Scheduled backups

A backup is a copy of your company file and its signed receipts, locked with your key, kept in a folder you choose. If this computer is lost, stolen or the file is damaged, a backup gets your books back.

Set it up

1. Open Backups (Mac: the Backup menu, then Backups).
2. Choose a folder. An external drive, a network folder, or a cloud folder such as iCloud Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox all work for backups. Do not choose a folder inside the Pop Books data folder.
3. Pick how often (every hour, day or week, and the time) and how long to keep them. The defaults keep 14 daily, 8 weekly and 12 monthly backups, plus everything from the last 24 hours.
4. Optionally add a second folder, so there are two copies in two places.

Every backup is tested

By default each backup is restored into a temporary folder and checked: the file, the links between records, the edit history, the balance of every entry and the signed receipts. A backup that fails is removed and the earlier ones are kept. You are told why, in plain words, on the Status tab.

When the app is closed

Switch on "Run backups even when the app is closed". On a Mac this adds a small background job for your user only; on Windows, a Task Scheduler task for your user. Both check every 15 minutes and only make a backup when one is due. Turn the same switch off to remove it. No administrator password is needed.

Good to know

• Backups are safe to make while you work; they never copy the live file byte for byte.
• A cloud-synced folder is fine for backups. Your company file itself must stay on your computer's own drive, not in a synced folder, because a sync can copy it half written.
• A backup is only as safe as where it is. Keep at least one copy on a different drive from your books.