Backing up and restoring company files

Backing up is the copying of a company file to some form of storage medium, such as a floppy disk, CD, a different hard disk or other media. You can also use the backup function in MYOB Accounting to create a compressed archive file that takes up less space. The archive file has a ‘.sit’ extension.

The Restore command closes the company file you’re currently using, decompresses a backup file so you can use it, and then opens the backup file.

Backing up to .Mac account

If you want, you can back up your company file to your .Mac account. This offers you an offsite backup option.

You can back up and restore your company file to .Mac from the File menu or when you are prompted to back up your file, for example, when you close your company file.

Note that, if you back up to .Mac, you will not be able to change the file name. The file name will use the default backup file name (for example, Backup MM-DD-YY Company Name.sit).

Precautions when backing up

Avoid common mistakes that can cause you to lose backups of company files:

■	Take care when backing up multi-user company files If multiple users access a company file on a host computer, always back up the company file that is stored on the host—especially if you create custom forms and templates on the host computer and then copy them to workstations.

When you do a full backup, you then ensure that the most recent versions of custom forms and templates are backed up.

■	Don’t store backups on the same hard disk as the software A single disaster can wipe out all your records.

■

Make separate backups A disk failure can corrupt your data in such a way that you may not notice it during a session. If you accidentally copy some corrupted data over your previous backup file, that backup is no longer valid. Without a valid backup, you would need to re-create your company file. You can reduce this risk by making separate backups to protect your company data—for example, at the end of each business day.

■	Store backups offsite Store monthly and yearly backups in a safe place, preferably away from your office. Except for daily rotational backups, do not reuse media.

To make a backup of your company file

The Backup command creates a backup of the company file you are currently using and compresses it to a smaller, more manageable size.

1	Go to the File menu and choose Backup. A company file backup window appears.

caution : If the backup process does not work

If any warning or error messages appear at any stage of the backup process, contact Support.

2	Choose the type of backup you want.

n	To back up your company file and templates, click Back up all data.

n	To back up your company file only, click Back up Company File only.

3	Choose whether to check your company file for errors before making your backup:

n	To check for errors, click Check Company File for errors.

n	To prevent error checking, click Do not check Company File for errors.

note : Maintaining data integrity

We recommend checking for errors so that if you need to revert to a backup, data integrity is ensured.

4	Select a location option for your backup:

■	To back up to your local disk, to different hard disk or to other media (such as a zip disk), select To a Disk.

■	To back up to a .Mac account, select To .Mac. Note that before you can back up to .Mac, you must have a .Mac account through Apple, Inc. For more information about .Mac accounts, see Mac Help.

5	Click Continue.

n	If you selected the Do not check Company File for errors option, go to step 8.

n	If you selected the Check Company File for errors option, note that this verification process may take several minutes.

6	Click OK in the window that appears when the verification process has finished. This window appears whether or not errors have been found in the company data file.

For more information about checking your company file for errors, either:

n	see step 2 of To check your company file for errors

n	press F1 for Help.

7	If you selected the To a Disk option in step 4, in the Save window that appears, select where you want to store the backup file.

The default filename assigned to the backup file is described in the following table.

Default filename	further details
Backup dd-mm-yyyy filename.sit	• dd-mm-yyyy is the date from your computer’s clock • filename is your company file name • .sit is the file extension and cannot be changed.

8	If you want, you can change the name of the backup file.

9	Click Save.

10	Label all your backups with enough information to tell you when they were done and where you were up to in data entry—for example, ‘Friday 4/5/08’ or ‘Backup as of 4/5/08’.

You can restore either from a disk or from .Mac.

To restore from a disk

1	Go to the File menu, choose Restore and then choose the From a Disk option. The Open window appears.

note :  

If the backup file is on a removable disk, insert the disk into the disk drive.

2	Locate the backup file you want to restore, select it and click Open. The Choose a Folder window appears.

3	Select the destination folder for the restored company file.

4	Click Choose. A message appears showing the file name and location of the company file.

5	Click OK. The Sign-on window appears.

When you restore a file that has not been activated, the Company File Activation window appears. If you do not need to enter transactions into the restored file, click I want to mark this file as Read Only and then click Continue to open the file in read-only mode. If later you need to activate the read-only file, go to the Help menu and choose Activate Company File.

note : Restoring from a CD

If you are restoring a backup file from a CD, the file will be read-only. To read data from the file, you need to change the file’s attributes. To do so, locate the restored file using Finder and click the file to select it. From the File menu, click Get Info and deselect the Locked option.

To restore from .Mac

1	Go to the File menu, choose Restore and then choose the From .Mac option. The software verifies that there is valid .Mac information in the System Preferences window.

a	If .Mac information is available, the Open window appears.

b	If .Mac information is not available, you are advised to get a .Mac account through Apple Inc, and then sign up. Once you sign up, the Open window appears displaying the location where you can find your backup file.

2	Select the file you want to restore and click Save. The Save window appears.

3	Specify the location for the file to be restored.

Related Topics

■	Checking your company file for errors