Backing up your books

Downloading a backup#

A backup is everything in your books as they are right now, in one zip file you keep. It opens on any computer, and you can use it without EscBooks: hand it to your accountant, keep it with your records, or take your books elsewhere.

1. Open Settings → Backup.
2. Choose what goes in. Records always does. Tick or untick Spreadsheets, Receipts, Bank statements and Logo; receipts and statements show how many files they'd add.
3. Click Download Backup. If you haven't proved it's you in the last 10 minutes, Confirm It's You asks for your password, or a code with two-step on (see Keeping your account safe).
4. The steps show as it's built. With a lot of receipts it can take a minute; keep the page open until the file downloads.

Only an owner can download a backup. Each one is recorded in your Recent Activity, and every owner is emailed about it, because the file holds bank account and tax ID numbers. Keep it somewhere safe.

What's in the zip#

• data/: every record in your books, one file per kind, with every detail kept. These are what your books can be restored from.
• spreadsheets/: your clients, projects, invoices, payments, expenses, time and more as CSV files, with a name beside each id. Each year has a folder with its profit and loss by month, general ledger and trial balance, the same as Reports shows.
• receipts/ and statements/: the files you attached and the statements you brought in.
• README.txt says what's where, and manifest.json lists every file with its size and a checksum, to check a copy is whole.

Left out: links you shared, connected assistants and bank connections (connect them again), your sign-in and security settings, and your subcontractors' full tax ID numbers (the last four digits are kept).