QuickBooks 2005: The Missing Manual

Archiving and Condensing Files

As you add transactions and build lists in QuickBooks, your company file gets larger. You might grow alarmed when your company file reaches hundreds of megabytes or more. And, if you still use floppy disks to back up your file, you know that your backups take up too much of your valuable time.

The Archive & Condense Data wizard can shrink your company file, but this diminished size comes at a significant price—QuickBooks removes transactions from your file, which means that some of your financial detail isn't readily available. When QuickBooks condenses data, it replaces your detailed transactions with generaljournal entries that summarize the deleted transactions by month.

If you've used QuickBooks for years, you probably don't need the details from several years ago. If you're confident that some of your old financial detail is obsolete, condensing your company file not only reduces its size but removes list entries that you no longer need, which means the entries you do use are easier to spot.

But if you still want to keep your company file intact and responsive to any reporting needs you have, condense your company file only as a last resort. Instead, consider these simple and relatively inexpensive alternatives:

• Slow backups. If you're backing up to floppies, consider installing a CD drive on your computer. Backing up to CD is not only faster, but CDs aren't as prone to failing as floppy disks, which means your backups are also more dependable. ...