Journal · Backups · 2026-09-13
How to back up QuickBooks so a dead PC is not the end of the month
The company file on one desktop is not a bookkeeping system. It is a hostage. Here is the grown-up version for a 5–20 person shop.
The file that lives on one machine
If payroll, invoicing, and the accountant’s questions all live in one .QBW on a tower under the desk, you do not have a finance system. You have a single point of failure with a familiar icon.
We see this in Pikeville shops and Paintsville offices every month. The PC “got slow,” someone ran a cleaner, and now the year is a maybe.
A backup you have restored once
Copy the company file on a schedule. Keep a copy that is not plugged in 24/7. Open it on another machine once so you know it works.
If you already have a dead disk, stop installing things. Call. We image first when we can. Then the backup plan so this article is the last time you needed it.
Paint Creek Technologies is based in Paintsville and serves Eastern Kentucky on-site. Request an estimate.