Are you practicing good backup habits?

Do you back up your QuickBooks file regularly? If not, you risk losing your data. Follow these tips to make sure your information is there when you need it:

• Frequency. How often you need to back up depends on the volume of data your team inputs. For example, if your team inputs data once a week, you don't need daily backups.

If you do need daily backups, save on five to seven rewritable CDs or Zip disks in rotation so you can identify each backup set by the day. This way, you'll have a good backup even if you didn't identify an error for several days. If you used only two backup disks, you might mistakenly copy bad data onto both.

• Storage. Store backup files securely somewhere in your office that's easily accessible. Then at least once a week, store a complete backup disk at home and rotate the previous week's off-site backup disk back to the practice.

• Backup procedure. To back up your data, make sure you're in single-user mode, select "File" from the menu bar and choose "Back Up." After verifying the backup name and location, click "Back Up" to create the backup. If you're using a rewritable CD, QuickBooks backs up to a temporary location until you perform the task "Write these files to CD" under the "CD Writing Tasks" window.

• Testing. All too often, practices attempt to restore a backup only to find that it contains little or no data. To verify that your backup procedure works, periodically restore a backup to a temporary file name in QuickBooks and check for any missing data, but do not replace your existing company information.

Doing these jobs does take a little time each day. But those backups could be a lifesaver if disaster strikes.