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You are here: Home / Archives for KnowledgeBase / QuickBooks Files / Data File Management

Data File Management

What Are the File Types Used By QuickBooks and How Are They Used?

Chief Mechanic · September 4, 2010 ·

QuickBooks Pro, Premier, and Enterprise Solutions make use of the following file types:

File Types for Common User Tasks:

QuickBooks File Types - Common User Tasks

File Types for Backing Up, Importing/Exporting, and Exchanging Data:

QuickBooks File Types - Backing Up, Importing/Exporting, and Exchanging Data

File Types for Working With An Accountant:

QuickBooks File Types - Working With An Accountant

The information contained in the tables in this article is also available as a downloadable PDF of QuickBooks file types.

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Are There Any Restrictions On the Company Name I Enter?

Chief Mechanic · September 4, 2010 ·

Yes.  Your company filename must meet these requirements:

  • it should contain only alphanumeric characters
  • it can’t contain special characters, such as /, – . ( ) < > | [ ] { } ?
  • it can’t contain the space character
  • it must contain no more than 64 characters, 4 of which are the trailing .qbw
  • the entire file path for the company name must be 256 characters or less

When you first specify the name of your company, QuickBooks uses that information for the name of the QuickBooks company file (.qbw). Once you have created a company file that doesn’t violate the restrictions, you can safely change the name of the company within QuickBooks and include characters otherwise prohibited. If you’ve already created a company file with a filename that includes prohibited characters, you can safely rename it.

Some ignore these file naming requirements. Having created a QuickBooks company file name that violates them and observing no apparent problems, one might be tempted to falsely conclude that the requirements don’t apply. Instead, they do apply, and it’s likely only a matter of time before a failed operation can be traced to violating these file naming requirements.

A great example of this is a situation we observed in QuickBooks 2009 with a company file name that ended in a space (e. g., MyCompany .qbw), just before the file type. That lone space blocked QuickBooks’ automatic backup procedure from working. The failed operation gave no error message and no hint that it was due to a violation of the file naming requirements.

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How Do I Perform a Manual Backup?

Chief Mechanic · September 4, 2010 ·

From within QuickBooks itself, you can perform a manual backup.  See our related article for information on how to perform scheduled backups.

A backup can be performed to a local hard disk, a network drive, or a USB drive.  QuickBooks compresses data in a backup file, and the scope of the data actually backed up has changed over the years.  See our related article for what’s included in a backup file made with the integrated QuickBooks backup function.

A manual backup will have the name:

[companyID] (date time).QBB

To perform a manual backup, start by clicking on the File->Save Copy or Backup… menu selection.

QuickBooks Premier 2009 Backup

Click the Next button to display the Save Copy or Backup window. Choose Local Backup and click Next.

QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 10 Save Backup

When the follow-up Save Copy or Backup window appears, choose the Save it now option and click Next.

QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 10 Save Backup 2

You’ll next be prompted to specify the location and file name of your .QBB backup file.  By default, the file name is set to your company file name followed by the date and time in parentheses, but you can change it to suit your needs.

Alternately, before the preceding step, you may choose to click the Options button.  Doing so will allow you to manage several backup settings, the most important of which is verification.  By default, a manual backup is set to complete verification.

QuickBooks Premier 2009 Backup Options

Verification is the process of checking the company file and the internal database for possible damage. Complete verification is not available in multi-user mode. If you opt for at least some data verification prior to backup, QuickBooks will automatically create a transaction log file (.tlg). The transaction log file records changes to your company file since the last backup and can be used in extreme circumstances to recover data from recent transactions.

Once you’ve chosen to use the location you’ve entered, you can continue to perform a manual backup by clicking Ok.

If you opt to save your backup on the same drive that holds your QuickBooks company file (.qbw), you’ll be warned to choose another location. Depending on the role that this manual backup plays in your overall backup strategy, this warning may not be relevant. You can either click Use this Location and continue or choose a different location by clicking Change Location.

QuickBooks Premier 2009 Backup Location Warning

QuickBooks will now perform a manual backup based on your verification setting and display a message similar to the one below once the process is complete:

QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 10 Backup Complete
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What Information Does the Integrated Quickbooks Backup Function Actually Back Up?

Chief Mechanic · September 4, 2010 ·

Over the time, the scope of the information that the QuickBooks backup function actually backs up has increased.  As a result, a backup file (.qbb) is often much bigger than the company file (.qbw) itself.

If you’re using an older version of QuickBooks and you’re relying on the integrated backup function as your sole backup, you should check the Help file included with your version to make sure important files are included.

For QuickBooks 2008 through 2010, here’s a list of what is included in a .QBB file created with the integrated QuickBooks backup function:

  1. The company file (.qbw)
  2. Letters and templates
  3. Logos and images
  4. Printer settings
  5. Spell check files, including the user dictionary
  6. Financial Statement Designer files, including client and data files
  7. The transaction log (.tlg) file
  8. ND files (.nd)
  9. Cash Flow Projector (.cfp) files
  10. Business Planner (.bpw) files
  11. Loan Manager (.lmr) files

For more information on what’s included in a backup, consult this Intuit knowledgebase article.

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How Do I Verify My Company File?

Chief Mechanic · August 30, 2010 ·

QuickBooks includes a utility to verify a company file to check for damage.  Verifying a company file is a routine procedure.  To verify your company file, visit the File->Utilities->Verify Data menu selection.

File verification will proceed on its own, updating its status as shown below.  If you need to cancel the verification process, press Esc.

QuickBooks Premier 2009 Verify Utility Working

Under normal circumstances, the verification process will complete and not find any problems, as shown below.  Simply click Ok to return to other tasks.

QuickBooks Premier 2009 Verify Utility Success

In the event the verification process finds a problem, you’ll see the Warning screen shown below.  Click Close and proceed to use the Rebuild Data function to fix this problem.

QuickBooks Premier 2009 Verify Utility Warning
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