Back Up Company saves a complete copy of your company's books as one ZIP file, in a folder you choose. Your company itself is kept on SeroBooks' servers, so you do not need a backup to protect everyday work; this copy is the one that belongs to you. Keep it with your records, hand it to your accountant or auditor, or load it back later with Restore Company.
Every file inside is a plain spreadsheet (CSV) with a README that explains what each file holds and how they join, so anyone can open it in Excel without SeroBooks.
Making a backup, step by step
- Choose File ▸ Back Up Company…. The page opens over the Home Page; Esc takes you back to the Home Page.
- Under WHAT TO BACK UP, choose The whole company, from the beginning, or One period only and set From and To.
- Tick Include attached files (receipts, scanned bills) if you want the attachments themselves in the backup.
- Press Back Up Now. The message "Building the backup — a busy year can take a minute or two." shows while it works.
- A save window opens. Choose where to save the ZIP file and press Save.
- SeroBooks shows "Backed up to folder and file name" with a count of what went in (for example "1,204 invoices, 3,881 invoice lines, 412 bills…").
The page, field by field
| Field or button | What it means |
|---|---|
| Last backup from this computer | When the last backup was made on this computer, and where it was saved. Shown once you have made one here. |
| The whole company, from the beginning | Every document from the start of your books to today. |
| One period only | Only documents dated between From and To. When you choose it, From starts at 1 January of this year and To at today. |
| From / To | The period to back up, when One period only is chosen. |
| Include attached files (receipts, scanned bills) | Puts the attached files themselves in the backup. "Much larger. Without them the backup still lists every attachment." |
| Back Up Now | Builds the backup and asks where to save it. |
| Restore Company… | Opens Restore Company. |
What is in the backup
The file is named after your company and the period, for example Maple-Supply-Ltd-2026-01-01-to-2026-09-25.zip. Inside:
| File | What it holds |
|---|---|
| README.txt | What each file is, how they join, the period, and any warnings. Start here. |
| chart_of_accounts.csv | Every account. |
| trial_balance.csv | The trial balance at the end of the period, with totals and a line saying whether it balances. |
| general_ledger.csv | Every ledger line in the period, each naming the document it came from. |
| journals.csv | General journal entries: reference, date, note and who entered each one. Their lines are in the general ledger file. |
| invoices.csv and invoice_lines.csv | Sales invoices and their lines. |
| credit_notes.csv | Credit memos. |
| bills.csv and bill_lines.csv | Bills and their lines. |
| debit_notes.csv | Vendor credits. |
| expenses.csv | Expenses. |
| payments.csv | Payments received and made, and what each paid. |
| contacts.csv | Customers and vendors. |
| products.csv and stock_on_hand.csv | Items and the quantities on hand. |
| tax_rates.csv | Your tax rates. |
| attachments.csv | A list of every attachment: which document it belongs to, its file name and size. |
| attachments folder | The attached files, when you ticked Include attached files. |
| quickbooks-lists.iif | Your chart of accounts, customers, vendors and items in QuickBooks Desktop's import format. |
| journal-entries.csv | Every ledger line as debits and credits grouped by document, in the layout other accounting programs import journals in. |
Some things to know about the contents:
- The chart of accounts, customers, vendors, items and tax rates are always complete, whatever period you choose. Documents are only those dated in the period.
- The trial balance runs from the beginning of your books to the end of the period, not just the period.
- Drafts and estimates are left out; they are not accounting documents.
- Every CSV file is UTF-8, so accented names open correctly in Excel; amounts have no currency symbol or thousands separator, and dates are written year-month-day.
- If one file could not be produced, the backup is still made; that file says why, and README.txt lists it under WARNINGS.
Permissions
Making a backup hands over the whole company, so it needs an accounting administrator's permission. If your role does not have it, SeroBooks says you do not have access. See Roles and permissions explained.
Messages you may see
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| "Not saved — the save was cancelled." | You closed the save window. Press Back Up Now again. |
| "The backup could not be made." or another message in red | The backup did not finish. Check your internet connection and try again; for a large company, try One period only, a year at a time. |
Tips
- Make a backup at each year-end after you set the closing date (see Set Closing Date and Year-End), and keep it with that year's records.
- To give your accountant a year to review, choose One period only with your fiscal year's dates. You can also give them direct access instead; see My Accountant.
- Attachments can make the file very large. Leave them out for a routine backup: the list in attachments.csv shows what exists.
- Store backups somewhere other than this computer too, such as a USB drive or your own cloud storage.
Common problems
The backup takes a long time. A busy year can take a minute or two, and attachments add more. Keep SeroBooks open until the save window appears.
README.txt says the trial balance does not balance. Stop and check your books before relying on the backup: run the Trial Balance in SeroBooks for the same date.