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Creating backups regularly will help create a manual restore point for your data, in the unlikely case that something goes wrong. There are three (3) ways that you can back up your company data within Clarity. The first two (2) ways are similar and will generate the same result - the only difference is that they are executed in different places within Clarity. 

I. Backing Up While Posting Your Payroll

After you have completed your payroll, you must go to post all your paycards in order to commit your payroll to history. During the posting process, the first optional step is to create a company data backup. Although this step is optional, it is strongly recommended. To find your backup file, read our Where is my backup file? article. 

II. Backup via Utilities Menu

You can use the software to backup your data at any time.  This can be done during payroll, after payroll, or any other time that you wish. 

  1. Log into your company in Clarity. 
  2. Navigate to Utilities > Backup Company Data. 
  3. Remember where your company backup is stored and what the name of the file is. 

III. SQL Server Management Studio Backup

WARNING: THIS OPTION IS HIGHLY TECHNICAL. IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND, DO NOT ATTEMPT.

This option is common practice for companies that want automatic daily backups, off-site backups, or the ability to "mirror" their database(s).  In order to do this, you must create a new SQL user account that has access to your database files.  Creation of this account can be done easily by creating a new user in your company file and flagging them as an "External User".

Creating an External User Login to a Company in Clarity

  1. In Clarity, navigate to Configuration > Security > Users. 
  2. Click the "+" button to create a new user. 
  3. Select "Create new user with login". 
  4. Enter a valid username for the user. 
  5. Checkmark "External User". This is very important! This will create an SQL server user account without the username and passowrd padding that is typically applied to accounts designed for use with the software.
  6. Click "Add" to complete creating an external user. 

The account that is created is a db_owner for this company database and can now be used with ODBC connections to access the company data.  This means it can be used with Crystal Reports, SQL Management Studio and other system.  It can also be used to make your automatic/remote backups or to mirror your database.

If you have multiple companies setup in Clarity, you will now have to log in and add a new user to each company as well. There is one exception: when adding the user, you'll select "Add existing user" instead of "Create new user with login" when prompted (different from step #2 above). 

NB: Most security systems require a strong password on an account to allow it to do backups or mirroring, make sure you enter a strong password when creating the account.