Backing up to a folder or external memory

Memory sticks and external hard drives are good options for backing up your data if you want to keep a secure copy offsite. This protects you against data loss if anything happens to your computer - like theft, damage, or a virus. We suggest using at least two memory sticks (also called USB sticks, flash drives, and thumb drives) or external hard drives to store your backups. That way if one fails or is lost, you have another.

Alternatively, you can choose to backup your data to a specific folder on your computer.

A safer and easier alternative is to use the Internet backup service, which we offer free to customers with a support subscription.

The procedures below explain how to set your data to back up to a folder or memory stick, but the procedure for backing up to an external hard drive is exactly the same.

After following this procedure once to set up your backup location or device, all you need to do to back up your data each pay cycle is click Backup Data Files on the front screen, then click Go.

To back up your data to a folder on your computer

Before you can back up your data, create a folder on your device where you'll store your backups. To keep it simple, create the folder on your Desktop.
Open Ace Payroll.
From the front screen click Backup Data Files, then click click Setup.
From the list on the left, click the name of the folder you created, then click Go.

From now on your backups will be saved to this folder.

To back up your data to a memory stick

Before you can back up your data to a memory stick, you need to know what your memory stick is called.
Plug your memory stick into your computer, then open My Computer or File Explorer and find your memory stick to find out its name.
Open Ace Payroll.
From the front screen click Backup Data Files, then click click Setup.
Click the name of your memory stick in the list, then click Go.

From now on your backups will be saved to this location. If you try to back up your data without your memory stick plugged in, Ace Payroll will prompt you with a window that says Backup Error. If this happens simply click OK, plug in your memory stick, and resume backing up your data.

To restore data from a folder on your computer

Open Ace Payroll, and from the front screen click Utilities > Restore From Backup.
The Make Another Backup? window appears. Click GO.
The Restore Data Files window appears. Click Setup.
On the left side of the window click the name of your backup folder, then click GO to close the window.
In the Restore Data Files window, click GO to restore your data.
The Backup & Data File Report window opens. Click GO.
To make sure your data has been restored correctly, we recommend checking reports such as the One Off Report and the Summary Report.

To restore data from a memory stick

Insert your memory stick into your computer.
Open Ace Payroll, and from the front screen click Utilities > Restore From Backup.
The Make Another Backup? window appears. Click GO.
The Restore Data Files window appears. Click Setup.
On the left side of the window expand your memory stick and click the name of your backup folder, then click GO to close the window.
In the Restore Data Files window, click GO to restore your data.
The Backup & Data File Report window opens. Click GO.
To make sure your data has been restored correctly, we recommend checking reports such as the One Off Report and the Summary Report.