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BackupMyBooks: The importance of data backup for PBSA/BTR industries

In this post, we'll explore the benefits of using BackupMyBooks with Xero and provide a step-by-step guide on how to set up the integration.


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BackupMyBooks: The importance of data backup for PBSA/BTR industries

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Are you looking for a way to simplify your PBSA or BTR bookkeeping processes and ensure data security and compliance? Look no further than BackupMyBooks, the Xero integration that streamlines your accounting backups.

In this post, we'll explore the benefits of using BackupMyBooks with Xero and provide a step-by-step guide on how to set up the integration. 


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Why it's important to back up PBSA and BTR financial data 

As a PBSA or BTR operator, your financial data is one of your most valuable assets. It contains critical information such as rental income, expenses, taxes, etc. It also contains customer identifiers. Losing this data due to a hardware failure, cyber attack, or human error could be catastrophic for your business. It can also cost you money in ICO penalties.

That's why it's crucial to back up your financial data regularly. By backing up your financial information, you can ensure that you always have access to the latest and most accurate figures. In a data loss event, you can quickly restore your data and avoid significant downtime and financial losses.

Furthermore, as PBSA and BTR businesses continue to grow and expand, their financial data becomes increasingly complex and time-consuming to manage. The BackupMyBooks integration with Xero offers a cloud-based solution that automatically backs up your financial data, reduces manual data entry, and streamlines your bookkeeping process. This integration allows you to focus on growing your business instead of worrying about data backups and recovery. 

 

Benefits of using BackupMyBooks integration with Xero 

Using BackupMyBooks with Xero can help simplify your bookkeeping process and provide numerous other benefits, including: 

 

Ensuring data security and compliance 

With BackupMyBooks, you can be confident that your financial data is secure and compliant with relevant regulations. The integration provides robust security features, including data encryption and regular backups. 

 

Recovering from sabotage 

It’s a reality of being in business that sometimes things don’t work out with an employee, and you have to let them go. It’s then that you may find they are not the person you thought they were. A rogue employee can wreak havoc with any data they have access to, so if they were one of your Xero users then you could be in real trouble. 

It’s one thing trying to recover from your own, innocent mistakes but quite another dealing with malicious sabotage by a disgruntled team member. For one thing, when you caused the problem, you have an idea how to start fixing it. How do you know where to look when someone else did the damage? 

Using software like BackupMyBooks can help you figure out what your last data save looked like. This will give you a starting point to finding the issues. 

 

Testing apps 

There are more than 500 Apps that you can connect to your Xero organisation to add extra functionality. 

These apps can read and, crucially, write to your Xero data once integrated. What do you do if you want to trial an app for your business but ring-fence your data in case the app is not what you’re looking for? 

If you suddenly have a lot of unwanted or incorrect data pushed into your accounting records how much time and effort might need to go into getting things back to where they were? 

It’s much better if you have a backup of your Xero data with BackupMyBooks, then you can import data into a new organisation which you can then use to safely trial the app. Your original, live accounting data is untouched while you play with as many apps as you like in your new “sand box” Xero organisation. 

 

Meeting your compliance obligations 

Quality assurance standards such as ISO 9001 oblige businesses to ensure they have procedures in place to protect business-critical data - and your accounting records are surely about as critical as it gets. 

When the standards assessor asks what happens to your business if your team arrives for work in the morning to find that Xero is down telling her that you have full confidence in Xero’s security procedures does not answer the question. 

Likewise, your quality assurance standards will require you to maintain the integrity of your accounting data not just its availability. We’re all human, which means data can be compromised by mistake, by neglect or maliciously. A misbehaving connected app could make wide-ranging, unexpected changes. 

Faced with these potential scenarios, the more robust, and compliant, response is to confirm that you have your own backups of all your (and maybe your clients’) Xero data. BackupMyBooks gives you that confident answer. 

 

Peace of mind 

Finally, you may be the type of person who just instinctively wants to take control of their own critical data. 

You appreciate that Xero has good security policies, but you just feel better knowing you have your own backups of your accounting data. 

Maybe you don’t fully trust the Cloud or the internet generally. Perhaps you wonder what would happen if you fell out with your accountant. 

If this is you, then you’ll sleep better with BackupMyBooks copies of your Xero data on your own computer. Just in case. 

Let’s look at how easy it is to set up with Xero.

 

How to set up BackupMyBooks integration with Xero 

Setting up BackupMyBooks with Xero is straightforward. Here are the steps to follow: 

  1. Go to the Xero App Marketplace and search for BackupMyBooks.
  2. Click on the BackupMyBooks app, then click "Get this app." 
  3. Follow the prompts to connect your Xero account to BackupMyBooks. 
  4. Select your plan (they offer a 14-day trial). While plans start at around $5 per month per user, we encourage PBSA and BTR businesses to consider the custom plan to cover your more complex needs. 
  5. Once connected, BackupMyBooks will automatically start backing up your financial data. 
  6. Customise your backup settings according to your needs. You can back up your data daily, weekly, or monthly. You can also select which data types to back up, such as invoices, bills, and bank transactions. 
  7. Once your backup settings are configured, BackupMyBooks will continue to run in the background, automatically backing up your data according to your preferences.

Your next step… 

Property management companies generate vast financial and sensitive data, especially those that manage multiple properties. The BackupMyBooks integration with Xero allows PBSA and BTR companies to back up their data in real time and store it securely in the cloud. This simplifies accounting processes, improves compliance and reduces the risk of data loss. 

If you’d like the integration set up and your bookkeeping managed monthly, fill in the form below and let us help you. 

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