
Forewarned is forearmed, so it pays to identify all potential disasters that could threaten your business
If a disaster is widespread and affecting businesses throughout the economy, as we saw with the arrival of Covid-19, you may also be able to get help from government departments or your bank. This could be in the form of direct disaster relief payments or bank services like supply chain financing and discounted invoicing. Learn more about how Nedbank can help when disaster strikes.
4. Maintain buildings and infrastructure properly
Maintain the buildings and fixtures of your business to stop problems before they start. Blocked drains and leaky gutters or roofs, for example, lead to problems like shorting electrical wiring, rotting ceilings or floors, and damp or mould on the walls.
Climate change has made this maintenance even more important. Extreme weather events are likely to occur more often, so the buildings and fixtures of your business will need to be protected against lightning, heavy rain or hailstorms, dangerously high winds and flash floods, or at the other end of the scale, prolonged droughts and huge wildfires. If you get your gutters, plumbing, electrical and IT infrastructure working correctly and properly secured against extreme weather, you lessen the chances of disastrous damage.
Other threats may be hidden in the surrounding geography: sinkholes and subsidence, or sandbanks that get saturated by heavy rain and become a landslide risk. Several rivers and drains converging could present a flood risk; untended bush on municipal land can grow into a wildfire hazard. Mitigating against these dangers is the job of local authorities, so short of being a vigilant and vocal member of the community to keep authorities focused on the issues, there isn’t much more you can do to remove the risk. You can, however, get advice from an expert to assess any such threats in your neighbourhood, and tailor your insurance coverage accordingly.
5. Have energy alternatives when the grid fails
Load-shedding has been part of the South African vocabulary since 2007, and many businesses have already installed battery-and-inverter systems to keep production going when the grid shuts down. Decades of poor maintenance in many municipalities have left the electricity infrastructure in a state of poor repair and subject to frequent breakdowns, made worse by criminal activity like cable-theft and illegal connections. A blown transformer or missing cables can leave a community without power for several days, even if there is no load-shedding.
A battery to provide power for a few hours may not be an adequate solution. You may want to investigate installing an industrial generator. It may work out more cost-effective in the long run to install a solar-power system that generates enough electricity to run your business completely off the grid. It might seem costly upfront, but it protects your business against extended grid failure while also cutting your electricity bill, so it will pay for itself over time.
Forewarned is forearmed, so it pays to identify all potential disasters that could threaten your business. If you can spot them before they pose a real danger, you can work on a plan to neutralise them.
