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      Creating an Acctivate test company.

      Restore a live company file to an existing PRACTICE, MODEL or a new Company. In Database Maintenance, backup company file, then select Restore. Be sure to change to the correct Company you want to restore. Do not sync to your live QuickBooks file.

      Use the following steps to create a backup of your "Live" company using the Backup Company function within Acctivate and restore this to either an existing PRACTICE or MODEL Company or a new Company.

      1. Create the Backup of your Live Company
        1. Open Database Maintenance > Database > Backup/Restore
        2. Select the Company you want to backup (your Live Company).
        3. Click Start Backup at the bottom right hand corner.  Make a note of the name of the Backup File, which will be used in step 2.
        4. Once Backup is complete, you can then restore this backup of your Live company to your PRACTICE or MODEL company.
      2. Create a test company if one doesn't exist. (If it does, skip to step 3.)
        1. In Database Maintenance, go back up to Database -> Database Info.
        2. Select the 'New Company' button
        3. Enter in a Company ID and Name (These can be the same, e.g. PRACTICE)
        4. Leave the QuickBooks Data File blank
        5. Save the new Company.
      3. Restore your LIVE database to your TEST company.
        1. Select the Restore button at the top of the Backup/Restore window.
        2. Change the Company dropdown to your TEST or MODEL Company. NOTE: If TEST does not appear in the drop down menu, See Step 2!
        3. Enter in the exact name of the Backup File you created in step 1.
        4. Select View Sets button.  You should see the Backup you just created if you have properly entered in the Backup File name.
        5. Select Start Restore

      IMPORTANT NOTES

      BE VERY CAREFUL if you need to synchronize the Practice company. Since the Practice.QBW is a copy of the live company file, it will have the same internal references.

      So, it is possible to synchronize WITH THE WRONG COMPANY file open. This can cause lots of complications, so be sure that you have the correct "Practice QBW" file open in QuickBooks when you "Synchronize with QuickBooks" in the Practice company.

      To prevent the syncing of the new PRACTICE company with your Live QuickBooks file, you can follow these steps:

      1. Open Acctivate Database Maintenance > Database > Database Info
      2. Select PRACTICE Company.
      3. In Edit mode, delete the QuickBooks Data File Path
      4. Save and exit.

      We also recommend having a different window color with your test company than your live company. To do that, log into your test company, go into Configuration Manager -> Company -> Company Info and then select the "Window Color" tab and select a color. This can help further distinguish between your test and live companies. 

      Color