Most business owners I talk to have the same “backup strategy”.
They get an email that says Backup Successful. They feel a little better. They move on.
And look, I get it. You have a business to run. You are not trying to become a part time sysadmin.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth.
That email can be lying to you. Not always on purpose. Sometimes it is “successful” because the backup job ran, not because the backup is usable. Or it backed up the wrong stuff. Or it can’t be restored. Or it’s corrupt. Or it’s encrypted by ransomware and you are backing up the encryption too.
So this is a short, plain English guide for non IT people to answer one question:
If you lost a computer or your server today, could you actually get your stuff back. Quickly.
And yes. You can check this in about 10 minutes.
First, what you are really trying to prove
A good backup is not “a copy exists somewhere”.
A good backup means:
- The right data is included (the stuff you would cry about if it vanished).
- You can restore it (not just view a log file that says you could).
- It restores to something usable (opens correctly, not corrupted, not missing pieces).
- It is recent enough (yesterday might be fine, 3 months ago is not fine).
- It is protected (not sitting next to the thing it is backing up, not one login away from ransomware).
You do not need to test everything today. You need to test something today. A small proof.
That alone catches a shocking number of “we thought we were backed up” situations.
The 10 minute backup test (business owner version)
You are going to do three quick checks:
- Check what was backed up and when.
- Restore one real file.
- Prove you could find your backups if you had to.
That’s it.
Minute 1: Write down your “must not lose” list (quick and messy is fine)
Open a notes app and write 3 to 7 things you absolutely cannot lose. For most businesses it’s something like:
- Accounting file or QuickBooks/Xero data
- Customer list or CRM
- Quotes, invoices, job folders
- Shared drive documents
- Email (sometimes)
- Line of business app data (practice management, scheduling, POS, etc)
This matters because backup tools love backing up the easy things and skipping the annoying things. Databases. Cloud apps. That weird folder on the server that “only Sharon uses but it’s important”.
Now you have a target.
Minute 2: Find where your backups live
You need to answer: Where would I go to restore something.
Common answers:
- A backup portal (Datto, Veeam, Acronis, Cove, Carbonite, Backblaze Business, etc)
- Microsoft 365 / Google Workspace admin area (for cloud data)
- A NAS device (Synology/QNAP) running backups
- An external drive that gets plugged in
- “Our IT company has it” (fine, but you still want to know how to reach it and what you are paying for)
If you do not know where they live, that is already a red flag. Not a disaster. Just a red flag.
Write down:
- The name of the backup system/provider
- The login URL (or where the device is)
- Who has the username/password (and where it’s stored)
If the password is “only Bob knows it” and Bob is on holiday, that’s a problem you can fix later. But note it.
Minute 3: Check freshness. When was the last good backup
Open the backup dashboard or the last report email and look for:
- Last successful backup time
- Last backup size (or a graph)
- Warnings or “partial success”
- Devices included (server, office PC, etc)
What you want to see is: backups running on the schedule you expect.
Daily backups should show daily. If it says last run was 12 days ago, stop here. You found the issue.
Also, watch for this sneaky one:
- Backup ran last night, but the data size is way smaller than normal
Example: your server normally backs up 400GB and today it’s 12GB. That can mean it only backed up a system folder. Or it excluded the shared drive. Or it failed halfway and still called itself “successful”.
You do not need to interpret every metric. Just look for something that feels off.
If it feels off, it usually is.
Minutes 4 to 8: Restore one real file. Not a test file. A real one
This is the whole point.
Pick one file from your must not lose list. Something you can safely restore without breaking anything, like:
- A PDF invoice
- An Excel spreadsheet from the shared folder
- A random folder of photos from last month
- A Word doc that definitely existed yesterday
Now do a restore. The simplest restore possible.
Best option: restore to an alternate location, like a folder on your desktop called Backup Test Restore.
Do not overwrite the original file if you are not 100 percent sure what you are doing.
In most backup tools you will choose something like:
- Restore
- Choose date (pick last night)
- Choose file/folder
- Restore to “new location” or “download”
Once it restores, do two quick checks:
- Open it. Make sure it opens normally.
- Sanity check it. Does it look complete. Right pages. Right rows. Not blank.
If the restore fails, or you cannot find the file, or the portal is confusing and you give up… that’s the test working. You just discovered your restore process is not ready.
And that is exactly what you want to know before an emergency.
Minute 9: Prove you can restore without your normal computer
This one is simple but people skip it.
Ask yourself:
- If this laptop was stolen, could I still log in to my backup portal from another device?
- Is the login protected with MFA (two factor authentication)?
- Is the MFA tied to a single phone that might be lost too?
You do not need to fix it right now. Just confirm it is possible.
If your backups can only be accessed from the same network or the same computer, or only via a local device sitting in the same building, your risk is higher than you think.
Minute 10: Write down what you learned in plain language
Put this in your notes:
- Backups run: daily/weekly, last run time
- Backup location: tool/provider, URL
- Restore test: what file, what date, restored successfully yes/no
- Gaps or worries: (password only in one person’s head, last run old, backup size weird, restore confusing)
This becomes your quick “backup status” record. You can repeat the test monthly in 10 minutes and you will be ahead of most companies.
What “Backup Successful” actually means (and what it doesn’t)
That email often means one of these:
- The software started and finished a job.
- It connected to the destination and uploaded something.
- It did not detect an error it understands.
It does not always mean:
- Your accounting database is included.
- Your cloud apps are included.
- The backup is not corrupted.
- The backup can be decrypted and restored.
- The backup isn’t also encrypted by ransomware.
So the restore test is the truth serum. Always.
A simple checklist to make sure you are backing up the right stuff
If you want a quick gut check, here are the common “oops” items:
Cloud data (Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace)
Many people assume Microsoft or Google automatically backs up everything in a way that makes restores easy.
They do some retention. They are not your dedicated backup unless you have a proper third party backup solution in place.
If email, OneDrive, SharePoint, or Google Drive matter to you, confirm you have an actual backup plan for them. Ask your IT provider directly:
- “Do we have a separate backup for Microsoft 365/Google Workspace, yes or no.”
Accounting and line of business apps
QuickBooks Desktop, industry databases, POS systems, practice management tools, scheduling platforms.
These are where restores get messy.
You want to know:
- Is the database backed up while it is running (application aware)?
- Or are you just copying files and hoping.
If you are not sure, you can still do a basic restore test by restoring an exported report or a recent PDF output. It is not perfect, but it is better than nothing.
The “shared drive” and employee laptops
If your business runs on a shared folder, that folder must be in backups. Sounds obvious. I have still seen it missed.
Also, if staff store everything locally on laptops, and you do not back up laptops, then you are not backed up. You are just backed up for the server you happen to have.
If your test failed, do this next (still business owner friendly)
You do not need to solve it alone. You just need to ask better questions.
Send this to your IT person or provider:
- “I tried restoring a file from last night’s backup and I could not. Please show me the restore process and confirm it works.”
- “Confirm what is included in backups: server, shared drive, Microsoft 365/Google, key laptops.”
- “What is our recovery plan if ransomware hits. Can we restore to clean systems. How long would it take.”
- “Do we have offsite or immutable backups (something ransomware cannot delete).”
- “How often do you test restores. When was the last successful test restore.”
If they answer clearly and show you, good.
If they dodge, talk in circles, or act offended that you asked, also good. Now you know.
The tiny habit that makes backups actually reliable
Do this once a month:
- restore one random file
- open it
- write down the date and result
That’s it. You are not trying to win an IT award. You are trying to avoid the nightmare scenario where everyone is staring at a screen and someone says, “So… the backups aren’t working.”
Because in that moment, nobody cares about the email that said Backup Successful.
They care about whether you can restore. Today.
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
What does a ‘successful’ backup email really mean?
A ‘successful’ backup email usually means the backup job ran without errors, but it doesn’t guarantee that the backup includes the right data, is restorable, uncorrupted, or recent. It’s important to verify these aspects to ensure your data can actually be recovered.
How can I quickly test if my backups are reliable?
You can perform a simple 10-minute backup test: 1) Write down your ‘must not lose’ files; 2) Locate where your backups are stored and how to access them; 3) Check the freshness of the last backup; 4) Restore one real file to an alternate location and verify it opens correctly; 5) Confirm you can access the backup system from another device with proper authentication.
What qualifies as a good backup for my business?
A good backup includes the right data you can’t afford to lose, allows you to restore files successfully, restores data that is usable and uncorrupted, is recent enough to minimize data loss, and is protected from threats like ransomware or physical proximity to the original data source.
Why is it important to know where and how my backups are stored?
Knowing where your backups live and how to access them ensures you can quickly restore your data in an emergency. It also helps identify potential risks such as single points of failure or inaccessible credentials that could delay recovery.
What should I look for when checking the freshness of my backups?
Check the date and time of the last successful backup, confirm it matches your expected schedule (e.g., daily), review backup size for anomalies (like unusually small sizes), and watch out for warnings or partial success messages that might indicate problems.
How do I ensure I can restore my backups even if my usual computer is unavailable?
Make sure you can log in to your backup portal from another device, use multi-factor authentication (MFA) for security, and have access to MFA devices or codes not tied solely to one phone. This preparation helps maintain access during emergencies like theft or hardware failure.
