Don’t be “that” call!
Backup, backup, backup. Yes, we harp on the topic of backups here at ETHOSystems. This is because we are on the support end of panicked calls from clients who have experienced unexpected catastrophic events with their Sage software. Unexpected. Catastrophic. Two words most users of Sage 300 Construction and Real Estate do not want to utter in a single sentence. So, here’s the critical backup information for Sage 300 CRE.
Check-in with IT
There is no question that your IT provider is doing a wonderful job of backing up your data. However, if you never want the words unexpected and catastrophic to apply to you, there are a few things you should confirm with your IT provider:
- Does the current backup process include the 9.5 folder located on your Sage application server in the Timberline Office share?
- If the answer to the first question is yes, at least once a year, challenge your IT provider to restore that folder to a temporary location and review the contents. This folder contains all of the global files and customizations for your software, including security files, reports, inquiries, and the application menus you use to access those reports and inquiries.
- Does the current backup process include all of the data folders in your Open Company selection list? Company data may be stored in the Sage Timberline Office folder, or in a different location altogether on your network. The network path to your company data is shown in the Open Company selection list, so it’s easy to confirm those file paths with your IT provider.
- Are the backups of the 9.5 folder and company data folders viable? In other words, if you should experience an unexpected catastrophic event on your Sage application server, could those files be used to restore your Sage system? A minimum of once a year, we recommend completing a full recovery of those folders from backup followed by a migration of the Sage system to a test environment using Sage migration protocol. As a part of this test, Sage 300 CRE users should confirm in the test environment that they can successfully complete routine tasks and run reports from the restored data.
Simple and painless recovery
We at ETHOSystems hope you never experience an unexpected catastrophic event with your Sage software. However, if you do, we want the recovery from that event to be as simple and painless as possible. For additional information or guidance on protecting your Sage system from risk, or for any other assistance, please contact ETHOSystems.
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If you would like help modifying your financial statements or other Sage 300 CRE reports to export to Excel, please contact ETHOSystems.
by Kyle Ziegler, Sage Certified Senior Consultant