QuickBooks Desktop Backup vs Portable Files

Small business owners need to make regular backups of their QuickBooks files. Creating backups of company files protects against data loss. These backup copies function as insurance in the event of an accidental loss of data. QuickBooks Desktop provides multiple methods of backing up data at various levels. The type of file copy or backup and the periodicity with which a user creates depends on the purpose of creating such backups. In this article, we will elaborate on Backup copy and Portable company file, two widely used backup solutions available within QuickBooks Desktop.

What Is a QuickBooks Backup Copy?

In QuickBooks Desktop, a backup copy contains all the data of an account and its associated files. When users create a backup, the software will recreate everything associated with the company file, which includes transaction logs, logos, images, templates, invoices, and more. QuickBooks backup files are generated with the file extension. QBB.

While creating full backups could become time-consuming depending on the quantity of data, it is the most reliable way to ensure that users will not have to start from scratch if data is lost or gets corrupted.

Users can backup company files either automatically or manually. The option ‘Back Up Company’ appears in the File menu in QuickBooks Desktop from which users can either create a backup immediately or schedule it as per their requirements.

What Is QuickBooks Portable File?

QuickBooks Portable file is a more compact version of the company’s financial data that can be emailed or moved temporarily to another computer. Unlike full-sized backups that are difficult to transfer online even after compressing them, portable files that contain only essential information, such as transaction logs and other financial data, can be emailed easily. These files are significantly smaller as they do not contain images, logos, and other items. These files are stored with the. QBM extension.

What Are the Advantages of QuickBooks Online Backup?

In many cases, several users have to work with QuickBooks Desktop data. As more users are added and data is generated, certain files such as the transaction log (.TLG) files can balloon out of control and cause performance issues. Consequently, businesses are moving their backup online. Here are some of the advantages of switching to QuickBooks online backups.

• If QuickBooks has issues because of the machine on which it is installed, storing backups on the same device would not be of much use. Moving QuickBooks backups online ensures that the data is available at all times.
• In some cases, businesses might need to retain older backups for archiving. With online backup for QuickBooks data, users can avoid overwriting anything, and rename their existing company file or the backup, so the names are unique in different folders without worrying about space constraints.
• The risk of theft of data is eliminated, as online backups are not stored on physical devices such as CDs or pen drives.

Apps4Rent Can Help with QuickBooks Desktop Online Backups

While QuickBooks Desktop offers the option of online backups that could involve additional costs, the original company file is still on a physical computer that has QuickBooks Desktop installed on it. To minimize this dependency on physical machines, Apps4Rent offers QuickBooks Desktop on virtual machines as an Intuit Authorized Hosting Provider. These machines are optimized for storage and performance for QuickBooks users. Contact our QuickBooks hosting specialists, available 24/7 via phone, chat, and email for assistance.