Backup MYOB with Carbonite

Over the past few months I have been speaking to many small business owners about what they currently have in place to back-up their business critical files eg MYOB or Quicken files.

Many say they use the application’s backup process. Most don’t realise that it only sends the back-up file to their C:\ drive and should something happen to their C:\ drive, well then they could be in for a fun few days trying to recover records and an expensive bill.

Backing up your PC is critical. Not backing up is like placing your desk outside and hoping that its not going to rain or that the wind won’t blow your documents away.

The difficulty for most small businesses is that backing up is complicated and it can take time. There are however solutions that are simple to use, they can be automated and they are relatively cheap (16c a day).

Lets first take a look at what back-up processes MYOB has in place. MYOB creates a .dat file in which all of your records are kept. This file is named after what you name your company file eg if I called it ACME Pty Ltd my file would be called ACME Pty Ltd.dat. This file can be found in the following directory C:\BBasics1.

When you decide to exit MYOB it prompts you to perform a back-up of your records (the .dat file). I can only assume that most people would stick to the default process. MYOB proceeds to back-up your file and places it in C:\BBasics1\Backup   It actually creates a direct copy ACME Pty Ltd.dat.

Unfortunaley with both files in C:\, if the computer breaks down, is stolen or damaged, well then you have a problem. Backing up your MYOB files with Carbonite is dead simple. Just right click the file and select ‘Back up using Carbonite’. Within a few mins (depending on how big it is) it is saved. And now that you have selected it to be backed up, Carbonite will continue to back it up automatically for you every day (through-out the day).

Now regardless of what happens with the PC, the file is safe and secure.

At $59.95 for a 12 month subscription, you are talking about 16c a back-up if it was performed once a day. That covers all of your hardware and software costs, no matter how much data your have on the PC.

Carbonite is a must have for any small business that wants to secure their financial records. Get your free trial here.