One trucking company owner got a valuable - and painful - lesson on the importance of backing up your company's records.
The Buffalo News recently reported that Eddie Walczyk is offering a $5,000 reward - no questions asked - for anyone who returns the vital information that was in his stolen laptop computer and briefcase. That information? All the business records for his trucking company, including billing and tax information.

Walczyk owns In the Wind, a franchised company that runs 18 tanker trucks. Late last month, the company was having problems with the office server, so all the company's data was transferred to Walczyk's laptop. Backup copies were made on disk - which were in Walczyk's briefcase. He took both of them home with him.
When he got home late that day to his apartment in Hamburg, N.Y., his hands were full, so he left the computer and briefcase in his locked Chevy Silverado.
The next morning, the computer and briefcase were gone.
"Every ounce of data that I've had for the last seven years was in there," Walczyk told the Buffalo News. "Even my hard copy. It's absolutely irreplaceable."
Payroll and tax information are gone, as well as come client information.
The moral of this story is twofold. One: Never, ever, leave a laptop computer unattended. They make very tempting targets for thieves. Two: Always make sure you have backup copies of your data - and that it is in a safe place, preferably separate from the original.