Example of a company’s dependency map covering invoicing, collecting payments, signing, administration, data access and service delivery. Each shows how concentrated it is in a single country and the status of the fallback plan.

Business · Foreign markets · Business continuity

Beyond a single country: a plan to keep working even if a border closes

We map where your company depends on a single country and, with your tax and legal advisers, prepare an alternative that is ready and compliant. In many companies the bank account, the contracts, invoicing, access to systems and the people who sign all run through one country. That works, until it doesn’t.

Talk to us about your situation The six critical points

The map comes first: where the company would really stop, point by point
Compliant in every country: every choice validated with your tax and legal advisers
Advice only: we don’t collect payments, make payments or manage accounts

Example · the company and the values shown are not real

01 · copy the link to this sectionThe situation

When stability becomes an assumption

People think of IT failures. But a country can also bring a company to a halt.

Business continuity is a company’s ability to keep serving its customers when something important stops working. The issue here is not where the company is based. It is the operational paralysis that sets in when everything depends on one place.

A few examples, without alarmism:

a bank suspends an account for checks, even when the business is entirely legitimate
new sanctions or restrictions hit a supplier or a customer
a cloud service changes its terms or pulls out of a market
the only person who can sign is stuck in another country
a port, a customs office or a transport link is closed for weeks

When it happens, the question is always the same. What do we do on Monday morning? Those who have prepared the answer know where to start. Those who have not must build it under pressure, while salaries, suppliers and customers wait.

Example diagram linking head office to a ready alternative for bank, contracts, system access and people. Each has its backup and the date of the last test.

02 · copy the link to this sectionWhere to look

Six points where a company can come to a halt

For each point there is only one question. If the country you depend on came to a halt, could the company do this somewhere else and stay compliant?

GEO01 Invoicing The company can issue correct invoices and tax documents, with the systems, registration numbers and authorisations required.

GEO02 Collecting and paying A second banking relationship is already open and checked. Recurring payments and salaries do not depend on a single account.

GEO03 Signing and performing contracts Powers of attorney and delegations are up to date. Contracts state where and by whom they can be performed.

GEO04 Administration We look at who handles accounting, payroll and compliance filings, from where, with what access and with which advisers.

GEO05 Access to systems and data Data is copied to a different location, emergency access has been tested, and data can be exported from cloud services.

GEO06 Delivering the service Alternative people, suppliers and warehouses are already qualified for what customers actually buy.

03 · copy the link to this sectionHow we work

From the map to the test

There are four steps. The last one is repeated at agreed intervals, like a fire drill.

Example of a regular test of the fallback plan covering emergency access, data copy, second account, powers of attorney and searchable procedures. Each item shows the result of its last test. — Example · the values shown are not real

Confidential dependency map

We map banks, customers, suppliers, systems, people and obligations, each with its degree of concentration. The work is covered by a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).

Fallback plan

For each critical dependency we set out a realistic alternative, covering who, where, at what cost and under which rules.

Putting it in place with your advisers

The choices are put into practice with tax and legal advisers in the right country, either the company’s own or ones we find together.

Regular testing

It works like a fire drill. At agreed intervals we check that the alternative really works, and we update the plan.

Engagement formats

Format	What it includes
Confidential conversation	Situation, countries involved, next step
Dependency map	The six points analysed, degree of concentration, priorities, summary for management
Fallback plan	Alternatives for critical dependencies, people responsible, test schedule
Periodic review	Testing and updating the plan at agreed intervals

What the company receives: The dependency map, the fallback plan with the people responsible for each part, the list of tests to repeat and a summary for management.
Timing: Lead times that depend on third parties, such as opening an account or qualifying a supplier, cannot be promised. The written proposal keeps them separate from the ones that depend on us.

Every format starts from a written proposal. We do not publish prices.

04 · copy the link to this sectionArtificial intelligence

An alternative only works if the know-how travels

A fallback plan often stalls on a simple question. How do we actually do this? The procedures for invoicing, paying, shipping and answering a customer live in the heads of a few people, in a single office. If that office stops, the know-how stops with it.

A Company Brain, the company’s own searchable memory, makes those procedures available to the people entitled to see them, even from another site. You ask questions in plain language. Answers come with their source and date, and permissions follow each role. Artificial intelligence also helps write the procedures, starting from documents, emails and interviews with key people. A person always approves the final text.

Company Brain Business continuity and disaster recovery

The know-how another site needs

01Written proceduresApproved and available to another site.

02Key documentsPowers of attorney, contracts and advisers’ contacts, gathered with role-based permissions.

03Data copiesKept somewhere other than the main location.

04Regular checksTo make sure the answers are still up to date.

05 · copy the link to this sectionReference

The rules to follow

An alternative abroad is only useful if it is compliant. Here are four references to know before you decide.

Updated 16 September 2026

Topic	What it provides	Reference
Tax residence of companies	A company is resident in Italy if, for most of the tax period, its registered office, its place of effective management or its main day-to-day management is in Italy. A foreign structure without real decisions and real activity does not change where the company is resident.	TUIR, Italy’s Consolidated Income Tax Act (Presidential Decree 917/1986), Article 73(3), as amended by Legislative Decree 209/2023
Anti-money laundering	Banks and professionals must know the customer and the source of the funds. If they cannot carry out these checks, they must refrain from the transaction or the relationship.	Italy: Legislative Decree 231/2007 (the anti-money laundering law), Article 42 · San Marino: Law No. 92 of 17 June 2008
Continuity in companies subject to NIS2	The mandatory measures include business continuity, backup management, disaster recovery and crisis management.	Legislative Decree 138/2024 (Italy’s NIS2 law), Article 24(2)(c) · Cybersecurity
Switching cloud provider	Since 12 September 2025, contracts must allow switching to another provider. From 12 January 2027, providers can no longer charge for the switch.	Regulation (EU) 2023/2854 (Data Act), Chapter VI

This box is for information only and is not legal or tax advice. For businesses in San Marino the framework is different and must be assessed case by case.

Sources (consulted on 16 September 2026)

06 · copy the link to this sectionPrinciples

What we don’t do

We don’t collect payments, make payments or manage accounts on behalf of clients.
We don’t set up companies, and we don’t provide registered addresses or nominee directors. Structures are put in place with licensed professionals in the country concerned.
We don’t design structures to pay less tax or to hide where decisions are made.
We don’t promise how quickly things can be set up. That depends on banks, authorities and professionals.
We don’t take on work without knowing who the client is and what it does.
We don’t replace accountants and lawyers. We work with them, in every country involved.

The question is not where the company is. It is whether it can also work from somewhere else.

07 · copy the link to this sectionFrequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions about business continuity across countries

Is it legal to have a second structure abroad?

Yes, if it is real and declared. An office or a company abroad with real people, activity and decisions is a normal organisational choice. It becomes a problem when it exists only on paper. In Italy, for example, a company’s tax residence also follows the place where it is actually directed and managed (Article 73 of the TUIR, Italy’s Consolidated Income Tax Act). That is why every choice is made with tax and legal advisers.

Do you handle accounts or payments?

No. Our work is advisory. We map the dependencies, draw up the fallback plan and run the regular tests. Accounts and payments, incoming and outgoing, stay with the company and its banks. Companies, offices and compliance filings are set up with licensed professionals in the country concerned.

How long does it take?

The dependency map and the plan depend on the size of the company and on how many countries, banks and suppliers are involved. Opening a bank relationship, qualifying a supplier or obtaining an authorisation, on the other hand, depend on third parties. That is why we don’t promise how quickly things can be set up. The written proposal sets out the phases and separates what depends on us from what does not.

Is this service only for companies that work abroad?

No. It also applies to a company that works only in Italy or San Marino but depends on one bank, a single supplier, a cloud service or one person with signing powers. The map exists precisely to uncover dependencies that nobody had listed.

How is this different from an IT continuity plan?

An IT continuity and disaster recovery plan covers systems and data, meaning backups, restoration and the order in which things restart. Here we also look at banking, contracts, people and the rules of the countries involved. The two plans connect. Data copies and emergency access belong to both, and our Cybersecurity division looks after them.

Where does artificial intelligence come in?

An alternative only works if the people using it know how the work is done. With a Company Brain, the company’s procedures can be consulted from another site too, with the source and date next to every answer and permissions by role. Artificial intelligence also helps write the procedures from documents and interviews. A person always approves the final text.

The essential parts of this page print as a short summary of a few pages, without images or invitations to get in touch.

08 · copy the link to this sectionContact

Where would your company stop? Let’s talk

A few lines are enough. Tell us which countries you work in, what depends on just one of them today, and whether there is a deadline. We reply by email, usually within two working days.

Please don’t put bank details, amounts or company documents in the form. They are exchanged once an NDA is in place.

Or write to us:WhatsApp staff@strategic.sm

On WhatsApp, messages are answered by Strategic’s AI assistant. Please do not use it for confidential information.