How to backup and restore company files in QuickBooks desktop

​QuickBooks is accounting software that provides numerous online accounting services for companies. They also allow companies to back up their files to avoid accidentally losing your files. 

​You can back up files for multiple companies, and you can also make several external copies of your files. Restoring your backup files is easy and doesn’t take much time. Read this article to find out how to backup and restore company files in QuickBooks desktop.

How to back up your company file in QuickBooks?

Change your settings to single user mode by selecting the option on the ‘File’ menu

1. Still under the ‘File’ menu. Click Backup company
2. Select ‘Create local backup.’
3. Then, click on the ‘Local Backup’ option and the ‘Options’ button
4. Select ‘Browse’ on the options menu, and select a save location for your backup file.
5. After choosing a location, click ‘OK.’
6. Go through the options on the menu and add any features you want. You can choose to save your company file with the date and time for easy detection, select the notification that tells you to back up whenever you close a company file, and even limit the number of backup copies your save location can take. You can also choose to verify your data before saving so you can easily detect any damage in your file. QuickBooks allows you to pick between the complete verification or the quicker verification. The complete verification is recommended even though it takes a little bit more time.
   
7. Select when to save your backup copy; now, schedule future automatic backups, or both.i.If you decide to save it now, you will be asked to select a save location. You will see the location you previously chose, so click save to create your backup copy.

ii.If you pick any of the other options, you will be directed to a ‘save backup copy automatically when I close my company file box’ window. You can select that, or set a number of times QuickBooks has to be shut down before you get notified. Then click ‘Finish’

iii.To set a schedule, click on the ‘New’ option. Select when, where, and how often you want the backups to take place. Click ‘Finish’

You should always save your backups in different locations, apart from your local drive. This way, you can have several copies of the files in case you lose one. You can save your files on DropBox, Google Drive, and any other detachable media storage device like your flash.

How to restore company files on QuickBooks

If you store your backup file in any storage device, your file will be stored in a compressed format. Before you restore your company file, you need to use the restore wizard to bring the backup file back into QuickBooks. Don’t attempt to restore with the Copy command in Windows.

1. Connect your storage device to your computer if your file isn’t on your local hard disk.
2. Go to the ‘File’ menu in QuickBooks and select ‘Open or Restore Company’. This opens the restore wizard
3. Select the ‘Restore a backup copy’ option. Click Next
4. You will be directed to the Open Backup Copy window. Select the ‘Look’ option and scroll down to find the backup copy you want to restore. The file will have a .qbb extension. If you save with the date and time, you can easily locate the file based on when you saved it.
5. Click on your preferred backup file and select ‘Open’
6. Select the ‘Next’ option
7. Next, select the ‘Save’ option and scroll down to the location where you want to restore the company file.
8. Click on the backup file and select ‘Save.’
9. Reply to any inquiries by QuickBooks

​
When you want to restore your backup file, ensure that you restore the most recent one you saved so you won’t lose your information. Also, if the file you choose to restore shares the same name with another file in the same folder, QuickBooks will give you an option to replace the previous file with the new one. If you choose to replace the file, the previous file will get erased. If you’re not sure, you want to erase the file, click ‘Cancel’ and rename the file you want to restore.