As reliable as computers are these days, they can’t be fully trusted to provide you with trouble-free recordkeeping. As is the case with all machines, computers are capable of failure. In addition, interruptions in your power supply can seriously damage the hardware and software you use to keep track of your business. In short, you need to ensure the information you enter using your workstation is safe; without this security, all the information you’ve ever entered could disappear in a moment, never to be recovered.
As a result, we strongly recommend that you preserve your Accounting Plus information in another location regularly—and very often. The process of preserving your information in another location is called making a backup. The “other location” where you preserve your information is a file called a backup.
You can use the Accounting Plus Backup command to automatically create a backup of your data file, and the Restore command to use a backup file you previously created. Before we discuss how to use the Backup and Restore commands, however, please read the following information about backups.
Some facts about backups
- A backup typically takes the form of a disk, removable hard disk or tape backup system, depending upon the size of the information that’s being preserved. You can get information about these systems from most computer manuals, as well as the person who sold you your MYOB package.
- The backup program included with Accounting Plus will allow you to create a backup that spans two or more diskettes. Be sure to have an adequate number of formatted diskettes before beginning your backup if you choose this option.
- Additional hardware and software packages exist on the market today that will help you store large amounts of data.
Some facts about making backups
- The process of making a backup of your Accounting Plus data file is usually as easy as copying the data file to another location—a standard task that’s quickly performed on any computer.
- The time you spend making backups of your data file pales in comparison to the amount of time you may need to spend reentering data lost as a result of a damaged data file.
- If you use the Backup command, you’ll back up your data file only. Any custom forms, reports, spreadsheets and letter templates you’ve created won’t be backed up because they aren’t stored in your data file. You don’t have to back up custom information as often as your data file, but you should keep a copy of your FORMS, CUSTOM, SPREDSHT, GRAPHICS and LETTERS folders in another location. These folders are in the location where you installed Accounting Plus.
- If you don’t want to use the Accounting Plus Backup and Restore commands, other software programs are available that automate the entire process of making backups—not only for your Accounting Plus data file, but for your entire hard disk, as well. If you don’t want to take the time to make backups yourself, consider purchasing such a product.
(If you decide to use another software program for making backups, be sure to use the MYOB Accounting Plus data verification feature to ensure your data file isn’t damaged before you back it up. If you use a backup program other than the Accounting Plus backup program, you won’t receive automatic reminders to verify your data, so it’s very important that you remember to perform this important task regularly. See Verifying data files to learn more about using the data verification feature.)
- The MYOB Accounting Plus Backup command creates a backup of the data file you’re currently using, and compresses it to a smaller, more manageable size. Follow the steps below to use the MYOB Accounting Plus Backup command.
- Making a backup requires single-user access to the data file; in other words, only one person can use this data file when this task is being performed. If other people are using the data file, they must close the data file -- either by exiting MYOB Accounting Plus or by opening a different data file -- before you can continue. To see which users currently have the data file open, choose Active Workstations from the File menu.
We also recommend that you make multiple backups of your Accounting Plus data file -- that is, more than one copy of your data file -- and store them at different locations. The purpose of multiple backups is simple: Backups can fail as easily as computers can. If you’ve made one backup of your data file and a computer problem damages the data file on your hard disk, your sole insurance is the backed-up file. If the diskette containing the backed-up file is damaged, as well, you’re in just as much trouble as you would be without any backup at all.
Warning: We usually can’t help if you don’t have a backup
Not everyone makes backups of their Accounting Plus data file, and we at MYOB often hear from these people as they attempt to recover from damaged data files. As much as we’d like to help, the most common way to regain lost data—if a backup doesn’t exist—is to reenter the lost data, which may take hours, days or even weeks. Since you don’t have time to waste, we suggest that you strongly consider making a commitment to making regular backups of your data file.
Following a system of making backups
It’s important that you follow a system of making and storing your backups properly so you’re always covered in event of an emergency. Here are some suggestions for making backups:
- Make a backup each time you exit Accounting Plus. To make this easy to remember, mark the Prompt for Data Backup When Closing selection in the Security section of the Preferences window. Then, each time you exit Accounting Plus, an alert message will appear, asking whether you want to create a backup of your data file.
- Store your backups in places other than the hard disk where your company’s data file exists. If that hard disk is damaged, a backup file could become as damaged as any other file on that workstation. We recommend that as soon as you make a backup, copy that backup to a diskette or to a network location.
- Keep more than one backup from different time periods, such as days or weeks. Say, for example, you use Accounting Plus every day; you might keep five backup disks—one for each business day of the week. At the end of each day, you’d copy your backup onto the appropriate day’s diskette. The next week, you’d copy Monday’s backup onto the diskette that contained the previous Monday’s backup, and so on for the rest of the week. (Be sure to delete the previous week’s backup from the diskette first.)
You might decide to follow another routine—say, keeping 10 backup disks and reusing them every other week, instead of every week. The important thing is to develop a regular routine and to follow through with it. This will ensure that you’ll always have a reliable backup from a recent time period.
- After you’ve made all entries for an accounting period—which typically happens a few days into the next accounting period—make an official “end-of-the-month” backup and store it in a safe place. We suggest you label this backup clearly with the name of the month. At the end of the 12-month fiscal year, you should have 12 monthly backups.
- We recommend that you periodically restore a backup you’ve made and open the backed-up data file as a safety measure to ensure that the backups you’re creating will be usable if you ever need them. Backups can and sometimes do fail when they’re restored. These failures can be traced to problems with the backup media (disks, tape cartridges and the like), including exposure to magnetism, excessive heat or moisture. Problems with your computer’s hard disk can damage Accounting Plus itself so that the Restore program no longer works properly; this is a rare occurrence, but it can happen. In addition, restoring a backup can help you to identify errors you may have made in the backup process and fix them.
Restoring backed-up data files
The MYOB Accounting Plus Restore command closes the data file you’re currently using, decompresses an Accounting Plus backup file so you can use it, and opens the decompressed file.
If you want, you can use other software programs, such as PKUNZIP, to decompress a backup instead of the Restore command. Many other popular decompression programs will restore your backup files, as well.
Restoring backed-up data files requires single-user access to the data file; in other words, only one person can use this data file when this task is being performed. If other people are using the data file, they must close the data file -- either by exiting Accounting Plus or by opening a different data file -- before you can continue. To see which users currently have the data file open, choose Active Workstations from the File menu.
Optimizing data files
Over time, your Accounting Plus data file will grow considerably in size. As you enter transactions, then remove or purge them, the file will have unused areas that once contained the transactions you’ve gotten rid of. These unused areas can affect the efficiency with which Accounting Plus works with the data file, and they consume space on your hard disk that can be used for other purposes. We recommend that you use the MYOB Data Optimization Wizard to remove the unused areas in the data file and keep your accounting software running in top form.
The Data Optimization Wizard should be used whenever you remove many transactions or other records from your data file. In particular, it should be used after you complete any of these tasks:
- Starting a new fiscal year
- Starting a new payroll year
- Purging sales, purchases and journal entries
In addition, you may want to use the Data Optimization Wizard on a regular basis if the transactions you enter are changeable and you make frequent changes to transactions after they’ve been entered.
Verifying data files
As often mentioned, one of the most proactive things you can do for your business is to spend a few minutes each day to create a daily backup of your company’s data file. By doing so, you’ll keep yourself out of trouble if an unexpected calamity occurs, such as total computer failure or a damaging lightning storm.
Another tool you can use to keep your accounting information safe is the Accounting Plus data verification feature. By checking your data file for errors, data verification can catch minor inconsistencies in your company’s data file before they cause serious problems.
Note: What errors does the data verification feature look for?
Generally speaking, the Accounting Plus data verification feature scans everything inside your data file—from the transaction entries you’ve made into the MYOB system to the computer code that makes up the basic foundation of any MYOB Accounting Plus data file.
You can verify your data file at any time. To make data verification a daily routine, the verification process can also occur at the same time as the process of making a backup.
Idea: Use the Data Optimization Wizard to keep your data file in top form
