Often, it is important to do a backup of your data, such as before doing an import, a year end, or a file reorganization.

All data related to one BV company is located in one folder. It is often called ‘BVData’, or ‘BVCompany name‘  or just ‘Company Name‘.

You should also have a folder on your server called ‘Temp Backups’ or something to that effect, so that you can store quick backups.

In order to copy the entire folder, all users must be out of BV. When you click on the System Manager icon (4th icon from the right on your main BV screen), you should get the message ‘Are all users within the current company signed off from Sage BusinessVision?’. If you get the message ‘The Control file is currently unavailable (busy)’, then a user might still be logged in. (You also need to be out of all modules yourself. If you use BVEssentials, then all BVE users must be out as well.) You might have to reboot the server to clear the message.

Find your Data File

To find where your data is located, start BV and stop at the Company Selection screen where the company or companies are listed. Put your cursor on the company; look below and you will see the location of your data in the Working Directory box.

Copy your data

Go to ‘My Computer’, either by clicking on that icon on your desktop, or by choosing ‘Start’ and clicking on ‘Computer’. Navigate to your data folder.

To copy the entire directory:

• Right click on the data folder (as noted from the Working Directory of the Company Selection screen). Select ‘Copy’.
• Navigate to the ‘Temp Backups’ directory or some other suitable folder on your server.
• Right click there and click ‘Paste’.

If a problem occurs with whatever you were trying to do, you will have to re-instate the backup.

• Delete the live copy of the data (or rename it to something like ‘BVDataCorrupt’ and move it to your Temp Backups folder
• Copy the backup from the Temp Backups folder and paste it back to the original location.

Check your data

Ensure you have achieved the desired result before you let any users back into BV.

If BV hung during a routine, you may see files that start with ‘N_’ in the data folder. If this is the case, you should re-instate your backup.