Making a backup is a good start. Knowing where it lives, what it contains and how to get your work back is the useful part. A little organisation now can save a lot of searching later.
There is a particular kind of confidence that comes from remembering you made a backup. It lasts until somebody asks where it is.
Was it on the little drive in the drawer? In Downloads? In a folder called “Old” that contains three other folders called “Old”?
A few small decisions now can make that conversation much easier. Start with one important set of records and work through these questions.
What is actually in the backup?
Think about the work you would need to carry on tomorrow: bookings, customer records, invoices, documents or the information inside a business application.
An application icon opens the software. It does not necessarily contain your records. A report exported to a spreadsheet may only contain part of them.
Use the application’s documented backup method where it has one. Check what it includes, whether attachments need separate treatment and whether the software must be closed first. Copying a database while it is in use may not produce a usable backup.
If you cannot confidently explain what the copy contains, that is a good question for the software provider.
Give it a home you can describe
“The backup drive, in the folder for this system” is more useful than “somewhere on the computer”. Choose a consistent location and make sure the right people know it.
Where you control the naming, a date and a short description help: 2026-10-14 — workshop records, for example. Use the same pattern each time. That is an example label, not a file format: keep the application’s required file extension and leave software-managed backup names alone.
Keep enough earlier copies to recover from a mistake discovered later. Agree how long to retain them around your work and information policies, rather than keeping everything forever or overwriting the only copy.
Put a copy beyond the working computer
A second file on the same drive will not help if that drive fails. Keep an independent copy elsewhere, with access and protection appropriate to the records it holds.
That might include an external drive disconnected after the backup, or a properly configured backup service. The NCSC’s backup guidance explains why separate copies and regular recovery tests matter.
Give the routine an owner. Choose a frequency based on how much recent work you could afford to lose, and check that scheduled backups actually finish. “It should be running automatically” deserves a quick look.
Know what your synced folder can recover
Syncing is useful for keeping files available across devices. It can also carry an unwanted change or deletion to those other places.
Version history and deleted-file recovery may help, but the options and time limits depend on the service and account. If you use OneDrive, Microsoft explains its recovery options. Check the equivalent guidance for your own service.
For important business information, the NCSC recommends an independent copy rather than relying solely on a cloud service’s built-in recovery features.
Follow your application’s advice about keeping working databases in synced folders, too. A convenient place for documents is not automatically a supported place for every application’s live records.
Try the return journey
The useful question is whether you can recover the work inside the backup.
Follow the product’s restore instructions. Where supported, test in a separate location or test environment so you do not overwrite current records. If the restore process would replace live data, ask the provider how to test it safely first.
Open the recovered copy and check something meaningful: a recent booking, a familiar document or an attachment you expect to find. Make sure you know which copy you are looking at, and return to the normal working system afterwards.
Record when you tested it and what you checked. That gives the next person something useful to go on.
Leave a short recovery note
Imagine handing the job to a colleague who has never done it before. These five prompts make a good starting point:
What: the system or records covered, including anything backed up separately.
Where: the backup location and how to recognise the right copy.
Who: the person responsible and who can help if they are away.
When: the latest successful backup and the last recovery test.
How: where to find the restore instructions and obtain authorised access.
Keep passwords out of the note. Refer to your team’s password manager or access procedure, and keep the note somewhere authorised colleagues can reach if the working computer is unavailable.
For Course & Class Manager, start with Records & backups in our software help. For another application, use its own instructions. You do not need a complicated filing system; you need a copy you can identify and a recovery process you have checked.
