Most small companies have a backup. Fewer know whether it works. The disk is connected, the cloud tool shows a green tick, and everyone assumes the data can be brought back. The first time anyone checks is usually the day something is lost.
The fix is not a bigger system. It is a short routine: know what is saved, keep a copy elsewhere, restore something real every quarter, and write down the result. If you also want a view on application data, see backing up business applications: what to save, how often and how to test a restore. This article covers the whole company at a simpler level.
What to save: three groups
Write one list with three headings. It should fit on half a page.
- Files. Shared drives, contracts, invoices, project folders and the laptops of people who keep work files locally.
- Business tools. Accounting, CRM, project and support tools, and the company email. Many of these hold data only on the provider's servers. Check whether the provider keeps backups you can restore yourself, or whether you must export.
- Settings. The things nobody remembers until they are gone: domain and DNS records, website configuration, router settings, and the list of which tool is used for what.
Next to each line write who owns it and where the backup is. A line with no backup location is your first finding.
Where the copies live
A backup in the same room as the original protects you from a broken disk, but not from theft, fire, water or ransomware that reaches every connected drive. A simple rule is enough:
- one working copy, which is the original;
- one backup that is easy to restore from, such as a network drive or a cloud sync with version history;
- one copy outside the office, which ransomware or a break-in cannot change. This can be a cloud backup with versioning, or a disk that is kept elsewhere and connected only when the backup runs.
Check the access to the off-site copy too. If the only login sits on the laptop that was stolen, the copy is not much use. Store the recovery details in a place at least two people can open, for example your password manager (see a password manager rollout for a small company).
The quarterly restore test
This is the part that gives the backup its meaning. Once every three months, one person does the following in about thirty minutes:
- Pick one real file or folder at random, not the one you know is easy. A contract from last spring is a good choice.
- Restore it from the backup to a separate folder, without touching the original.
- Open it and check that it is complete and readable.
- Note how long the restore took and how many steps it needed.
- Once a year, restore something from the off-site copy and from a business tool export as well.
Do not announce which file you will choose. The aim is to learn what really happens, not to pass.
Who signs the result
Name one person who runs the test and one who is told the result. In a small team this can be the office manager and the owner. The person who runs the test writes a short record:
- date and file restored;
- where it was restored from;
- time taken;
- result: worked, worked with problems, failed;
- open items with a name and a date.
Keep the records in one folder. After a year you will have four short pages, which is enough to show a client, an auditor or an insurer that you check your backups.
If the test fails
A failed test is the useful outcome. It means you found the problem on a quiet day. Do these things:
- write down exactly what went wrong, for example "the file was not in the backup" or "no one knew the password";
- name who fixes it and set a date within a week;
- repeat the test with a different file once the fix is done;
- if the cause is a missing group in the list from the first section, add it.
Typical causes are a backup job that stopped after a password change, a folder that was never included, a full disk and an expired subscription. None of them needs special tools to find, only a test.
Where it usually goes wrong
- Trusting the green tick. The tool says the job ran, but it says nothing about whether you can read the result.
- Only one copy. The backup sits next to the original and is lost with it.
- No owner. Everyone thinks someone else checks it.
- Testing only the easy file. A tiny recent document tells you little about a large or old folder.
- No record. The test is done, but nobody can say when, so it slips to once every two years.
Summary
List what you save in three groups, keep one copy away from the office, restore one real file every quarter, and let one named person sign a one-page record. If something fails, fix it within a week and test again. The routine takes about half an hour per quarter, and it is the only way to know that your backup will help on the day you need it.
Sources
- Common practice for small businesses, offered as a practical guide. No client results or market figures are claimed in this article. The quarterly interval and the thirty-minute estimate are examples; adjust them to the size of your data and team.
