If you run Quckbooks, then this article is for you. There is a assumption that if you backup the data folder where Quickbooks resides in, you are all set and you never need to run a manual or scheduled Quickbooks Backup. This is not 100% Correct, in fact never running a Quickbooks backup can cause a lot of harm – Logs grow huge, and database errors go unresolved. While leveraging a 3rd party Backup such as Big Sur Remote Backup, Big Sur Vault, or even Windows Backup is an excellent idea – you are ONLY backing up the data – not checking its health.
When you run a backup, a bunch of things are done. One of which is the system will process the working transaction log. By simply running a backup we have seen this log go from a massive size to almost nothing. With these logs, larger files = slower Quickbooks. Another thing that happens is the database is checked for errors and inconsistency’s –
We know not everyone closes quickbooks at the end of the day, and this can sometimes case issues that the backup can fix. Quickbooks from time to time may say “We found an issue with the database, would you like to rebuild” – That is typically ok to do, because its 1st run a backup before it checks the database. In most cases Quickbooks can resolve its own database issues. I have seem some cases where you need the File Doctor installed on a shared server. If you would like us to check on your database, please give us a call @ 813-269-9145 x2 to schedule an appointment.
As to when to run a backup, that depends on you. We recommend once every 15 to 20 Opens. (Here is the setting in the QuickBooks Settings) – Also think about this, if your quickbooks has an internal problem. And you do not run the backup, you will not know the issue is there. While your normal backup program will copy the file’s to the backup – it cant check the health, only Quickbooks can do that.