QuickBooks Desktop is one of the most versatile applications in accounting and finance for running business financials, and this includes computer-savvy home-based accountants and small business proprietors or larger organizations with thousands of employees. Since data is something precious and vital, all of us are more concerned about securing it. Following that logic, backing up your QuickBooks Desktop company file constitutes some of the most crucial practices for making sure that all of your financial information is safe. Discussing why you need to back up your QuickBooks company file, the methods, and best practices for ensuring your QuickBooks company file is safe.
Why You Need to Back Up Your QuickBooks Company File
Your QuickBooks company file contains all financial information of the business, such as customer details, transaction records, and payroll. Data loss in such files due to equipment malfunction or software corruption can also be caused by some unintentional action or deletion, resulting in serious impacts on the business. Backups not only help in retrieving lost data but also give peace of mind, which can give business owners the ability to forget about running the business instead of the frequent fear of losing data.
Key Benefits of Regular Backups
Data Recovery: If the software crashes or the hardware fails, you will have a backup to restore your company file to its last saved state.
Protection From Data Corruption: A QuickBooks file can corrupt easily for myriad reasons, including improper shutdowns. Regular automatic backups prevent the loss of critical data.
Version Control: you can revert easily to earlier versions of your data in case anything goes wrong; it becomes easy to track changes or recover from mistakes.
Peace of Mind: knowing that your data is safely backed up will set you free and free to work on growing your business.
How to Back Up Your QuickBooks Desktop Company File
Backing up your QuickBooks company file is a step that takes very little effort. Here's how you can do it step by step:
Step 1: Opening QuickBooks Desktop
Open the QuickBooks Desktop application, so that you are logged in as the Admin or another user at an equivalent level of permission to be able to exercise this ability to back up the company file.
Step 2: Navigation to the Backup
From the File menu, click Back Up Company.
Choose Create Local Backup. This is the choice that allows you to make a copy you can save on your local computer or external drive.
Step 3: Set Your Preferences
QuickBooks will open a window where you get to choose which options you want:
● Local Backup: This is the default choice for saving the backup to your hard drive or external device.
● Online Backup: This is a paid subscription service, but offsite storage does provide for an extra layer of protection.
For our example, we will use the local backup feature.
Step 4: Make a Local Backup
In the dialog box labeled Create Backup you have the option of adjusting how you would like to set up your settings for the backup process:
Save Backup Copy: Selected or deselect to enable File History to automatically save a copy or to save it manually.
Backup Location: You need to select the backup location where you wish to save your backup. It is always wise to save your data safely away from any kind of local disaster, and the best way to do that would be to use an external drive or some kind of cloud storage.
Add Comments: You can add a comment to the backup to identify it later, especially when you have multiple backups. In the Create Backup dialog box, you can tweak your settings for the backup process.
Step 5: Verify That Your Backup Exists
Once you have your backup procedure in place, then confirm if it indeed occurred. You do this by navigating to the specific folder you have designated for your file and look to verify for the .QBB extension. Next, open your QuickBooks account to access the "Restore" to confirm that all is well and good.
Conclusion
Backing up your QuickBooks Desktop company file is one of the most important things that every business owner and financial professional needs to do. In case if you’re having any questions regarding the same then you can connect with QuickBooks enterprise support team who are there 24/7 to offer you rapid assistance. You can reach out to our U.S. based accounting professionals using our support line i.e. 1-800-761-1787. We are a nexus of highly skilled accounting professionals, so don’t hesitate in calling us anytime, you’ll find the most pertinent solutions and answers to all your queries here!
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