Backing up your data

You should make a backup copy of your QuickBooks company on a daily basis. If you should lose data for any reason, you can restore data from your backup copy.

Recommended backup routine

The Backup command does not simply make a copy of your company file; it also compresses the data into a compact file that is smaller than your company file.

Note: QuickBooks doesn't support backup to floppy disks.

Backing up your file

To back up to a local disk:

  1. Choose File > Back Up > To a Disk.
  2. Enter a name and location for the backup file.

To back up online with MobileMe:

Your backup is saved to your MobileMe account as an encrypted .dmg file for added security. You need an active MobileMe account with available space on your iDisk and an Internet connection to use this feature.

Note: If you used QuickBooks 2007 for Mac and backed up to your .Mac account, you can use those backup files in QuickBooks 2007 for Mac only.

  1. Choose File > Back Up > To MobileMe.
  2. Tell QuickBooks how you want to use your MobileMe login and password stored in your keychain.
    • Allow Once—Grants access this time only. You’ll be asked again the next time the application or server needs to access the password.
    • Always Allow—Lets QuickBooks retrieve the password from your keychain without any further authorization or notice from you.
    • Deny—Prevents QuickBooks from retrieving the password from your keychain. You’ll need to enter the password manually.
  3. Choose a password for your backup file. This password is used to unlock your file if you need to restore your backup. If you have saved a backup of your file in the past, you can use the same password (if you stored it in your Keychain). Or you can enter a new password for your backup file.
  4. Click Back Up.

    QuickBooks saves your backup file to your iDisk in the Documents > QuickBooks > Backup Files folder.

    Restoring backups

    To restore a backup from a local disk:

    To restore a backup from MobileMe

    1. Choose File > Restore > From MobileMe.
    2. Tell QuickBooks how you want to use your MobileMe login and password stored in your keychain.
      • Allow Once—Grants access this time only. You’ll be asked again the next time the application or server needs to access the password.
      • Always Allow—Lets QuickBooks retrieve the password from your keychain without any further authorization or notice from you.
      • Deny—Prevents QuickBooks from retrieving the password from your keychain. You’ll need to enter the password manually.
    3. Select the backup file to restore and click Restore.
    4. Select a location on your computer where you want QuickBooks to put the restored backup file and click Restore.
    5. When QuickBooks is done restoring your file, you can then open it from the location you selected in the previous step.

    To automatically back up your company file:

    1. Choose QuickBooks > Preferences, and then choose Company File Backups from the Show pop-up menu.
    2. Make any desired changes, and then click Apply.

      You can choose to automatically back up to a hard disk, to your iDisk, or both.