Before you start a new payroll year, make a backup of your company file. Once the previous year is closed, detailed payroll information is no longer available and W-2 forms, and 1099 statements cannot be printed for that year.

When you create the backup, name it with the year in the file name, for example payroll2011. This file, when restored will be used to print W2’s, 1099’s and reports for that year.

For more information, see ‘Backing up and restoring company files’.