Backing Up QuickBooks

If you have ever worked with me as your QuickBooks Certified ProAdvisor then you know I am always reminding you to backup your data. Even if you have a complete system back-up software such as Maxtor or Carbonite you should backup QuickBooks within the software to avoid data corruption. To illustrate the point let me share a story...

A client called me in shear panic. While working in QuickBooks an error message popped up which said something about QuickBooks encountering a problem and needing to shut down. When the client re-opened QuickBooks her bank balance was off and other data was in question. She immediately called me. The first question I asked, “When was the last time you backed-up?” She said she didn't know, the computer guy handled all that. I asked her to call him and find out. I also advised that she stop using QuickBooks until I could get there.

The next day I met with the client and her computer guy. My job was to rescue her QuickBooks and help him understand how to properly back-up QuickBooks. He had set their system to do a complete back-up but had not set QuickBooks properly; therefore the data integrity had not been analyzed and had become unstable. Fortunately, the data was rescued with a rebuild and we were able to set QuickBooks automatically back-up properly. By the time we were finished both the client and the computer guy had learned valuable lessons and were sighing in relief.

Following are the QuickBooks back-up instructions from Carbonite. These instructions should work regardless of which back-up software you use.

How to Use Quickbooks Automatic Backup
Please follow the instructions below within Quickbooks to set up automatic backups. Make sure that the location for the Quickbooks backup files is a folder selected for backup by Carbonite.
1. Select File; Save Copy or Backup. This will open the Backup Wizard.
2. Click Backup Copy; Next; Local Backup.
3. If you have not already done so, click Options to set your backup defaults (such as where you want to save your local backup) then click Next.
4. Click Only schedule future backups (to create a schedule without running a backup) and click Next.
5. Select the first checkbox and enter a number to specify how often you want your company file to be backed up. For example, to back up your data file every fifth time you close it, type 5 in the field provided. The backup will be stored in the location you specified in the Set Backup Copy: Options window. To view or change this location, click Options. In order for Carbonite to back up the Quickbooks backup files, please choose a location selected for backup by Carbonite, such as your My Documents folder.
6. Click Finish to close the wizard.

Note: These instructions are based on Quickbooks Pro 2009. If you are using a different version of Quickbooks, the instructions for setting automatic backups may vary slightly. Please consult your Quickbook documentation for details as necessary.

As always I urge you to back-up your data. When asked how often you should back-up, my standard reply is, “Depends on how much you are willing to lose.” If you call me in distress my first question will be, “When did you last back-up?”