Part 12: Communication and File Systems

This part of the guide has 17 pages so far. Each page answers one question, shows what to do, and ends with an audit check you can use on your own business.

12.1 Set Up Business Email

• 12.1.1 Business Email Domain: Why your business email should use a domain the business owns, like you@yourbusiness.com, and how to set it up so you never lose control of it.
• 12.1.2 Email Accounts and Shared Inboxes: Set up one email account per person, plus shared inboxes like sales@ and billing@, so the business owns every address and nothing is lost when people leave.
• 12.1.4 Email Signatures: What to put in a business email signature: name, role, business name, phone, website, and any required disclosures, kept the same for everyone on your team.
• 12.1.5 Email Forwarding Rules: Why you should list and review every automatic email forwarding rule, how hackers use hidden rules to steal invoices, and how to check your inbox for them.
• 12.1.6 Email Security: Secure business email with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, spam filtering, safe recovery options, and multi-factor authentication, explained in plain language.
• 12.1.7 Email Retention: How to set simple rules for keeping, archiving, and deleting business email, tied to tax, employment, and legal hold needs, with federal examples.

12.2 Set Up Shared Files

• 12.2 Shared Files: Set up shared business files the simple way: a clear folder structure, file naming rules, locked-down permissions, one current version, and approval records.

12.3 Set Up the Business Phone System

• 12.3.1 Main Business Phone Number: How to pick one main public phone number the business owns, when extra department numbers make sense, and why the same number belongs on every listing.
• 12.3.3 Call Tracking: When call tracking helps a small business, how to use it without confusing Google or your listings, and what Google Business Profile already counts for free.
• 12.3.4 Call Ownership: How to decide who answers, returns, and logs business calls, so no customer falls through the cracks and every call becomes a record you can act on.
• 12.3.5 Call Recording Notice: When a small business must tell callers a call is recorded, how federal and state consent rules differ, and how to add a simple notice that covers you.
• 12.3.6 After-Hours Calls: Set up an after-hours message and a clear rule for urgent calls, so customers know when you’ll call back and your hours on Google match what really happens.

12.4 Set Up Voicemail and Call Routing

• 12.4 Voicemail and Call Routing: Set up a business voicemail greeting, a simple phone menu, routing rules, urgent call handling, and a backup so every caller reaches someone or a clear message.

12.5 Set Up Text Messaging

• 12.5.1 Customer Service Texts: How to set up approved customer service and appointment texts, keep them separate from marketing, get consent, and honor STOP replies the right way.
• 12.5.4 Text Number Ownership and Records: Make sure your business, not an employee or vendor, controls the texting number, the account, and the message and consent records, and knows how to keep them.

12.6 Set Up Communication Consent Records

• 12.6 Communication Consent Records: What to record when a customer agrees to texts, calls, or emails: source, date, exact wording, channel, opt-outs, a do-not-contact list, and who is responsible.

12.7 Test Communication Channels

• 12.7 Testing Communication Channels: A simple test plan for your business phone, voicemail, website forms, email, texts, after-hours setup, and urgent calls, so customers who find you can reach you.