Month-End Backups

In addition to daily backups, you should back up your data to removable media or a recordable memory device following the month-end lock to preserve month-end reports, as well as to secure your data. For month-end backups, you might want to have media or devices for each month. Otherwise, you should have at least two pieces of removable media or two recordable memory devices designated for month-end backups. With two pieces of media or two devices, you can alternate each month to ensure that you always have a pair of month-end backups on hand.

Month-end backups are your primary archive and need to be stored off site. You can use month-end backups to restore your data if the daily backups are destroyed, lost, or unreadable. You might want to keep your TireMaster month-end backups for at least a year. For tax purposes, you should keep your month-end backup for the last period of the fiscal year for six years.

Month-end backups are handled in the same way as daily backups. However, if you want to prevent additional transactions from posting to the month you’re backing up, you should close and lock that month. For more information, see Closing a Fiscal Period.