Backing Up Your Financial Data

Online Backup vs. Portable Drive

Backing up data on Portable Hard Drives

A portable hard drive such as a flash drive or external hard drive connects to your computer(s) and allows important files to be uploaded. Some devices can store as little as a gigabyte to more than three terabytes of data, costing from less than twenty dollars to a few hundred dollars. Using a portable drive requires employees to make backups, but many times they won’t have the discipline to back up your data on a regular basis, leaving the company vulnerable to data loss. Occasionally, we have seen situations where backups were made with a false security; the integrity of the backup was never verified and when a data loss occurred, the backup was unusable. In addition, to protect your business data loss due to a natural disaster, building fire, etc., data should be periodically kept off-site.

Using an Online Backup and Recovery System
A more reliable and safer alternative is an online backup service which secures your company files daily. Online backup services transmit your data to a secure offsite location that allows you to recover your needed files quickly from anywhere. Since there is no extra hardware involved, there are no storage devices that can be stolen, get corrupted or misplaced. In addition, your data is securely encrypted. You will also eliminate the expense of purchasing and maintaining external storage devices.

There are several online backup services to choose, including Intuit Data Protect (QuickBooks software) and Sage 50 Online Backup (Peachtree software) ranging from five dollars/month to a few hundred dollars/year, depending on the options selected.

If you have questions using online backup systems, please call or email us. We’re here to make your business better and welcome the opportunity to assist in the selection and implementation of a backup system to keep your record-keeping safe.