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Yes, use Act!’s built‑in backup and restore workflows: File > Back Up > Database for the ZIP, then Restore or Restore As to bring it back, and Act! Diagnostics (actdiag) if you’re stuck with a .BAK file instead. Skip generic cloud sync tools for your live database files. Whatever route you take, always finish with a Restore As test before you trust the backup with your business.
TL;DR:
- Always back up your Act! database locally first before copying the ZIP file to external or cloud storage, ensuring reliable and complete backups.
- Use Act!’s built‑in backup tool through File > Back Up > Database to create a ZIP file, including attachments if desired, and password-protect it securely.
- Restore procedures include overwriting the current database with Restore or creating a test copy with Restore As to verify backup integrity without risking live data.
- A .BAK file is a raw SQL Server backup and requires actdiag to restore it as an Act! database, but it does not include attachments or templates.
- Schedule regular daily backups with the Act! Scheduler outside business hours and periodically test restore copies to confirm backup usability and integrity.
Table of Contents
- How do I create a manual Act! CRM backup?
- How do I restore an Act! .ZIP backup?
- What if I only have a .BAK file to restore?
- How do I automate Act! backups with the Scheduler?
- How do I verify that my Act! backup actually works?
- Best practices for a reliable Act! backup strategy
- Smarter Business perspective: when to do it yourself and when to call us
- Get help with Act! backups, maintenance and recovery
- Sources
- FAQ
How do I create a manual Act! CRM backup?
Think of your Act! database like a filing cabinet that never stops being opened, closed, and shuffled through during working hours. That’s precisely why you can’t just drag the folder onto a USB stick and call it a backup. You need Act!’s own backup tool, because it knows how to freeze that cabinet safely mid‑shuffle, something a generic copy‑paste simply cannot do.
Here’s the checklist, in order:
- Log in as Administrator or Manager. Act!’s backup function is locked to these permission levels, so if you’re logged in as a standard user, you won’t even see the option.
- Close any open records or reports that might be mid‑edit, then go to File > Back Up > Database…
- Choose your save location. Act! will prompt you to pick a folder. Save to a local drive first, not a network share, because writing directly to a slow or flaky network path during the backup process is a classic way to end up with a half‑finished file.
- Decide whether to include attachments. The resulting .ZIP file contains the database itself, plus layouts, templates and saved queries, and you can choose whether to bundle in attached documents too. Including them gives you a genuinely complete safety net, but it also means a much larger file, so weigh that against your storage and upload speeds.
- Name the file sensibly. A simple convention like
20260913_SalesDB.zip(date first, database name second) means that six months from now, when you’re digging through a folder of backups at 2am, you can actually find the right one without guessing. - Copy the finished ZIP off the host machine. Once the backup completes locally, move a copy to external storage, network‑attached storage, or a cloud drive. Act! itself recommends this local‑then‑copy approach rather than backing up straight to a remote location.
One thing worth flagging: Act! lets you password protect that ZIP file during the backup process. It’s a genuinely useful layer of security if the backup is going somewhere less locked down than your office server. But that password is entirely separate from your database login credentials, and Act! cannot recover it if you lose it. Store it in a password manager, not a sticky note on the monitor, because a forgotten password turns your carefully made backup into an expensive, unusable ZIP file.
Backups aren’t just an insurance policy for disaster either. Act! treats a fresh backup as a required safety step before you run any kind of database maintenance, such as reindexing or a Check and Repair. Get into the habit of backing up before you touch anything structural, not just before you go home for the weekend.
How do I restore an Act! .ZIP backup?
Restoring is where the greased pig metaphor really earns its keep: everyone assumes it’ll be simple to grab hold of, right up until the moment they actually try. Act! gives you two distinct restore paths, and picking the wrong one can turn a five‑minute fix into a much longer headache.
There are three primary restore routes in Act!: Restore (which overwrites your existing live database), Restore As (which creates a brand new, separately named copy), and Unpack and Restore Remote Database for synchronised remote setups. Here’s how to run the two you’ll use most:
- Open Act! and navigate to File > Restore. You’ll be prompted to browse to your ZIP backup file.
- Choose your restore type. Selecting straight Restore will overwrite the currently active database with the contents of the backup, permanently. Only do this when you’re certain you want the current data replaced, for example after confirmed corruption or accidental mass deletion.
- For Restore As, select that option instead and give the restored copy a new, distinct name. This creates a parallel database alongside your live one, leaving the original completely untouched.
- Authenticate when prompted. Act! will ask for Administrator credentials before either restore type proceeds, and if you’re overwriting an existing database, expect a confirmation prompt warning you that the action cannot be undone.
- Wait for the process to complete, then open the restored database directly from Act!.
- Spot‑check the result. Open a handful of contact records, confirm attachments opened correctly, check that a saved template or two still renders properly, and glance at a saved query to make sure it still pulls results.
That last step matters more than people give it credit for. A Restore As workflow is genuinely the safest way to verify a backup’s integrity without touching your production data, because you’re testing against a throwaway copy rather than gambling with the database your whole sales team relies on.
Pro Tip: Before you delete any Restore As test copy, double and triple‑check which database is which. Confusing the freshly restored test copy with your live database, and deleting the wrong one, is one of the most common (and entirely avoidable) mistakes made during a verification exercise.
What if I only have a .BAK file to restore?
A .BAK file isn’t the same animal as an Act! ZIP backup, and treating it as one is where a lot of confusion starts. A .BAK is typically a raw SQL Server backup, produced either automatically by the underlying database engine or manually by an IT administrator, rather than through Act!’s own File > Back Up menu. It doesn’t bundle attachments, templates or saved queries the way a proper Act! ZIP does, so it’s a narrower safety net, useful in a pinch, but not a full substitute for good backup habits.
If a .BAK file is all you’ve got, Act! Diagnostics (actdiag) is the tool for the job:
- Launch Act! Diagnostics on the machine hosting your Act! database server.
- Go to Tools > Restore Database.
- Choose Restore BAK file to overwrite an existing database, or Restore BAK file As to create a new, separately named database from the .BAK.
- Browse to the .BAK file and confirm the restore.
- Open the resulting .ADF file inside Act! once actdiag finishes, using File > Open, to confirm the database loads and behaves correctly.
Beyond simple restores, actdiag also supports command‑line functions covering attach, backup, repair and reindex operations, which is genuinely handy if you’re scripting routine maintenance across several client databases rather than clicking through menus each time.
Pro Tip: If your .BAK restore surfaces missing attachments, broken templates, or anything that looks structurally off once you open the .ADF, stop and call in an Act! Certified Consultant rather than continuing to poke at it. Multi‑user syncing setups and remote databases add complications that a quick DIY fix can make considerably worse.
How do I automate Act! backups with the Scheduler?
Manually remembering to back up your database every single day is a bit like relying on willpower alone to hit the gym. It works for a fortnight, then life gets busy and it quietly stops happening. That’s exactly the gap the Act! Scheduler is built to close.
Setting it up takes a few deliberate choices:
- Create a new Scheduler task and select Database Backup as the task type.
- Configure it while logged in as Administrator or Manager, since Scheduler tasks require that permission level to set up.
- Point the backup at a local directory on the host, not a remote path, for the same speed and reliability reasons that apply to manual backups.
- Remember that the host machine must be powered on at the scheduled time for the job to actually run. A scheduled backup on a machine that’s asleep or switched off simply doesn’t happen.
- Set a retention policy that keeps a sensible run of recent backups rather than just the latest one, so you have somewhere to fall back to if last night’s backup happens to be the corrupted one.
- Schedule the job outside business hours regularly, so it does not compete with live database activity.
- If you choose to password protect scheduled ZIPs, store that password in the same secure location as your manual backup passwords, because the same recovery rules apply.
Once the schedule is humming along nicely, don’t let it become invisible. Build a habit of copying those scheduled backups off the host machine periodically, onto external storage or a separate server, so a single hardware failure can’t wipe out your live database and every backup of it in one go. Guidance on automation and scheduling covers the wider technical requirements for the host machine running these jobs, worth a read if you’re setting this up for the first time.
How do I verify that my Act! backup actually works?
A backup you’ve never tested is a bit like a chocolate teapot: it looks the part right up until the moment you actually need it to hold something. Verification isn’t optional busywork, it’s the difference between a backup strategy and a backup hope.
- Run a Restore As on a recent backup file, creating a separately named test database rather than touching your live one.
- Open the restored database in Act! and confirm it loads without errors.
- Check a sample of records, attachments and templates to confirm they’re intact and not just present in name only.
- Only delete the test copy once you’re satisfied, and be certain you’re deleting the test database, not the live one.
- If something looks wrong, work through the likely causes: the wrong file type selected during restore, a forgotten ZIP password, insufficient permissions on the restore target, a file lock from another open Act! session, or attachments that only partially transferred.
- If a Check and Repair or a diagnostics pass doesn’t resolve the issue, that’s your signal to stop troubleshooting alone.
Act!’s own guidance is explicit on this last point: where in‑house repair or conversion steps don’t fix the underlying problem, bring in an Act! Certified Consultant rather than continuing to experiment on a database that runs your business. Some fixes are a five‑minute job. Others, particularly anything touching multi‑user sync or a genuinely corrupted file, are exactly where a DIY attempt can turn a recoverable problem into an unrecoverable one.
Best practices for a reliable Act! backup strategy
Getting the mechanics right matters, but a handful of habits separate businesses that recover smoothly from ones that don’t.
- Always save the backup to a local drive first, then copy it to external or offsite storage, never the reverse.
- If you password protect a ZIP, store that password in a proper password manager. Losing it makes the backup permanently unusable, since Act! cannot recover a forgotten backup password.
- Resist the temptation to rely on generic third‑party file‑level backup tools for your live Act! SQL files. Those files are constantly in use, and copying them the way you’d copy a folder of documents risks inconsistent, corrupted copies. For a broader look at how backup tools generally handle files in active use, this comparison of backup plugin behaviour is a useful outside reference, even though it’s written for a different platform.
- Schedule Restore As tests periodically, such as monthly or quarterly, not only when disaster strikes. A backup routine without periodic testing is a plan built on assumption, not evidence.
Pro Tip: Treat your backup password the same way you’d treat a spare house key. Give a trusted copy to someone else in the business, ideally stored digitally in a shared password vault, so a backup crisis never becomes a “nobody remembers the password” crisis too.
Smarter Business perspective: when to do it yourself and when to call us
Patrick Lennon built Smarter Business on decades of hands‑on sales and operations experience, not just software deployment, and that shapes how the team thinks about backups. As a certified Act! CRM consultancy, Smarter Business sees the same pattern repeatedly: single‑user databases with straightforward structures are genuinely fine for in‑house backup and restore, provided someone actually follows the steps above consistently.
Where it gets riskier is multi‑user sync setups, remote database publishing, or any hint of file corruption. Those scenarios have failure modes that don’t show up until you’re mid‑restore, and by then, guessing is expensive. That’s precisely the point at which bringing in certified help stops being a luxury and starts being the sensible, cost‑effective choice.
— Patrick Lennon
Get help with Act! backups, maintenance and recovery
A practical alternative to figuring this out alone at 2am with a corrupted database and a support forum tab open is professional help from certified Act! CRM consultants who handle scheduled backup configuration, database services for repair and conversion work, staff training on backup discipline, and emergency restore assistance when a DIY attempt has already gone sideways.
If you’re setting up Act! for the first time or reviewing an existing installation, the Act! pricing and licence options page is a sensible starting point, covering Act! Advantage Standard, Professional and Ultimate tiers. Already running Act! and just want a second pair of eyes on your backup routine? Book a support review through Smarter Business’s Act! support and advice service and get your database properly protected before you need it to be.
FAQ
Will I lose everything if I restore from a backup?
No, but a straight Restore does overwrite your current live database with the backup’s contents, so anything created after that backup was taken is gone. Use Restore As instead if you want to inspect a backup safely without touching your existing data.
What’s the difference between a backup and a restore?
A backup is the .ZIP snapshot you create through File > Back Up > Database, capturing your database, and optionally attachments, layouts, templates and queries. A restore is the process of bringing that snapshot back into a working database, either overwriting the live one or creating a new copy with Restore As.
How do I restore data after backing up?
Go to File > Restore, choose your ZIP file, then select either Restore or Restore As depending on whether you want to overwrite your current database or create a separate test copy. Once complete, open the restored database and spot‑check records, attachments and templates before relying on it.
I only have a .BAK file. What do I do?
Open Act! Diagnostics, go to Tools > Restore Database, and choose Restore BAK file or Restore BAK file As, then open the resulting .ADF file inside Act! to confirm it loaded correctly. If anything looks structurally wrong afterwards, that’s a good moment to bring in an Act! Certified Consultant.
How often should I back up my Act! database?
Daily backups, run through the Act! Scheduler outside business hours, are the recommended cadence, with a retention policy that keeps several recent copies rather than just the latest one. Pair that with a monthly or quarterly Restore As test to confirm the backups are actually usable when you need them.
