The Family File
The household side: fourteen numbered files for the people to call, the accounts, the policies, the house and your wishes.
- Fillable PDF$29
- Printed book with your name$59
8.5 × 11 inches. 44 pages in 11 numbered files. The printed book is coming soon.
Shop / The Business Owner's File
The Business Owner's File
If you were out for a week, a month or longer, could the people who step in find the bank, the payroll, the contracts and the keys? This file records what the business has, where each thing is kept and who to call.
$29
Fillable PDF. Download it right after checkout, type into it on your computer, and print any page you like.
Coming soon Printed book, PDF included $59
Coil-bound so it lies flat on the desk, with free US shipping. We're checking a printed proof before we take orders. Leave your email and we'll write once when it's ready.
- We never see what you write. Your file lives on your paper or your own device.
- Facts and locations only: no legal forms and no advice.
- Never asks for passwords, alarm codes or full account numbers.
If you're stepping in, start here
Most small businesses run on what the owner knows. Who does payroll. Which account pays rent. Where the lease is. Who has the spare key and the alarm company's number.
When the owner is suddenly out, whether it's a surgery, a family emergency or something longer, a partner, a spouse or a key employee has to keep the doors open without any of that. The Business Owner's File gives them a map.
Start with the First Ten and a one-page quick sheet. That's often enough for the first few days: the right people know, payroll runs, the bills that can't wait get paid and customers hear from someone. A stepping-in checklist covers the first day, week and month.
What's inside
44 pages in eleven numbered files. Each file takes 15 to 30 minutes, and a bookkeeper or office manager can fill in a lot of it with you.
Up front
- A note for whoever steps in
- How to use the file, and the privacy rules
- The First Ten, the ten things that keep a business going for the first few days
- "If I'm suddenly out," a one-page quick sheet
- A stepping-in checklist for the first day, week and month
- Who knows where this file is
In the back
- A review log with room for ten years
- General resources
- A stepping-in log for what was paid, who was called and what was decided
- Notes pages
File 01: The Business at a Glance
What the business is, who owns it, and where the formation papers, licenses and permits are kept.
File 02: Key People
Who can step in, the key employees, the CPA, attorney, banker and agent, and who does what.
File 03: Bank & Payment Accounts
Where the money is, who can reach it, and how customers pay you. Last 4 digits only.
File 04: Payroll & Taxes
Who runs payroll and when, where the records are, and a 12-month calendar of what comes due.
File 05: Customers, Contracts & Leases
Who you work for, what you've signed, where each agreement is kept and when it renews.
File 06: Vendors & Subscriptions
The suppliers you rely on and the bills that pay themselves.
File 07: Digital Assets
Domains, website, email and social accounts: who has access and where login info is kept, never the logins.
File 08: Keys, Alarms & Locations
Every location, every key, and who to call when the alarm goes off. Where codes are kept, never the codes.
File 09: Insurance
Every policy, the agent to call, and where it's kept.
File 10: If I'm Out: My Wishes
Who you'd want to run things, in plain words, and whether formal plans exist and where they're kept.
File 11: Letters & Notes
A few words for the people who keep it going.
A look inside
Pages from the fillable PDF. Clear labels and light green fields that ask where something is kept and who to call, never for the password or the full number.
Start with the First Ten
If you only do two pages, do these. Ten answers that keep a business running while someone else holds the keys.
- Who to call first
- Who can run things day to day
- The main business bank account
- Payroll
- Bills that can't wait
- Where the business papers are kept
- Email, phone and computers
- Keys, alarm and the building
- Customers waiting on work
- Where this file is kept
What it never asks for
The file is meant to be found by the people who step in, so it's written to be safe if someone else finds it too.
- Passwords
- PINs
- Alarm and safe codes
- Full account numbers
- Full tax ID numbers
- Employee Social Security numbers
Instead you write where each thing is kept and who can get to it, plus the last four digits so accounts can be told apart. For logins, the file prompts you to note whether the business uses a password manager and who has emergency access.
Wishes and locations, not a legal plan
File 10 lets you write, in plain words, who you'd want to run things. It says clearly that these are wishes: writing them down doesn't give anyone authority to sign, pay or decide for the business. It records whether a buy-sell agreement, succession plan or power of attorney exists and where it's kept, and prompts you to talk with your attorney and CPA about formal plans.
Kin & Keep organizers are for recording information. They are not legal documents and do not replace a will, trust or power of attorney, or advice from an attorney, tax professional, financial professional or insurance professional.
Who it's for
Owners of small businesses, from a one-person shop to a company of a few dozen people. Especially the ones where the owner is the person everyone calls.
It's also for the people around the owner: a spouse who would be the one making calls, a partner, or the office manager who already knows half of it.
One file per business
If you own more than one business, use a separate file for each. For the household side of things (your own accounts, policies, the house and your wishes), the Family File is the companion book.
PDF today, printed book soon
The fillable PDF downloads right after checkout. Type into it on your computer, or print the pages you need. Keep it somewhere safe, like a locked office drawer, and keep the PDF off shared drives.
For CPAs and business attorneys
Give it to business clients with your firm's name on page one: at year-end, with the tax organizer, or at an entity-formation or succession meeting. Co-branded copies are priced by quote.
See the Pro detailsGoes well with
The Next Steps File
Checklists and trackers for the weeks after a loss, for whoever is handling things.
- Fillable PDF$19
- Printed book$39
Family File Essentials
A 32-page starter booklet with the First Ten and one-page locators. A good small gift.
- Printed booklet$15