Most problems on business trips are small and avoidable: a laptop left in a taxi, a missing charger, a login that stops working because the phone with the authentication app is dead. In a small team nobody has an IT department to call, so the preparation has to be simple enough that people actually follow it.
The checklist below fits on one page. Adjust the details to your team and keep it where people can find it before they travel.
Before the trip: devices and chargers
Spend ten minutes on this the day before departure:
- Charge and update. Install pending system updates at the office, on a reliable connection, not in a hotel room.
- Back up. Make sure the files that matter are in the shared storage, not only on the laptop.
- Screen lock and disk encryption. Confirm both are on. A lost encrypted laptop is an inconvenience; a lost unencrypted one can be a data incident.
- Chargers and adapters. One charger per device, a plug adapter for the destination, and a short cable for the phone. A small power bank is cheap insurance.
- Take less. Leave devices that are not needed. Every extra device is one more thing to lose.
Public Wi-Fi and VPN
Hotel, airport and café networks are shared with strangers. For company work, use one of these, in this order of preference:
- Your phone's hotspot. Simple, and nobody else is on the network.
- The company VPN, if you have one, switched on before opening any work application.
- Public Wi-Fi only for low-risk browsing, never for logging in to company systems without a VPN.
Do not install anything just because a login page on public Wi-Fi asks for it. Sites that start with https and show no certificate warning are a minimum, not a guarantee. If a page behaves oddly, disconnect and use the hotspot.
Access to company data on the road
Take the access you need, and no more:
- Check that the two-step login works before leaving, and that the backup method (a second device or recovery codes) is stored somewhere other than the same phone.
- Work from the shared storage or web applications instead of copying large folders to the laptop.
- If a colleague has temporary access to something for you, set an end date.
- Do not work on confidential documents on a screen that others can read; a privacy filter or simply a different seat helps.
- Do not share passwords with anyone to solve a problem quickly. If you need something, ask the owner for access.
If your team already uses a password manager, make sure it works offline or on the phone (see the password manager rollout for a small company).
If something goes wrong
Decide this before anyone travels, because the person standing at an airport with no laptop will not think clearly.
Write down one contact, with a phone number that is not stored only in the lost device, and one first step for each case:
- Lost or stolen device (see the first-hour checklist): tell the contact immediately, not after the trip. The contact signs the device out of company accounts, changes the passwords that were used on it and, if available, locks or wipes it remotely.
- Suspicious message or login prompt: do not click or enter anything. Forward it or describe it to the contact.
- Wi-Fi or a website behaves strangely after entering a password: change that password from a trusted connection and tell the contact.
- Broken or missing charger or device: the contact knows the budget for a replacement purchase, so the traveller does not have to ask for approval first.
The most important rule is that reporting early is never a problem. A device reported within an hour is a small task; one reported after a week is a much larger one.
After the return
Ten minutes, on the first working day:
- Return borrowed equipment and note anything damaged.
- Install pending updates and reconnect to the office network.
- Remove temporary access that was granted for the trip.
- Change any password that was used on a network you did not trust.
- Pass receipts for the month's expense routine (see a simple monthly routine for employee expenses).
- Note anything that should be added to the checklist.
Common mistakes
- Writing the checklist and never using it. Ask travellers to read it once before each trip.
- Contact details only on the laptop. Keep them on paper or in a message to the phone.
- Treating the VPN as optional. It works only if it is switched on.
- Telling nobody about a small incident. That is how small incidents become large ones.
Summary
Prepare and update devices before leaving, use the hotspot or a VPN instead of public Wi-Fi, take only the access you need, agree one contact and first steps for a lost device, and spend ten minutes on the way back. None of it requires special software. It requires a page that everybody has read.
Sources
- Common practice for small businesses, offered as a practical guide. No client results or market figures are claimed in this article. Adjust the steps to the tools your team uses and to the rules that apply to your company.
