Guide · Comox Valley
Is your business backed up?
Client files, invoices, email, the spreadsheet everything depends on. Most small businesses assume it's backed up somewhere. Here's how to find out.
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Quick answer: A real backup is a second copy of your files, kept somewhere else, that you've checked can actually be restored. Files saved on one computer, or on a drive sitting beside it, are not a backup. If you can't say where the copy is and when it last worked, it's worth checking.
Good to know
What counts as a backup
A backup is a separate copy of your important files and email, kept somewhere other than the computer that holds the originals. If the original is lost, stolen, deleted or damaged, the copy is what gets you working again.
Two things are often mistaken for backups. One is a second folder on the same computer, which disappears with the computer. The other is a cloud account such as Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. Those keep your files online, which is useful, but deleted or overwritten files may only be recoverable for a limited time, depending on the plan, so they aren't automatically a backup.
Do it yourself
Check these five things
0 of 5 done
Step 1
Find where your important files live
List the places: the office computer, a laptop, a shared drive, a cloud account, email. Anything that exists in only one place is the first thing to protect.
Step 2
Look for a second copy somewhere else
A backup drive plugged in beside the computer helps if the computer fails, but a fire, a theft or a power surge can take both. A copy kept in an online account, or a drive stored somewhere other than the office, covers more.
Step 3
Check when it last worked
Open the backup and look at the date of the newest file in it. A backup that stopped months ago looks fine until the day it's needed.
Step 4
Try getting one file back
Pick a file, restore it from the backup to a different folder, and open it. This is the only way to know the backup works. Do it once a few months.
Step 5
Make sure you own the accounts
The backup account, the admin login and the password should belong to the business and be written down for the owner, not sit in one person's personal email.
Know when to stop
Signs it's time to get help
Tick any that sound like you.
Need a hand?
Or we can do it for you
Call or text and describe how your business files are kept now. Help comes to your business across the Comox Valley, including Courtenay, Comox and Cumberland, with an estimate before the visit. The first hour on-site is $99.99. Backups are set up in accounts you own, and you're shown how to check them. They aren't monitored for you afterwards.
Questions
Quick answers
Isn't Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace already a backup?
Not by itself. Those services keep your files online, but deleted or changed files may only be recoverable for a limited time, depending on your plan. A separate backup adds a copy you control.
What about my website?
A website is backed up separately from your office files. Website backups and website recovery each have their own page.
How often should a backup run?
It depends on how much work you'd be willing to redo. For many small businesses, a daily backup is a sensible starting point. A visit can look at what you'd actually lose.
Do you monitor my backups?
No. They're set up in accounts you own, and you're shown how to check them yourself.
- Updated October 2026: reworded the service area
- Updated October 2026: first published