The issues with your QuickBooks company files are likely to appear. The files may be corrupted or lost due to certain reasons. Hence, most users prefer to take QuickBooks backup for their company files. It is strongly recommended as well. If you want to know how to backup QuickBooks desktop, you can stick through this guide. Here, we will also teach you how you can restore QuickBooks backup if required in the future.
The guide shows you a number of ways to take QuickBooks backups and restore them. It covers the following topics:
How Do i Backup QuickBooks Online?
As is well known, QuickBooks stores essential as well as confidential business records. Losing this crucial data or any type of QuickBooks company file may put you in danger. That is why it is quite mandatory for you to take QuickBooks backup to prevent any loss of QuickBooks company files. Create PDF files of important document.
If you are a regular user of QuickBooks Desktop, you should make this a habit to take regular QuickBooks online backup so that if you ever lose the QuickBooks data, you can easily restore it from the recent QuickBooks Backup.
Hence, in the article, you will know how to backup QuickBooks Online and restore QuickBooks backup. Let’s start off!
How to Backup QuickBooks Desktop?
To take a backup QuickBooks desktop, you are required to perform different actions. For instance, you can set the automatic backup in QuickBooks, set scheduled backups, or set up QuickBooks backup reminders.
By performing these actions for QuickBooks backup, you can never lose the essential QuickBooks data company files. So without further ado, let’s know how to create a backup file in QuickBooks with a step by step guide.
Step 1: Create QuickBooks Automatic Backup
As stated earlier, we can perform numerous actions to take QuickBooks online backup. In the first step, you will learn about how you can set up QuickBooks backups automatically. To learn how to create a QuickBooks backup file, you can go through the steps mentioned below.
- The first thing to do is to navigate through the File menu.
- Select the Save Copy or Back Up option.
- Next to this, you can select Backup Copy and then click on the Next button.
- At this point, you can choose Options in order to set up backup defaults (where you want to save the local backup) and hit the Next button.
- Now you can select Change Location or Use this Location and then hit the Next button.
- After this, you can click on Save it now and schedule future backups or only schedule future backups. Then, click on Next.
- Thereafter, you will need to select Save backup copy automatically when I close my company files every (number) times.
- After you enter your preferences, you can click on the Finish button to save the settings.
After following these steps, you can easily automate the QuickBooks backups. From now on, when you close the company file, it will be backed up in QuickBooks.
Step 2: Setup QuickBooks Scheduled Backups
In the second step, you can simply schedule the backup in your QuickBooks Desktop. This will help you to backup files at a specific time or a day. Let us know how to schedule QuickBooks backup.
- As the first step, you can click on the File option and then select the Save Copy or Backup. Doing so, a backup window will be opened.
- Then, you can choose the Backup Copy.
- Hit the Next button.
- Next to this, you are required to choose Options in order to set up backup defaults. Here, you can pick the option where you want to keep the local backup and hit the Next button.
- Now, you can select the Only schedule future backups.
- Then click the Next button.
- At this point, you can go to select Backup on a schedule option.
- Here, you need to enter a summary for a scheduled backup.
- Now you can search for the folder in which you desire to save the backup copies.
- Then, click on the Number of backup copies to keep the checkbox and then enter the number.
- In the next step, you can click on Store Password and then Store Windows Password. And, enter your Windows login details.
- After that, you need to choose a weekly frequency, time, and days for the QuickBooks backup and save the details.
These steps will help you to take the backup as per the preferences you have set. Setting the schedule can be a great idea as you just have to decide the time or days and your files will be backed up on a certain day.
Step 3: Setup QuickBooks Backup Reminders
It is not necessary to remember to take QuickBooks online backup on time. In this scenario, you can set a reminder for QuickBooks backup.
The reminder feature will allow you to decide when and how often you want this reminder to appear on your screen. Below are the following ways to set up QuickBooks backup reminders.
- The first thing you can do is to click the File menu and select the Save copy or Back Up option.
- After this, you can choose the Backup Copy option and go with the Next button.
- Next to this, you can select the Options.
- Then, your screen shows “Tell us where to save your backup copies (required)” field. Here, you can browse to the directory where you desire to save QuickBooks backup.
- Now, you can select the “Remind me to back up when closing data every (number) times”. Here, you can enter the number as per the requirement.
- Lastly, you need to choose the “Add the date and time of the backup of the file name” box. After adding the date and time, you can save the settings by clicking the Ok button.
This is the whole procedure of QuickBooks backup and restore by using different features. Depending on your choice, you can backup QuickBooks automatically, set a reminder, or schedule the backup process. This will prevent you from losing the Quickbooks data company file.
Now that you know how to backup QuickBooks online, you should also learn the process of restoring the backup. Continue reading to know more.
How to Restore QuickBooks Backup?
Now, we will know how to restore the QuickBooks Online Backup. But first, let’s know why you need to do that.
In case you lose the data someday then it is required to restore the backup you took earlier. This will help you to get your QuickBooks company files back to its location. To understand better, you can look for more information below to get this job done.
Before moving forward, you need to keep a few things into consideration to restore QuickBooks backup.
- Make sure that you restore the most recent file of backup.
- Restore a local backup from a USB flash drive, CD, network folder, local hard drive, or other media.
- If you took the QuickBooks online backup through the QuickBooks Online Backup, then you need to restore it right from there.
- Since your backup file is in a compressed file format so you should use the restore wizard to get the data back in QuickBooks. Do not use the Copy command from Windows.
Once you make sure of the aforementioned ideas, you can go through the following steps mentioned below to restore QuickBooks backup.
- If the backup file is not present on your hard disk or network folder, insert a USB flash drive, CD, or other storage devices.
- Launch the QuickBooks Desktop and go to the File menu.
- Then, you can click on Open or Restore Company. This will open the restore wizard.
- Now you can click on Restore a backup copy and click on the Next button.
- After this, select local backup and click Next. This will show you the Open Backup Copy window.
- At this point, you can click on Look (through the drop-down menu) and go to the location where you saved your backup file (the file extension should be .qbb).
- After selecting the backup file, click Open and go Next.
- If it is required then click on the Save button to navigate through the location where you want to restore QuickBooks backup file extensions.
- As the last step, you can select the backup file and click the Save button.
By performing these actions, you will easily restore the QuickBooks backups you have taken earlier. All you have to do is open your QuickBooks account and choose the local backup from your computer so that it can be restored.
To Wind Up
QuickBooks provides you different features to backup QuickBooks company files. For instance, you can go with automatic backup, scheduled backup, or backup reminders. Using these features, you can prevent the QuickBooks company data files from losing. In case you lose it then you can restore QuickBooks backup file extension to get back all the company data.
To make this process easier, we have given the step by step guide where you can learn to take backup in QuickBooks or restore QuickBooks backup if required in the future.
Apart from this, if you want to learn how to pay bills in QuickBooks, you can go through our detailed guide.