Automatic backup not running

Hi ross.kovelman,

I'd be glad to help you set up an automatic back up in QuickBooks.

Let's check to make sure if the automatic backup was set up correctly. Here's how:

1. Go to the File menu and select Save Copy or Back Up.  The Save Copy or Backup window opens.
2. Select Backup Copy and click Next.
3. If you haven't already done so, click Options to set your backup defaults (such as where you want to save your local backup) and then click Next.
4. Select Change Location or Use this Location.
5. Click Next.
6. Click Save it now and schedule future backups or Only schedule future backups, and then click Next.
7. Select the Save backup copy automatically when I close my company file every [number] times box.
8. Enter a number in the field provided, and then click Finish.

You can refer to this article for more detailed steps: How do I set up automatic backups, scheduled backups, and backup reminders?

If the setup is correct, please try to run the Verify Data Utility Tool (File > Utilities > Verify Data) to identify data errors. When prompted for an error, run the Rebuild Data Utility Tool (File > Utilities > Rebuild Data).

Feel free to comment down below if you need help with anything else.

Just wondering if there was ever a resolution to this?  I have QuickBooks Desktop Pro 2019 and recently upgraded to a new computer with Windows 10 and my automatic (local) backups are not working.  I have tried deleting the scheduled backup and creating a new one, double checking the backup location (manual backups work), uninstalling and reinstalling QuickBooks and also checking the compatibility mode.  When I try to change the compatibility mode, it doesn't give me an option for Windows 10 - Windows 8 is the latest version it shows.  I even called QuickBooks support and they told me I would have to pay for premium support or figure it out myself.  So here I am.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I'm glad you reached out to us today, Megan10.

I want to ensure you'll be able to back up your QuickBooks file. Let's get this scheduled backup working for you.

There are things that we need to check first before bucking up your QuickBooks data file.

• File Name Too Long - having a Company file name that exceeds 65 characters definitely can be the cause of your backup failing. We also have seen this when the file name has a lot of spaces, underscores, and special characters.
• File Too Big - If you're attempting to back up a QuickBooks file that's more than 3 GIG in size.
• Improper Drive or Insufficient Access Rights - Nothing will stop a QuickBooks Backup faster than attempting to shuttle it off onto an external drive or flash drive, or into a directory where not only you but the QuickBooks Database Server, hasn’t received the necessary Windows access rights (full permissions).

• Preference Setting Conflict - Another cause for automatic or scheduled backups failing stems from the use of the "Keep QuickBooks running for quick startups" feature. While QuickBooks goes through the motions of creating the backup until the very end, it never actually finishes. In these cases, a .tmp file is usually created in the QuickBooks directory where your file is resident.

Once you're done checking these things, you can try to schedule a backup again. If you're getting the same issue, repairing QuickBooks is a good start when it comes to fixing program-related issues.

Windows 10, 8/8.1, and 7. Don't be misled by references to the Installation Wizard. It is the Installation Wizard that runs Repair:

1. Restart your computer to close unnecessary programs interfering with QuickBooks.
2. Back up your QuickBooks company file.
3. Select Start and then Control Panel. (In Windows 8/8.1: From the Start menu, open Search and type Control Panel. From the results, select Control Panel.)
4. Select Programs and Features. If necessary, choose Uninstall a program.
   (If you don't see these options, select Programs, then Program Features.)
5. Select QuickBooks in the list of programs and choose Uninstall/Change.
6. Select Continue, then Next.
7. Select Repair then Next. Wait for the Repair to complete.
8. Choose Finish. Restart your computer if prompted.
9. Don't forget to download the latest QuickBooks release and the latest payroll tax table when you open QuickBooks.

You can get more details in this article: Fix QuickBooks Desktop (Windows).

I’d appreciate if you can update me on how it goes or if you ran into a different situation by leaving a reply below. I’m always here to help you with backing up your data.

Hello, I'll try to answer each item in order below:

- File names are not too long (do not exceed 65 characters).  The file names do have spaces because they are the company names, but I never had issues with the automatic backups on my previous computer (which was running Windows 7) using the same company files/names.

- Files are not greater than 3 GIG.

- How do I check to see if QuickBooks has the necessary access rights in Windows?

- I don't have an option for "Keep QuickBooks running for quick startups" in My Preferences.

I've already uninstalled/reinstalled QuickBooks and tried to repair it as well, to no avail.  I have a feeling it has something to do with access rights or compatibility with Windows 10, but haven't been able to locate the issue yet.  When I try to run in compatibility mode, it doesn't have an option for Windows 10.  Is there an update or something I need to install for compatibility with Windows 10?

Hello there, Megan10.

I appreciate you for providing a detailed information about your concern. Thanks for trying out the steps above to resolve your automatic backup issue.

If you wish to check if what user type and permission you've been set up in QuickBooks, you can follow the steps below:

1. Click the Company menu.
2. Choose Users.
3. Select View Users.

Since you've already tried all the troubleshooting steps suggested by my colleague above, you may need to get in touch with our QuickBooks Care Team. They have extra tools like screen sharing to take a closer look at the issue.

Here's how you can reach them: Contact the QuickBooks Desktop Customer Support Team.

Stay in touch with me if there's anything I can help. I'll be around in the Community to help you out.

Hello Charles,

I don't have multiple users for QuickBooks, and I wasn't referring to permissions within QuickBooks.  I was referring to QuickBooks access rights/permissions for Windows 10.

I have already called QuickBooks for assistance, but they essentially told me that I could either pay for premium support or figure the issue out by myself.  So, calling the QuickBooks Care Team is not an option. 

Anyone else have some guidance on how I can check the access rights for QuickBooks in Windows 10?  Is there an update or something I need to install for compatibility with Windows 10?

Thank you.

Hello there, Megan10.

Thanks for clarifying things out. Let me help you some more.

I'd be happy to walk you through the steps on how to check the access rights for QuickBooks in Windows 10. Simply go to the Privacy settings and choose which apps (QuickBooks) can use a particular feature.

Here's how:

1. Click the Start menu.
2. Choose Settings.
3. Click Privacy.
4. Choose the which app permissions are on or off. 

For more information about App permissions, feel free to check out the link.

That's it. Let me know if there's anything else you need. I'm always around to help.

Charles,

I've already done that and QuickBooks isn't listed anywhere under Privacy and it doesn't give me an option to add apps.  Any thoughts?

I am running into a similar situation and am trying to figure this out.  In the meantime, what I've done, once all users have closed out of Quickbooks, is copy the company files directly to another location on the hard drive as well as to a different computer.    This way I still have a backup of the company files even though the automated process is not working. 

I know this does not solve your issue, and you may already be doing something similar, but wanted to offer this option in case you have not considered this. 

If I find anything else out I will let you know.

I noticed this happening on both a Windows 7 and Windows10 pc.

Hi Megan10,

Thanks for trying the recommendation given by Charies.

The automatic backup feature should process once your privacy settings are configured. Since you're still unable to use the feature, I recommend contacting our one-on-one interaction helpline again for other options.

They have the tools to check your account and verify your applications. They can also conduct more investigation if you permit running the Screen Share tool. For their contact details, you can click the link below.

Contact the QuickBooks Desktop Customer Support Team

Meanwhile, you can also try the workaround provided by @smcl992005.

Keep me posted on how the call went, @Megan10. I'm still here to help if you have other QBDT concerns or questions. Just drop a comment below. Have a good one.

HoneyLynn,

As I mentioned previously, I have already contacted QuickBooks Customer Support and they indicated that I would either have to pay for premium support or figure the issue out myself.  There was no offer to screen share or help other than to point me to other community posts.  Hopefully someone else has a solution to share...

Thank you.

Thank you for trying the steps given by my colleagues above, @Megan10.

You can uninstall and reinstall your QuickBooks Desktop. Let me guide you through the steps.

Since you've already tried the steps given above, let's try uninstalling your QuickBooks Desktop. This way, you can download the latest release of QuickBooks.

Once you've uninstalled your QuickBooks, you can now reinstall it. First, you'll need to select your product version to download it. Once you've selected your product, click on Get the latest updates.

Then you can follow these steps to successfully reinstall QuickBooks:

1. Select Yes to All.
2. Select Next.
3. Agree to the Software License Agreement, then select Next.
4. Enter your License and Product numbers, then select Next.
5. Choose a new install location or select Next to install to the default directory.
6. Select Install.
7. Select Open QuickBooks to get started.
8. Activate QuickBooks and you're all set.

For further guidance, you can refer to this article: Install QuickBooks Desktop.

Don't hesitate to let me know if you need help with anything else. I'll be here to assist you.

Again, this is something I've already done.

Thanks for bringing this to our attention, @Megan10.

This issue has been reported already and our engineering team is working to resolve this for you.

Right now, we're unable to provide an estimated time on when it will be fixed. No worries. We'll update this post once we receive an update.

In the meantime, I suggest using the manual backups. You can also use the Intuit Data Protect to back up your files. This service works directly with QuickBooks Desktop to keep your data safe.

If you need to set up the service, please check this out: Set up Intuit Data Protect to back up files.

I appreciate your patience while we look into this. Take care always.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I had a similar issue running on both Windows 7 and Windows 10.  This led me to think that this may not be a "QuickBooks" issue, but rather a Windows user issue instead.

I opened Control Panel -->Administrative Tools > Task Scheduler and looked at the actual task within Windows.  I had the user set to the user that the task ran under (local user with admin rights to the local computer).  

I right clicked on the task and selected Properties.  In the General Tab, in the Security Options section, I changed the When running the task, use the following user account from the local computer user name to Administrator as well as checked the Run with highest privileges.

Doing that allowed the backups to start working again (successful backups for a week)

I hope this helps.

QB should be able to fix it and as this is a very critical part of QB.  very frustrating to call them and they recommend what axcactly you've done.  makes me wonder if QB even seen the issue?   my fix for this is, i quit looking for fix from qb, i made my own:  made a batch script which stops qb services then backedup and zip up the company file and restart the qb services... i've been having no issues...

my problem with following your suggestion is, security 101... never let normal users into local administrators group... unless you want to create a backup-user and do a run as?

@MaryLandT  Is this still a know issue?  If so, any update on when it will be fixed? 

@mwauki Amen!  IDP seems to have the same design flaw.  Requires a local Admin to be logged in for backups to even run. (I could understand requiring Admin creds, but requiring a local Admin to be logged in?)  They also encourage users to install the QB Server on a users workstation.  Taken together, this means they're encouraging people to run the server on a users desktop with full Admin rights.   Oh yeah, Quickbooks also requires Internet Explorer in order to run.  IE + Windows Admin + Average User = perfect recipe for getting a malware infection on your accounting server. 

@mwauki Have you tested restoring the backups created this way?  I'm looking for some easy way to automate backups without requiring a Windows admin to be logged in. 

Thanks for looping in, @craig7.

The QuickBooks Desktop's scheduled backup under Windows 10 is still an ongoing issue. It's already been reported, but we don't have an estimated time frame when it may be fixed. 

If you're experiencing the same behavior, I recommend contacting our Customer Care Team to add your account to the list of affected users. Please have our representative link the case number to INV-24197. You’ll be notified through email once an update is received. 

Here's how to reach our phone support:

1. Go to the Help menu at the top and select QuickBooks Desktop Help.
2. Click the blue Contact Us link at the bottom of the pop-up window.
3. Enter a brief description of your concern and hit Continue.
4. Select the support option that works for you. 

In the meantime, I suggest manually making your daily backups or investigate other apps or solutions like Intuit Data Protect to perform the task.

Add a comment below if you have additional concerns or any questions. I'm more than happy to help. Have a good one!