Buying a safe for your business can be a daunting task, there are so many places you can buy a safe, there are so many kinds of safes to choose from, and there are many safes on the market that will not provide the proper protection.

The first step in selecting the proper safe, is choosing where you will buy it, your choices are many, however choosing the right one could save your business.

Many businesses use incorrectly rated safes for overnight storage of money, and other valuables, some store records in a non-fire rated container, others store sensitive and fragile computer media in the wrong kind of fire container. Choose the wrong kind of safe for burglary, or fire protection and you could lose all that is valuable to your business, and your insurance company may refuse to pay your claim.

Statistics show that if a company's records are lost in a fire, 17% can no longer furnish a financial statement, 14% suffer a reduction in credit rating and 43% go out of business completely. No home or business is safe from fire.

How are you going to get information on what is the correct protection for your needs? I recommend a professional safe retailer, or professional locksmith who also sells safes, these businesses buy and sell safes everyday, they are educated, trained and have access to every kind of safe and security container available. They are the experts. Are you going to gamble that you are getting the proper protection, on the recommendation of a minimum wage "big box retailer" clerk?

What items do you need to protect, what do you want to protect them from, what will be kept in the safe and when, does your insurance company require a particular fire or burglary rating, what size safe do you need? These are just a few of the questions you will need to answer in order to properly choose your safe. Getting the correct answers to these questions will save you time, money and possibly even your business.

If your primary concern is the protection of records and customer files from fire, you may not even need a safe, a fire rated filing cabinet may fill your needs better. Fire files and safes are rated by the length of time that they are tested to maintain the interior of the container below the temperature at which paper will char or begin to burn. Common ratings are hour, 1 hour, 2 hour etc. All fire files or fire rated safes currently manufactured in the US, contain a "wet" fill insulating material that, when exposed to a fire, will release some of it's moisture in the form of steam, this steam helps maintain the interior temperature below 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and seal openings against flame entry, for the at least the rated time.

This release of moisture is the problem with storing some computer media, video tapes, film or other sensitive materials in a fire rated safe. If you need to protect these materials, media safes are available that use a "dry" fill or other composite material to achieve the proper protection. These safes are usually much heavier and more expensive than the typical fire rated container.

Does your business handle large amounts of cash? Is your business a high traffic retail store? Do you employ many different people who handle cash? You may need a depository safe, a skim safe, or even a computerized cash handling safe that will record who, how much, and when money was withdrawn or deposited, and, in some cases, dispense predetermined amounts.

If you handle jewelry, guns or other high value items, your insurance carrier may require that you have a particular kind of safe. If you have or control certain types of documents you may be required to have a "GSA" container. You may also fall under the requirements of the new "HIPA" regulations for the control of public records.

The place to get all of the correct information, to choose, and to buy your business safe is your local professional safe retailer or professional locksmith. You will save time, money, and possibly your business. You will also have the peace of mind that you have made wise decisions.

Jimmie Newell