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Update concerning R8:

Some users are experiencing problems with QuickBooks 2011 after updating to R8.  Many are advising to hold off on installing R8 until Intuit fixes the problems.

If you have already updated to 2011 QB R8, then you can review the following article from Intuit:
http://support.quickbooks.intuit.com/Support/Articles/SLN53363 for more information.

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In addition to setting QuickBooks to automatically backup after so many openings of the file, you can also set up an automatic schedule based on time.

First open QuickBooks in the company file you want to set up a scheduled backup and in the FILE menu and click on Create Backup.

In the Create Backup window, select the Local Backup radio button and click the Next button.

In the next window you will be prompted for: “When do you want to save your backup copy?”  Click on the radio button next to “Save it now and schedule future backups” or “Only Schedule future backups”.  Click Next.

In the following window, in the “Back up on a schedule” section, click the NEW button.

In the Schedule Backup window, enter a description for this backup… something like “Daily Backup” or anything else you prefer.  Also, enter the location on your computer that you want to save the backup as well as the number of backup copies to keep.

Next select the time of day you want the backup to run.  One suggestion is to run it just before activities begin for the day or just after close of business for the day.  Be sure to set it for a time when the computer is turned on, but not being used.

If you have a user password on the company file, you will also need to enter the file password.

I like to schedule backups to run after close of business daily, weekly and monthly.

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For you QuickBooks for Mac 2011 users, if you have not already been notified, Intuit has released the R9 update.

You can find out more about what is included in this release at Intuit’s Release Notes.

The update can be downloaded from Intuit from their Product Update page.

This is a free product update from Intuit that may help resolve some of the problems you are having with QuickBooks.

If you want to confirm whether you already have this update release, open your copy of QuickBooks for Mac and press Function+F2 and check the release version you are running.

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Oftentimes you will hear advice to backup your QuickBooks file on a regular basis.  Unfortunately, the term “backup” is often used to mean different things.  A QuickBooks Backup is not to be confused with any of the many options available to backup your data files, or entire data drives or system drives.  These backups are NOT the same as a QuickBooks backup.  Simply making a copy of the QBW data file does not insure that you can recover all elements of your QuickBooks installation.

Moreover, when the QuickBooks backup routine is activated, QuickBooks initiates a series of procedures that begin with a test the integrity of the data file and then collects all the information QuickBooks needs to restore the installation.  Not all the active data is stored in the QBW file.

If, as Intuit recommends, the option is selected in the Backup Options menu to do a complete verification of the data file , QuickBooks will perform a test to insure that the data file’s integrity is ok.  This file verification analysis can become crucial to maintaining the integrity of the database.

After the file verification is complete QuickBooks will flush out the “tlg” file - a temporary file created by QuickBooks that provides the information that Intuit’s Tech Support will need to help you restore a corrupt data file.  This file contains all the transactions posted since the last full internal backup.  If the tlg file is not flushed on a regular basis, however, it will continue to grow in size - often surpassing the size of the core QBW file and possibly slowing system performance.  This tlg file is flushed automatically whenever a full internal QuickBooks backup is performed.  It is NOT flushed when an external data or system backup is executed by some other program or process.

The final QBB backup file will contain all the information from the various QuickBooks data files that is needed to restore your QuickBooks installation.  This includes the “lmr” file that contains the Loan Manager data, the various letter templates and other data which are not stored in the main QBW file.  When using its Restore Utility, in addition to restoring the main QBW file, QuickBooks provides a separate “restore” directory that contains the files and instructions necessary for completing the restoration process.

There are some exceptions, of course, like the FAM module.  If you use the Fixed Asset Manager to track assets and calculate depreciation, then you will need to perform the FAM backup from within the FAM module itself as well as any third-party add-on applications that manage separate data files.

When QuickBooks completes its internal backup process it produces a QBB backup file in the directory you selected earlier in the process.  It is usually recommended that you store a second copy of this QBB backup file in an off-site location.  This can serve as part of your disaster recovery plan should the main backup drives somehow become inaccessible or destroyed or simply fail mechanically – and as you know, all hard drives will eventually fail.  Having two copies of the QBB backup file (with one in a separate location, off premises) helps protect your ability to easily recreate your QuickBooks records.

Intuit even offers a “cloud-based” online backup service (at an additional fee, of course) which may provide you with the additional data security you need.  Or simply copy the QBB backup file to an external portable hard drive or “memory stick” and store it in an secure 0ff-site location.

You can even use the QuickBooks scheduled backup feature to automatically perform a backup on a regular basis from within your desktop QuickBooks.

More on setting up a backup schedule in my next post…

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If you use QuickBooks on a regular basis learning and using Keyboard Shortcuts can help making your bookkeeping efforts faster and more effective.  Try these out: