A common question that we hear from users of Sage 100 or Sage 100cloud is “How should we backup our accounting data?”.
For Sage 100 / Sage 100cloud Standard and Advanced, you can expect your underlying data to be stored under a top-level \MAS90 folder.
This \MAS90 folder is set by Sage and cannot be renamed. The folder name refers to the prior brand name of Sage 100 which was MAS90.
Tip: If you are not sure where your server is located, navigate within Sage 100 to the File menu. Select run and type *INFO.
This will provide you with a list of information which includes the installation path of your Sage 100 as well as any subscription info related to your payroll module.
Underneath the \MAS90 folder you will see the following data structure for both the Standard and Advanced versions of Sage 100 and Sage 100cloud.
In most cases, you’ll be protected if you take a full backup of the \MAS90 folder and all subfolders. This is the most popular method for backing up Sage data.
If you are using the Premium (SQL) version of Sage 100cloud then you’ll want to backup your Sage 100 as per these instructions PLUS also backup your Microsoft SQL Server Sage tables including the MAS_SYSTEM and MAS_XXX (where XXX is equal to each company code setup in Sage 100).
Some companies make use of alternate directories and securely store their data in a folder other than one beneath the \MAS90 folder.
How To Know If Your Sage 100 or Sage 100cloud Uses Alternate Directories
If you’ve been using Sage 100 for many years you may not be the original person who configured the system and therefore you may not know if your Sage 100 data is stored in an alternate directory.
Here’s how you can tell where your Sage 100 data is stored – including if it’s been custom configured to use an alternate directory.
From within Sage 100 Library Master navigate to company maintenance, enter your company code then click the preferences tab. The resulting screen will display a path to both your main Sage data as well as your payroll data (if any).
If your data location is outside the installed directory path (as shown by the *INFO command above) you will need to separately backup the data location as well.
In most cases Sage users are not using alternate directories. However, it is an option so before you plan your backup process please ensure alternate directories are not in use at your company.
How To Find The Path To Paperless Office Files
Paperless Office is a feature within Sage 100 which, when enabled, will print certain documents to a PDF file. These files are stored in user-defined locations which most likely will NOT be under the \MAS90 folder.
You can verify if Paperless Office is enabled by navigating to Sage 100 – Paperless Office – Setup – Paperless Office Options.
If any of the four options in the upper left are checked, then you are likely using (and storing) paperless office documents.
If you see that Paperless Office is enabled, you will need to review each of the four types of documents to see where each are stored as the path for each is completely user configurable.
To review the location of where paperless forms are stored, navigate to Paperless Office – Setup – Form Maintenance.
You’ll need to collect a list of all the PDF Directory paths shown for each type of paperless document your company is saving.
Most frequently you’ll find these documents are stored under a common folder and once you find the folder you can backup the entire contents.
Should You Perform a Full or Selective Backup of Sage 100 or Sage 100cloud?
Whether you backup all data files (full) or just files that have changed (selective) is up to your IT department.
In most cases we advocate for a full system backup since this can make your system restore much easier.
When restoring data files you generally cannot restore just one module due to the integrated nature of the accounting system.
If you are in the situation where you need to restore data please consult with your IT or Sage partner for guidance on best practices.
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