How often should you back up?
Most business owners know they should be backing up their data. Fewer know how often, and even fewer have actually checked that their backups work. The right answer isn't the same for every business. It depends on how much you'd lose if your systems went down right now.
Last updated
The short answer
At a bare minimum, daily. But for most businesses, critical data should be backed up more frequently than that, every few hours at least. The question to ask yourself is: if we lost everything since the last backup, how much damage would that do? If losing a full day's work would hurt, you need something more frequent than a nightly backup.
What to consider
How often does your data change?
A business processing invoices and customer records all day needs more frequent backups than one that updates a few spreadsheets a week.
What's your recovery point objective?
RPO is the maximum amount of data you can afford to lose. If that's four hours, you need backups running at least every four hours.
Not all data is equal
Your accounting system and customer database probably need hourly backups, while archived project files might be fine with a weekly sync.
Cloud doesn't mean backed up
Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace don't include proper backup by default. If someone deletes a file or an account gets compromised, you need a separate backup to recover it.
Test your restores
A backup you've never tested is a backup you can't trust. Regular restore tests are the only way to know your data is actually recoverable.
Keep copies offsite
If your only backup is on a drive sitting next to your server, a fire, flood, or theft takes both. Always have a copy somewhere else.
Who this guide is for
- Business owners who know they should be backing up but aren't sure if they're doing it often enough.
- Anyone who's never tested whether their backups actually work.
- Businesses using Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace who assume their data is automatically protected.
- Teams that have experienced data loss and don't want it to happen again.
What to do next
- List your critical systems. Email, accounting, customer records, shared files: what would stop the business if it disappeared?
- Decide how much loss is acceptable. An hour? A day? A week? Be honest about what losing that data would actually cost in time, money, and reputation.
- Check what you've got now. Find out what's being backed up, how often, and where the backups are stored. You might be surprised.
- Test a restore. Pick a file or a mailbox and try restoring it from your backup. If you can't, your backup isn't working.
- Get a proper backup plan. Talk to us about setting up automated backups that match your actual risk, including Microsoft 365 and cloud data.
How WaTo can help
- We set up automated backups that run on a schedule matched to your business, rather than a one-size-fits-all nightly job.
- We back up Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace properly, because Microsoft and Google don't do it for you.
- We test restores regularly so you know your backups actually work when you need them.
- We store copies offsite and in the cloud so a single disaster doesn't take everything.
- If the worst happens, we handle the recovery and get your systems and data back as fast as possible.
Related questions
Is a daily backup enough?
For many small businesses, daily backups of most data are a reasonable starting point. But critical systems like accounting, email, and customer databases should ideally be backed up more frequently: every few hours at minimum.
What's the difference between backup and sync?
Sync (like OneDrive or Google Drive) copies files between devices in real time, but if you delete a file or it gets encrypted by ransomware, the sync spreads the problem. Backup keeps separate, versioned copies you can roll back to.
Does Microsoft 365 back itself up?
Not in the way most people think. Microsoft keeps your data available, but their retention policies have limits. If an email or file is permanently deleted or an account is compromised, you need a third-party backup to get it back.
How long should we keep backups?
It depends on your industry and legal requirements, but a common approach is daily backups kept for 30 days, weekly backups kept for a few months, and monthly backups kept for a year or more.
How WaTo can help with this
Still not sure?
If you're not confident your backups are running properly, or you've never tested them, get in touch. We'll check what you've got and let you know where you stand. It's a quick conversation that could save your business a lot of pain.
Mon to Fri, 8:30am to 5pm
