When your internet isn’t working well, it can slow down many tasks that take only seconds. Accepting an order from a customer can be quick, but processing a transaction, pulling up data or submitting state unemployment insurance forms can all require connectivity.
Your employees will need a way to maintain these records when internet access is limited. This can happen in rural areas or within certain buildings.
Having these methods won’t replace online solutions but allow you to get through until you have full access to your systems again.
What you’ll learn:
- Don’t Count On A Connection
- Determine What You Can Get Through
- Report To Your State For Unemployment
- Know Your Backup Options For Your Area
- Have One Plan In Place For Employees
- Regaining Your Connection
Don’t Count On A Connection
Having internet access does not always equal having an internet connection.
The FCC reported in August 2026 that 86.7% of rural Americans had access to fixed terrestrial internet at speeds of at least 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload as of June 2025.
While that may seem high it does not account for business subscriptions or the frequency of outages.
There can be times where you may not have connectivity due to power loss, malfunctions etc. Many aspects of your business can be impacted by this including keeping up on sales, processing payments and staying current on payroll information.
Determine What You Can Get Through
Look at the functions that will need to be completed during a loss of connection. Perhaps you will need to log sales, input labor and project information or prepare wages for payroll.
How long can each task go without being completed? If you can not process a sale you will want to know your options to get through that time frame. Updating product information on your website can be done when your connection is restored.
If you need to prepare for payroll, having desktop first software may be helpful to have your information accessible on your desktop computer. However, just because a program is available on your desktop computer does not mean you have access to all the features without a connection.
Test what you need to complete during your downtime. Disconnect the test computer from the internet and see if your employees are able to access their information, input new information and save their work. Then restart the computer and pull up your work to see what information was logged.
Once you’ve determined what you can do, split it into 2 categories.
- Information that can be prepared while offline such as logging labor, reviewing numbers, completing reports or other information that you can get through with the software you’ve chosen.
- What will need to be completed while you are connected. Filing information with required web portals, sending data to third parties and ensuring information has been accepted.
Make sure you select programs your employees can use offline.
Report To Your State For Unemployment
You may need forms to file with your state for unemployment purposes. Having your information ready to go will make filing quicker.
Depending on your state you may need to report wages quarterly and pay unemployment insurance when required. There may be forms and information that need to be submitted electronically to your state. If you have employees in multiple states you will need to look up each state’s requirements.
Have this information pulled together before your deadline comes around.
Know who you will be reporting to, what information is needed and if you will need to file electronically. Make sure you have copies of these instructions on hand and that the appropriate employee knows where they are located. If your state allows you to download forms that may be helpful but you will still need to check if you need to file electronically.
Have your information ready to report wages to your state. Make sure someone can double check that your information is correct before your deadline. By having this information ready you can prepare records during an outage and finish required online filing when reconnected.
Ensure that you have your information filed and acknowledged by your state. Keep the filing confirmation with your payroll records and a record of any failed attempts.
Know Your Backup Options For Your Area
It’s good to have a back up, but make sure it can fulfill what you need it to do.
If your office loses connectivity, you may be able to get through with a mobile hot spot. But what if your office doesn’t have great cell phone reception? Test what options you may have when your connection goes out.
Here are some things to consider having in a kit.
- Power or a charged device that can run what you need
- A secure way to record customer details if your system is unavailable
- Copies of any information you may need to regain access to your accounts
- Copies of your data that you can use in case your primary computer fails
Paper copies or removable media may have sensitive information on them as well. Make sure your employees are aware of the data they have and how to handle it properly.
Always test your backups to make sure you are able to retrieve your information when you need it.
Have One Plan In Place For Employees
Technology will not solve all of your problems. Make sure you have someone that can step up when you lose connectivity.
One employee may start writing orders on paper, another may save them to an Excel sheet. Someone else may try to log into your system. Once you have your connection you may have duplicate entries from these actions.
By having a plan you can avoid this scenario. Who can input new information, where will your main information be stored and who can log back into your system. Make sure your employees can update customers about pending requests.
Have a plan on hand that can be easily found. Know who to call if your employees have questions and what you will let your customers know.
Walk through this process with your team when you have time to do so. You may find that you are missing something when your connection goes out.
Regaining Your Connection
Now that your connection is restored you will want to make sure your information lines up with your system.
Do not dump all of your information back into your system. There may be information that went through while your connection was lost that you were unaware of.
Follow these steps to regain your connection.
- See what the last piece of information was logged in your system
- Take the information you have while your connection was down and see what matches up
- Set aside information that may have been accepted by your system
- Log the remaining information and save any confirmation returned by your system
When filing with your state, compare your numbers to what you have on hand before you file your information. If you are unsure if something was filed previously check with the receiving agency or filing service before resubmitting.
Take note of what made this process slower for you and address those issues. Maybe your file names weren’t descriptive, you didn’t have someone’s number or didn’t know where to find a piece of information on your computer.
Final Thoughts
You can not control every situation that may cause you to lose your internet connection. What you can do is know what information you need to stay up to date on and make sure you have the ability to complete those tasks.
