Back up company files

Back up your QuickBooks company file daily. Backup copies are important insurance—if you lose data for any reason, you can restore the data from your backup copy.

Common questions about backing up company files

Why can't I select my CD drive letter in the Location field?

Windows XP overrides the CD drive letter with its CD Burning folder location. See Backing up to a CD using Windows XP for more information.
Can I back up or restore data for a specific date range?

No. QuickBooks backs up all data within a company data file.
How can I change the company file that I'm backing up?

QuickBooks can only back up the company file that you're currently in. To back up a different company file, open the company file you want to back up, and then go to the File menu and click Save Copy or Backup.
When do I use a backup vs. portable company file?
Do payroll tax forms get saved with backups?

Steps to back up your company file

To do this task

Choose how you'd like to back up your company file:

Back up to CD using Windows XP

Back up to CD using Windows Vista

Back up to CD using Windows 2000

Back up to a USB flash drive, Zip disk, or network folder

Back up using QuickBooks Online Backup (requires service subscription)

Create a temporary backup on my computer