WHEN YOU HAVE A SYSTEM FAILURE (POWER OR HARDWARE) AND IF YOU DO NOT HAVE AN ADEQUATE BACK UP OF YOUR DATABASE THEN WE PROBABLY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO HELP YOU RECOVER YOUR DATA.

IF YOU BACK UP YOUR DATABASE TO THE SAME DISK OVER AND OVER AGAIN THEN YOU MAY BACK UP CORRUPTED DATA OVER YOUR LAST GOOD BACK UP. AGAIN THIS WILL PROBABLY MEAN WE WILL BE UNABLE TO HELP YOU IF YOUR BACK UP SYSTEM IS NOT ADEQUATE.

ENSURE YOU READ THE SECTION ON BACK UPS AND UNDERSTAND HOW IMPORTANT A PROPER BACK UP PROCEDURE IS

Backing up the database is probably the most important and frequently overlooked or misunderstood aspect of managing a computerised bookkeeping system.

We recommend that you keep at a minimum 20 floppy disks for backups to give you a greater resource to rely on and go back to should a restore of your data be required.

NOTE:           Some new computers do not come with floppy disk drives.  To backup to a Compact Disk or USB disk/card, see the help file on our web site here

We suggest that you backup as follows:

Regular Backups

Use 6 disks to perform your regular backups on.  You should number these 1-6 and rotate them ie you should use a different disk each time you backup.

Monthly Backups

In addition to your regular backups you should also perform one at the end of each month.  We recommend that you use a separate disk for each month ie another 12 disks.

End of Year Backups

When you have finished processing for the year we recommend that you make 2 backups of your current year’s data.  Make sure that you do them PRIOR to the End of Year Reset.  This involves using a total of 20 disks:

• 6 for regular backups
• 12 for monthly backups
• 2 for current years data.

To do a backup is a simple procedure.  You can do it in one of two ways.

• You can choose Backup from the File menu on the main screen.
  or;
• You can make a backup when prompted on leaving the program.

When you choose one of these options the system will display the Database Backup screen.
You can choose whether to backup your Current Year’s data or Last Year’s data.
You should ensure that the Compressed backup option is used unless you are sure all your data will fit on to the floppy or other disk you intend to backup to.
Choose whether to have a date added to the end of your backup name (recommended).  This option only applies to compressed backups.
You can also specify where you would like to backup the data.  A: refers to your floppy disk drive.
You can also give this backup a description.

When you are ready to proceed you should place a blank disk (or a previous EasyBooks backup disk) in the disk drive and click OK.

If you need to go back to the data stored on one of your backup disks you can restore the data  by choosing Restore Current Year (or Restore Last Year if you need to) from the File menu on the main screen.

• All data
• Cashbook only
• Customers only

Be sure to elect to restore from a compressed or uncompressed backup depending on what option you elected when the backup was made.
If uncompressed backup the system will then display a screen asking you to specify the location of your backup disk.
You should place your backup disk in the computer at this stage.
You should click once on 3½ Floppy (A:) and then click the OK button.
The system will then read the disk and display the Backup Information contained on this disk and ask you if you want to restore it.  If you want to then click the Yes button.
The screen displayed for restore from a compressed backup is slightly different. However, the principle is the same as with uncompressed backup. You will need to click on the down arrow and then browse you computer to locate the 3 ½ Floppy (A) Drive.  Look for a file with a CPZ file extension. Highlight and click Open.