This is probably the most basic question but I havent really thought about it I am on desktop.
I have been backing up each clients manager in a folder with the year at yearend.
These folders are in a client file on Dropbox.
but after quite a few years and clients my dropbox is getting bloated.
So I was thinking that do I need to back up each year and if the file is in dropbox does it automatically update from using it on my screen.
And if I dont go through the manager interface with all the clients listed and just open their manager file from their folder will that update automatically in dropbox.
I just sometimes forget to back up
I think I figured it out well the backing up bit if I access the manager file directly through dropbox yes it does. but if I go through the manager desktop interface it does not.
Sooo just what does everybody else do at year end do you save a copy of manager in a year end folder or just save the once and keep using
Not sure why you want to back at year end only. Maybe as an archive for future reference, given your dropbox is doing what it should be doing? Manager is perpetual and its reports for any given financial year can be replicated based on date range. The only thing to watch out for is if someone posts data to a historical year in error, this will have a domino effect on reporting.
If you are very active in Manager you should be backing up every day and suspect your dropbox regime may be sufficient.
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The 3-2-1 backup strategy is what for many years is recommended as best practice. See for example 3-2-1 Backup Strategy in 2022: Tips and Tricks .
As @compuit explains Manager is perpetual meaning that it stores all data from start to finish and thus does not need “annual” backups, there is no point in it.
We backup daily each business to 2 different cloud servers (self-hosted in different geographical locations) and on 3 different computers in different geographical locations. Also these computers have daily incremental systems backups and weekly full back-ups on NAS and for data only on cloud servers.
Until things go bad this practice seems redundant. Since Manager versions update so frequently we also regularly copy Manager versions from github to our cloud servers just in case things need to work from an older version.
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That depends why you are backing up.
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if is just how you backup then more often would be advised.
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if it is part of your tax office substantiation, then then yes together with the program from that time. Occasionally the program is updated and old information is presented differently
Ok so I have decided to put all client manager files except the latest ones on to an external hard drive.
Then each client will only have the latest manager file sync fromDropbox to PC).
As I have my CRM(which is sync to my dropbox) open all the time I have put hyperlinks to each clients manager file I just double click on the Icon I have put on their information card and it opens it from the link .
So I will always be working on the latest file and it automatically backs up to drop box. and I have way more space in dropbox now
You live dangerously. What you describe is not a backup but a live sync of production data on dropbox. Dropbox is just a cloud drive. If it corrupts you will not have a backup to restore from. I am also not sure why your Dropbox would not have the capacity to save many Manager files and do not just buy more capacity if needed. As mentioned you would be advised to make regular backups in 2 places as a minimum.
i agree with @eko
backups and sync are very different.
the method you have adopted now is sync. so any errors in the business file will also get synced.
you will be in trouble unless you have an option to revert to an earlier version of the file. google drive allows to check and revert to earlier file versions. I am not sure about dropbox though.
He could keep syncing the production (active) Manager files with Dropbox and for example, use Google Drive as the first backup and download the second backup on some other computer somewhere else.
OK so I use manager for 4 to 5 months of the year Tax time for 350 clients I am a tax accountant and work from home for myself just me.
When I finish the client and have filed I was backing up their file in a folder for that year as well as the workpapers. So what I have done is access their manager file directly from their link in my CRM which is directly in dropbox.
I also back their file up to an external drive to a folder with the year.
I just needed tidy things up a bit as doc, files etc were all over the place and although I knew where to look it was messy. so before I start on next tax year just trying to organise all of my work stuff in a better way have gone on for 15 years and never deleted anything ha ha so a good clean out.
Thanks everyone for your input I took it onboard if anyone has any other tips on managing workflows etc would love to know
As an accountant myself, the best strategy to use is similar to what @eko described but less techy.
I have my live data on Manager servers, I do monthly backups – in theory 
– which gets stored on my Mega sync service but I don’t keep an extra offline copy and here’s the best part of being an accountant, I just send a copy to the client and now it’s their problem basically 
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