QuickBooks Pro Plus desktop 2020 to restore and backup data files get ready because we bookkeeping pros are moving up the hilltop with QuickBooks Pro Plus desktop 2022. We will be starting a new company file and practice data input from the start from nothing in this section However, before we do so we want to take a look at the sample file and practice the backup process. The restoration process practice being able to see what the actual software icon is versus the backup files versus the actual file that we’ll be using the data file as we enter data into the system.
00:36
If you can understand this, then and if you have access to the backup files throughout the course, you could use those backup files to restore to a particular point in the practice problem jumping forward in the practice problem and or reworking a part of the practice problem. To do this, we’re going to set up our folder this is a folder we’re going to be putting our data into. And I’m going to set up another folder that’s going to be called the second port or just new company file folder.
01:03
So this is going to be my new company file folder. I’m going to go into this folder, I’m going to create a new two folders and here, one is going to be carrying the data file. The second is going to be carrying the backup file. So I’m going to make a new folder. And I’m going to call one the data files. So these are going to be the QuickBooks data. Let’s call it just QB data files, QB data files, and the other is going to be the backup files. I’m going to rename it right click again, new folder.
01:32
And I’m going to say this is going to be the backup files. So QB bak files, backup files. And so there’s going to be our two folders, I’m going to go to the View tab and make that large so we can see them, I’m going to first open up the QuickBooks software, we’re going to open up the sample file. And then we’re going to try to get the data file for the sample file to be restored or stored here on the data files in this folder. So I’m going to open up our QuickBooks software to do so I’m not going to open up this sample file, but try to create another one down here by going to the open a new sample file.
02:10
And this time, I’m going to look at the service based business, I’m going to open up the service based business sample file, it’s going to say it will take a few moments to download the sample file because it’s going to create an actual data file that it’s going to have to store somewhere on our computer, I’m going to say OK, if then asked me where I want to put it. And I’m going to be storing it once where we just selected it in the actual data file. It is a QB W not a backup file, this will be the actual data file that it’s going to open up for us. So I’m going to say save that that looks good.
02:43
We’re opening up a sample file. So I’m going to say OK, and then it opens up the sample Larry landscaping and garden supply up top. So that looks good. Let’s see, we’re actually stored it on our folder on the desktop where we stored this file, minimizing the company file in QuickBooks, we then see that if I go into my folder with the data files, double clicking on it, there is our data file, I’ll make it a little bit larger icon. So it looks like this.
03:13
This is what the data file looks like. If you look at the extension for it, it’s going to be a QB W file. Also note that it kind of puts all this other junk in the folder with it. So that’s why it’s nice to have its own folder for the data file here. So now we have the data file, and we have the QuickBooks software. On the left hand side, you open up the software find the data file, it’s running the data file in the software similar to the word program using say a word document the Word document being opened and used by the word program,
03:45
allowing you to see the data. So now let’s do a backup file. For this, I’m going to say the backup file, I want to go here saving the backup, which we might do periodically to backup our data. So let’s see the difference between the backup file and the data file. If I go up top and say I want to go to File drop down, I’m going to create a backup file. And I’m going to create a local backup, we’re just going to put it on the computer. Normally you would want to put it on an external drive or something different than the actual hard drive you’re working with.
04:18
But for practice purposes, we’re going to put it on our hard drive which you might use for some reasons, such as given to your accountant or something like that. I’m going to say browse we want to find where we’re going to locate it once again, it’s going to be in this drop down. We’re looking for the second section this time we want to put it in the backup files folder. I’m going to say okay, and that it says do you want to remove the backups after three times here?
04:44
I’m going to actually remove that this time so that it doesn’t delete the backups after three times it adds the date stamp as we add it that is good because that tells us which the what’s the latest backup without us having to rename it and date it ourselves. Reminder Four times it’s going to remind us to give us a backup. This is the default for the complete verification, that’s the one I would keep and recommend. We’re going to say, okay, it tells us, Hey, you’re putting it on the same drive that you have on your actual data file, do you want to change the drive? for practice purposes, we’re going to say, No, we’re going to use this location and back it up.
05:23
So let’s go ahead and save it. Now it gives us again, the same location where we want to put it notice now it’s a Q, BB file, notice the name has the date and time on it, which is great, because that’ll help us to sort the backup files. When we have multiple backup files. If we want to use them, we want to use the latest backup file typically could take a little bit, a little bit of time for it to backup because it is a fairly large data file. So now we’ve saved the backup file, I’m going to say OK, so now if we go back to our folder and say, Okay, what do we have now in the folder, we now have the the data file and the backup file. So I’m going to make this large.
06:01
And we’re in this item. So now we’ve got the backup file, double clicking on it looks similar, but it’s different. If I go into it, this is a QB W. It says backup. I mean, this is a q BB file with an extension QB B, it says backup here versus the data file, whichever go into the data file, which looks like this, and it’s a QBW file. So when I open up the system, it’s going to be opening up this file. If I want to restore to a prior point in time, then I can’t open up the backup file, which is going to be the one we just created, I have to restore the backup file.
06:38
So notice, if you have access to backup files in this course, then you might be able to jump to future points in the course or go back in time in the course and rework something with the data to be restructured. However, you got to make sure that when you restore the backup file, it’s going to create a new file. So if I wanted to restore this backup file, then I have to realize that I’m going to restore it, the backup file will remain. And I’m going to create in essence, another data file, which I’m going to put here. And I’d like to name it something slightly different.
07:11
So I can say hey, look, this is the this is the data file that I restored. In other words, you got to manage which data file is the current one that you’re working with, you don’t want to mix up your data files, so that you know that you’re working with the latest data file. So five, restore this. Now let’s say I’m going to restore this backup file. And then I’m going to save another data file into this location. So I’m going to go back up top and say now I need to restore the data file, I’m in the program, you could close the current company you’re in but you don’t have to, you could just go to the drop down and say I want to open or restore another data file, it will close the current company file that we are in.
07:48
As we go through the process. We want to restore a backup file. I’m going to say next, we want to go to the local backup. That’s what we want. And then I’m just going to find that backup file there it is, if there were multiple backup files, most likely we would want to use the latest one, but it’s in our backup folder. I’m just going to double click that, then it’s going to ask us where do we want to put the backup file. So I’m going to say I don’t want it, I want it in the data file. So that looks correct.
08:17
So it’s in the data files. And then I’m going to rename this to something slightly different than this other data file that we have that is the exact same name. So I’m going to say this has a one next to it or before it, let’s say. And that’s going to be our difference between the two data files, it’s now going to restore a QB W file, the actual data file, we will save that and then it should create another file for the new data file.
08:44
So there we have it. Now if I go back on over to my to my data over here, we can see okay, what happened now. So now, we have in here are two folders, we’ve got within the data file folder, we got a whole bunch of junk in here, because whenever you have another data file, it puts all this other stuff in it. But now we’ve got mainly these two data files here. The latest one is the one that we lit enabled as one.
09:09
So if you’re working through the course and you’re trying to you’re trying to rework something, you’re trying to go back in time, you would like to practice something in the future. And if you want to backup and restore the data files, you want to make sure that you’re sorting the data files, so that you know which data file you’re in. And also you’re not putting too many data files in your on your desktop, because they can be fairly large. So you want to put them in a place where you know where they’re at, and they have their own folder, and so on and so forth.
09:36
And we still have the backup file over here. The backup file didn’t go away. It was just used to unzip and create another file. The backup file still remains. So now we’ve got one backup file because we’ve made the one backup. And then we have the QuickBooks software icon of course. And then we have the two data files that have been created from that backup file.
09:59
Also note that we Your when you’re restoring the backup files, then you can restore to a later version of like, in other words, if you’re using the QuickBooks software 2022, and the backup file was from software 2021 Then as you restore the backup file using software 2022, it will update the data file two through 2022.
10:23
If however, the backup files were created using software 2022 and you try to restore it using 2021 software, most likely you will not be able to restore the backup file in that case. In other words, you have to restore the backup file with a version of the software that is equal to or later than the version in which the backup file was created.