R4 Services' Sustainability Report 2019

8/24/2020

The results are in!

The R4 Services Green Initiative has been very effective this past year. By securely destroying your documents with us, who then recycles the materials, you have made a difference in saving our environment. Thank you for your continued business and your support. Together we can make a difference.

But don't just take our word for it, here are the numbers!

Please click on the links below for more information:

To find out more on how to organize important documents at home, contact us at 773-843-3915 or orders@r4services.com

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3 Tips on How to Organize Important Documents at Home

6/24/2020

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We find ourselves in a new working landscape due to the evolving pandemic, which for many of us means working remotely, even as the country continues to open up. Keeping an organized workspace for yourselves and employees is crucial to maximizing efficiency in a time of such uncertainty. It's all too easy for papers and boxes of files to start piling up, especially in document-heavy professional fields such as the accounting, healthcare, banking and legal industries. Staying on top of your game when it comes to clearing out your office is important -- it's easier to stay organized than it is to reorganize, and R4’s document management & scanning services can help.Here are some helpful tips on how to organize important documents at home.

1. Scan and index your important files
By scanning and indexing your important documents at home, you're not only creating backups of the hard copies, you're digitizing them for maximized accessibility. Gone and forgotten are the days of sifting through boxes and digging through file cabinets. With your digital documents, you can pull up any file from any computer with a web browser. Through a secure connection, you can easily search for files, pull them up, make notes on them and directly print, email and fax. All of our digital scanning, indexing and mobile access software are fully HIPAA-compliant.

2. Get rid of unnecessary files
After scanning and indexing, you might not need hard copies anymore, so there are a few options for you. The first option is to destroy them. We have discussed the importance of maintaining a rigid retention schedule many times in the past, and it still holds true for nearly every industry. Outdated medical records with sensitive patient information, old financial statements and tax info (including SSNs) may be unnecessary to keep around the home office. Here's a list of documents you should destroy, but probably aren't. Keeping hard copies of outdated files doesn't just clutter your physical office space, it opens you up to legal liabilities and tax audits. R4 Services has the state-of-the-art document destruction equipment that can securely and confidentially destroy any media type from paper, film, tapes, monitors, disks, x-rays and hard drives.

3. Store your documents offsite
Perhaps you're looking at how to organize important documents at home without destroying those mountains of paperwork. Whether it's for sentimental value or to remain legally compliant, you might need to keep those documents -- yet, you don't want it taking up your real estate. In that case, consider storing your documents off site via vault services. It guarantees to keep your records accessible 24/7 for any media type: computer tapes, disks, video/audio recordings, microfilm, microfiche, x-rays. We can also provide climate-controlled storage space for older, sensitive things such as paintings, archival documents, books, photography, and business-critical documents (eg. disaster recovery plans).

Any and all of these methods work for any industry from medical, legal, education and more. These best-practices will help to keep your home office organized to maximize efficiency, while keeping a more breathable and uncluttered office space.

To find out more on how to organize important documents at home, contact us at 773-843-3915 or orders@r4services.com

Other R4 Services Solutions include:
Document Management
Shredding Services
Destruction Services
Hard Drive Destruction
Electronics Recycling
Vault Services
Indexing
Disaster Recovery
Web Access

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4 Reasons to Use Document Scanning & Imaging Services

6/11/2020

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The Coronavirus pandemic has unfortunately done away with the status quo of the business landscape as we know it. Yes, businesses are beginning to re-open, but the timing and standards are varied by state. Many companies are incorporating remote work on a more permanent level. Your business needs to seriously consider which elements are able to shift to accommodate world events because not only are we still in the fight, but future outbreaks are expected to hit again.

One way you can shift to remote work is online record storage. Scanning & imaging all your documentation can feel like an overwhelming task, but the benefits you will receive outweigh the upfront commitment. Here are 4 reasons to use R4’s Document Scanning and Imaging Services for your business.

1. Quicker Retrieval
If your documents are scanned and available online, they are also easily searchable. Forget about locating the right file cabinet, sifting through folders, and then shuffling papers to find the right one. Once documents are scanned and available online, they are easier to search through. Right from your desk, you can perform a keyword search to instantly bring up the file you need. This gives you more time to spend on other important aspects of your business. For businesses whose workforce relies on home offices or limited office space due to pandemic restrictions, this is a big time saver.
2. Access from Anywhere, Anytime
A physical piece of paper can only exist in one location, but a scanned document is available to you anywhere and at any time. Today's business world no longer revolves around a routine 9 to 5 day with everyone working in the same location. With today's more flexible work schedules, there is a bigger need to access information ‘after hours’. Many employees are also working from a home office or while on the road. When your documents are scanned, you can still retrieve information online no matter where you are located. This is especially crucial for the many businesses whose workers are unable to exchange or make copies in a traditional office setting.
3. Document Mark-ups
Paper documents need to stay in pristine condition, and if they're used by multiple people, you can't make personal notes. But with an imaged file, you can add notes to a document and insert reminders or flags before you print. Scanning allows you to retain the original version of the file, but also have an additional copy that is custom to your specific needs.

4. Backups
Even as workplace restrictions loosen when we move into the next phase of this pandemic, your company will need to adapt to fluid and changing workplace settings, and having digital backups of important documents will be key to moving forward with your business. R4 Services prioritizes the safety of your company’s information, and all of our document management is fully HIPPA compliant.

The way of doing business continues to change, and having a solution like R4’s document scanning and imaging services is just one way to ensure that you’re prepared for the new work landscape and future changes to come.
For more information, contact us at 773-843-3915 or orders@r4services.com
Other R4 Services Solutions include:
Document Management
Shredding Services
Destruction Services
Hard Drive Destruction
Electronics Recycling
Vault Services
Indexing
Disaster Recovery
Web Access

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COVID-19 Update From R4 Services

3/17/2020

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At this time, our facilities in Chicago remain operational. We are doing everything we can to ensure the safety and security of our staff without impacting our customers, which includes following all CDC recommendations for cleaning and sterilization.

We understand that many offices may be closed or working with reduced staff. If you have any changes that impact the pickup or return of documents or you would like to receive documents via Scan on Demand we would be happy to process for you.

Please reach out to our service center with updates or inquiries regarding pricing.

You can contact us here:
orders@R4services.com
773-843-3900

Thank you for your trust in R4 Services. Please stay safe and healthy.

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The Dos and Don'ts of Destroying a Hard Drive Properly

3/9/2020

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The Dos and Don'ts of Destroying a Hard Drive Properly

In today's digitized world, the vast majority of data is stored on hard drives (HDDs) and servers, otherwise known as the cloud. Some estimates conclude that 2.5 zettabytes of data exist in the world today. That may not sound like much, but 1 zettabyte is the equivalent of over 1 billion terabytes (TB); and today's higher end laptops that tout high storage capacity usually come with 1TB.

With so much digital data flowing around us at all times, it's important to make sure that yours is secure. As technology develops, so too do ways to exploit it. After all, if someone wants your SSN, banking info or other personal data, they aren't breaking into your file cabinets or safe in the dead of night to get it. No, they'd much prefer hacking that info remotely. This is why it's so important to know how to destroy a hard drive properly.

How Common Are Data Breaches?

You may be thinking to yourself, "data breaches only happen to big corporations. I'm a small business, I'm not at risk". But you'd be wrong. In fact, most cyber criminals decide to target small business because of their lacking cybersecurity infrastructure. We only hear about the Yahoo!s and the Targets in the news because of their large scale, but most criminals are lazy and small businesses are low-hanging fruit.

Forbes reported last year that more than 4.1 billion records were exposed in just the first 6 months of 2019. For comparison, around 5 billion records were exposed in all of 2018. Businesses accounted for 84.6% of those exposed records, with the average breach costing a business $3.92 million including potential fines after failure to report the breach and other legal expenses.

How NOT to Destroy a Hard Drive

Clearly, data security is rapidly becoming a serious issue for businesses, governments and individuals alike. One of the best ways you can protect yourself, your business, employees and customers is by having a rigid data retention policy and properly disposing of old hard drives. However, as with any new phenomenon, there are some myths surrounding the topic. Here are some commonly held methods of destruction that don't actually work.

Reformatting. Reformatting your hard drive, in a nutshell, is preparing a drive for everyday use. The process erases all local files and restores your drive to a "blank slate" so to speak. However, because of the way (re)formatting works, the "erased" data is still recoverable on a hard drive after the fact. All that's needed is the right software and some free time.
Magnets. How do they work? Well, they don't. Not to fully destroy hard drive data, at least. You've probably heard the advice before: keep magnets away from hard drives because they can erase data. This advice may have been true in theory, but it never pertained to household magnets. The theory is that the magnetic spinning disk, called a platter, of a HDD is disrupted and therefore unable to write and record data. However, the strength it would take to erase a HDD is simply not found in run-of-the-mill fridge magnets -- it would take MRI levels of magnet strength. There has been some anecdotal evidence of people using neodymium magnets to these ends, but they merely render the HDD unusable and do NOT destroy data, meaning it could still be recoverable by somebody who knows what they're doing. Plus, SSDs (solid state drives) are on the rise to replace HDDs and they don't even have moving parts to disrupt.
Microwave. DO NOT DO THIS! Microwaving a HDD is one of the most ineffective ways to destroy data, but it WILL be effective in starting a house fire. It will also cause irreparable harm...to the microwave oven. And sure, it may render the HDD unusable, but so long as the platter is intact (which a microwave will probably not affect), data can still be recovered from it.
Water. Dunking a HDD under water is, again, a great way to render it unusable. But generally speaking, hard drives are well sealed and prevent water from getting into the main components. Even if water DOES get in, it will not affect the magnetically stored data on the platter and can eventually be recovered.

How to Destroy a Hard Drive Properly

One of the only truefire ways to destroy a hard drive and all the data contained on it is to have it shredded by professionals. Since a hard drive (read: hard disk drive, NOT SSD) functions via the platter, a spinning magnetic disk, the most important part of decommissioning it is to destroy that platter and ensure the data on it is unrecoverable. As we pointed out above, there are quite a few rumors floating around the internet on how to destroy hard drives -- from muriatic acid to microwaves and more. But you shouldn't have to expose yourself to harmful chemicals; and do you really want to undertake a process that requires safety goggles?

If you want to have peace of mind knowing your data is fully wiped and scrubbed permanently from the face of the earth, then call in professionals like R4 Services. We are discreet, secure and professional. We'll either come to you to collect and transport the materials or you can stop by our facility. We confidentially shred all hard drives under the supervision of insured employees and issue a certificate of destruction upon completion. Our brand-new, state-of-the-art hard drive shredder can handle any number of drives you throw at it and will instantly reduce any drive to unrecognizable, metal bits. We're able to work with you in order to assist your organization in its compliance requirements.

For discreet and proper hard drive destruction, get in touch today.

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Out With the Old, In With the New: Keys to Having a Document Retention Schedule

12/20/2019

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Why You Need a Records Retention Policy

A major part of good record keeping is creating a functional records retention policy. With the amount of data companies collect these days, it’s not financially feasible to keep every bit of information indefinitely. A data retention schedule will help your company decide how long sensitive documents need to be kept and when they can eventually be destroyed. It consistently purges unnecessary data to make room for incoming information -- or to simplify, out with the old, in with the new. This will protect you from potential legal issues and unnecessary storage costs.

Since different types of documents need to be kept for different amounts of time, (see our previous blog post about what can stay and what can go) it’s important to consult with your legal team to figure out when document destruction can be green lit. For example, the medical community needs to abide by HIPAA laws when it comes to patient records, but not for their tax documents.

If You Lack A Records Retention Policy...

Lack of a retention schedule opens you up to all kinds of issues:

Efficiency plummets because it will take longer to sift through old data to find what you need.
Your office space can be better put to use. Do you want to use the office down the hall for storage space or another team member that can help you grow?
Storage is costly. Do you really need to have mountains of 20 year old paperwork lying around? (Assuming you don’t legally need them.)
Speaking of legal, old documents can be used against you in legal disputes. If you’re able to destroy them in compliance with the law, you should.

Your company’s data retention schedule will vary by industry and local laws, so consult your legal team.

R4 Services is able to store your documents for you, indexing them properly to save you time and money. And when the time finally comes for your documents to be destroyed, we ensure secure and proper destruction of any type of media -- from paper, to film, to x-rays. Contact us today to find out how we can save you time, money and space.

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Documents You Should Shred But Probably Aren't

11/19/2019

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Personal Document Shredding: What Needs to Be Shredded & When

Developing a document retention schedule is crucial to staying compliant with security best-practices and laws and regulations. By using a professional document shredding service such as R4 Services, you can rest assured knowing that state-of-the-art machinery will destroy every bit of information, converting mountains of paperwork into tiny bits of paper, while keeping you safe from liabilities. By thoroughly shredding outdated documents containing financial information, personal info (such as your SSN), any sort of account info, etc. you're protecting yourself and your business from identity theft, legal liabilities and other avoidable headaches. Even some documents, that you don't think should be shredded, should be! This includes junk mail and receipts.

There are many types of documents that all have extremely sensitive information on them that need to be periodically destroyed. But on the other hand, there are some documents that you should keep forever for legal reasons. This all sounds fine and dandy, but when you get right down to it, how do you know: should it stay or should it go?

What Needs to be Shredded

There are some documents that solely exist to provide personal info, but they can be disposed of after a certain length of time. These documents include:

Boarding passes (immediately)
Resumes/hiring documents (if no longer needed)
Shipping labels (immediately)
Bank statements (after 1 year)
Pay stubs (after 1 year)
Bills (after 1 year)
Undisputed, paid medical bills (after 1 year)
Sales receipts (immediately)
Paid utility bills and credit statements (immediately)
Expired warranties (immediately)
Tax receipts (after 7 years)
W-2s (after 7 years)

Documents to Keep

On the other hand, some documents, both personal and business, should be kept forever. Lock them up in a safe place so you can refer to them if you ever need to. These are documents with a lot of personal identity info that will stay relevant as long as you live.

Tax documents
Birth and death certificates
Pension plans
Business licenses
Property deeds (as long as you own it)
Mortgage documents
Social security cards/info
Vehicle titles (as long as you own it)
Loan documents
Insurance policies
IDs and passports
Wills, living wills, power of attorney documents
Marriage and divorce paperwork

Whether your business needs documents stored or shredded, R4 Services will provide you with unparalleled, discreet and confidential services for all of your document needs. Our state-of-the-art document and hard drive shredders allow us to destroy a wide variety of data mediums and our 24-hour secure vault services will keep your most sensitive information in-tact and available the next time you need it.

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R4 Services Green Initiative 2019

10/30/2019

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2019 Green Initiative Year-to-Date Totals

The numbers are in! Thank you for supporting the R4 Services Green Initiative. By securely destroying your documents with R4 Services, you have the peace of mind that we recycle your material in order to help save our environment. Together, we can and have made a difference. So far this year, you have helped us recycle 1,067.63 TONS. That's 2,135,260 pounds! Additionally, you have helped save:

18,150 trees
7,473,428 gallons of water
197,512 gallons of gas
64,058 pounds of air pollution
3,523 cubic yards of landfill space
4,377,293 kilowatt hours of energy

These numbers are based off of information gathered from the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your continued business and support.

Sincerely,
The R4 Team

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5 Reasons to Store Your Business Records Offsite

10/15/2019

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5 Reasons Your Business Should Use Offsite Records Storage

Just because company records and documents may not be top of mind doesn't mean they are unimportant assets to your business. Like all valuable assets, they need to be properly protected. In terms of day-to-day operations, crucial documents like tax records, business licenses, banking info and employee paperwork do practically nothing; but a data breach of them could cost everything. Keeping your records offsite can be a great benefit to your business. Here are a few reasons why.

Security: Offsite, But Online

Around 60% of small businesses go out of business within 6 months of a data breach. In 2018 alone, more than 15 billion identity records were compromised; a 420% increase from the previous year. Identity records include personal, valuable data including things like social security numbers, banking info, names and email addresses, etc. This is the type of info that identity thieves and cyber criminals are after.

It's also a common misconception that cyber criminals are after the Targets, Yahoos, and Googles. These are more "white whale" scenarios, if anything. Instead, small businesses tend to be in the crosshairs because generally speaking, their cybersecurity infrastructure is elementary, outdated or altogether nonexistent due to the, I'm-too-small-time-for-hackers-to-target mentality. While this was true at one time, technology has advanced and therefore so have the hacker's tools. The low effort and time it takes to breach a low-level security system is worth the risk and reward to them. Sure, hackers do target large corporations, but that brings attention and press. For an everyday criminal, the risk is not worth the reward, especially when they can just hack the store down the street and never see a headline about it in the papers.

When documents are stored offsite and monitored by 24/7 security, you have eliminated the risk of theft, and can provide your customers with confidence that their information is safe and sound. They can also remote access their files whenever they need to, via a secure internet browser that has customizable security settings, including accessibility via IP Address restrictions and even time of day or day of the week.

Hand holding credit card while browsing ecommerce site on laptop

Time = Money and You'll Save Both

When your documents are stored offsite, they are also categorically indexed and organized for quick, easy retrieval at any time that you deem necessary. Instead of enduring the monotony of rummaging through file cabinets, file folders and dusty boxes, you and your employees are able to access records with a simple web request from a secure network that is set up based on your parameters. This stark increase in efficiency will allow your staff to streamline everyday tasks, resulting in heightened productivity and cost reductions.

Organization: Should it Stay or Should it Go?

Due to industry regulations, HIPAA for example, many businesses must store records for years, even if they are no longer actively used. But how do you organize all of that information, for both active and archived records? Leave that challenge up to the documentation management experts who can store and organize your records for you, yet still provide you with quick access for retrieval when needed.

Office Aesthetics: Creating A Happy Work Environment

When a new or potential client walks into your office, that first impression matters. When they see an office full of cluttered desks, towers of boxes, or rows of clunky file cabinets, that first impression may not be positive. A clean, clear, organized office presents a professional appearance that will gain respect.

Office space is expensive, and every square foot matters. If you can unload years worth of records into an offsite storage facility, you will free up valuable real estate that you can use for other needs.

R4 Services will work with you to create a secure document storage strategy that's right for your business. Browse our many document options or give us a call today to get started!

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Phillip Rooney Designated Grand Marshal of 25th Annual Rotary Run Charity Classic

9/10/2019

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Phillip Rooney. ILLUSTRATION BY ROBERT RISKO

Congratulations to our very own Phillip Rooney, who has been designated as the Grand Marshal of the 25th Annual Rotary Run Charity Classic!

Read the original article in Hinsdale Living by Sherry Thomas or check out some highlights below:

Phillip Rooney of Hinsdale has every reason to be excited about his designation as Grand Marshal of the 25th Annual Rotary Run Charity Classic (rotaryruncharityclassic.org). The October 6 event builds on 60 years of service and celebration of the more than $2 million that Rotary efforts have provided to worthy charities locally and around the world. He and his family—which includes wife Suzanne, their four children, and 13 grandchildren—are founders of the Rooney Heart Institute at Hinsdale Hospital. Rooney is also a Life Trustee of The Community House, past Chairman of The Economic Club of Chicago, and a Board of Trustee at the University of Notre Dame.

“Our family supports the Rotary Run Classic because it has provided millions of dollars in funding to such local organizations as The Community House, District 181 Foundation, Hinsdale Hospital Foundation, Ray Graham Association Hanson Center, and the Rotary Club of Hinsdale Foundation. These things make our community stronger.”

A Captain in the U.S. Marine Corps, Rooney’s life has been devoted to service, whether it be serving in the Vietnam War (earning both the Bronze Star and the Navy Commendation Medal) or the work he does here in the Hinsdale community he has called home for 36 years. By day, Rooney has been President of Waste Management for 28 years, Vice Chairman of ServiceMaster for six years, and Chairman of Claddagh LCC and several private equity companies for 16 years.

Read more here to see some of this proud veteran, philanthropist, and avid runner’s favorite lasts.

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Solutions for ALL Businesses

R4 Services' Sustainability Report 2019

3 Tips on How to Organize Important Documents at Home

4 Reasons to Use Document Scanning & Imaging Services

COVID-19 Update From R4 Services

The Dos and Don'ts of Destroying a Hard Drive Properly

The Dos and Don'ts of Destroying a Hard Drive Properly

How Common Are Data Breaches?

How NOT to Destroy a Hard Drive

How to Destroy a Hard Drive Properly

Out With the Old, In With the New: Keys to Having a Document Retention Schedule

Why You Need a Records Retention Policy

If You Lack A Records Retention Policy...

Documents You Should Shred But Probably Aren't

Personal Document Shredding: What Needs to Be Shredded & When

What Needs to be Shredded

Documents to Keep

R4 Services Green Initiative 2019

2019 Green Initiative Year-to-Date Totals

5 Reasons to Store Your Business Records Offsite

5 Reasons Your Business Should Use Offsite Records Storage

Security: Offsite, But Online

Time = Money and You'll Save Both

Organization: Should it Stay or Should it Go?

Office Aesthetics: Creating A Happy Work Environment

Phillip Rooney Designated Grand Marshal of 25th Annual Rotary Run Charity Classic

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