Back up (manually or automatically), restore and roll back your company database

Download a full copy of your company's data, replace it from a backup file, or undo a replace by rolling back to the automatic snapshot taken just before it. Only members of the Administrator group can open this page.

Before you start

• Replacing or rolling back affects everyone: the system is unavailable for a few minutes and everybody is signed out. Do it when nobody is working.
• A replace needs a .bak file made by BusinessSensor (from this page, or from the BusinessSensor desktop system).
• On-premises servers only: backups are kept in a folder on your own server. The page shows which folder under Where backups are kept.

Steps — automatic backups

1. Go to Maintenance → Backup & Restore.
2. Under Automatic backups, tick Back up automatically.
3. Choose the time (your business's local time), the days, and how many automatic backups to keep.
4. Click Save backup settings. The page shows when the next automatic backup will run.
5. Optional: click Back up now to take one immediately and check it works.
6. After each run the page shows Last automatic backup and whether it succeeded.

Automatic backups appear under Snapshots with the reason "scheduled". Only the oldest automatic backups are deleted to keep within your number — manual and pre-restore snapshots are never deleted.

Steps — choose where backups are kept (on-premises servers only)

1. Under Where backups are kept, type a folder on the server — for example a second drive (D:\BusinessSensorBackups) or a network share (\\nas01\backups\businesssensor).
2. Click Test folder. A small test backup is written there and removed again. Continue only when it says the folder is ready.
3. Click Save backup settings. From now on all backups go to that folder. (A folder that fails the test cannot be saved.)
4. Leave the box empty to go back to the default folder shown on the page.

Steps — download a backup

1. Go to Maintenance → Backup & Restore.
2. Click Download backup. Wait while the backup is made; large databases can take a few minutes.
3. The file downloads automatically. If it does not, click the Click here link.
4. Store the file somewhere safe, away from this computer.

Steps — replace the database from a backup file

1. Under Upload and replace, choose the .bak file.
2. Wait for the upload to reach 100%.
3. Type REPLACE exactly, then confirm.
4. A snapshot of the current data is taken first, then the backup is restored.
5. You are signed out. Sign in again and check the data.

Steps — roll back

1. Under Snapshots, find the one taken before the change you want to undo (for example "pre-replace").
2. Click Roll back, type ROLLBACK exactly, then confirm.
3. The current data is snapshotted too (as "pre-rollback"), so a rollback can itself be undone.
4. Sign in again when asked.

Tips

• Download a backup before any big change: a year-end close, an import, or an upgrade.
• Any snapshot or automatic backup can be downloaded with its Download button — the easy way to keep a copy somewhere else.
• On-premises: choose a backup folder on a different disk or a network share, so a failed system disk does not take the backups with it. A BusinessSensor Cloud backup add-on, which keeps a copy off-site for you, is available to buy.
• Pick an automatic backup time when nobody is working — backups do not stop people working, but they do slow the server a little.
• Snapshots are kept until someone deletes them, so you can roll back more than once.

Common problems

• The Download or Replace button does nothing / the page says I am not allowed → only Administrator group members can use this page. Ask an administrator.
• "BACKUP DATABASE failed" → the database server may be out of disk space. Free some space, then try again.
• On-premises: "SQL Server could not use the backup file…" → the SQL Server service account needs permission to the backups folder named in the message. Ask your IT support to give it Modify permission on that folder.
• "The upload may have failed" / "link has expired" → the upload did not finish or took too long. Start the replace again.
• The replace failed → your data is unchanged or can be recovered: roll back to the "pre-replace" snapshot taken just before.
• "Last automatic backup … failed" → the message says why — most often disk space or folder permission. Fix it, then click Back up now to check.
• The automatic backup did not run at the chosen time → the server may have been switched off or asleep. It runs within a few minutes of the server next being on.
• On-premises: "Test folder" fails with "SQL Server could not use the backup file…" → the SQL Server service account needs Modify permission on that folder (and, for a network share, on the share). Ask your IT support.