A QuickBooks company (QBW) file stores company information, charts of accounts, customer transactions, vendors data, reports, payroll data, and other accounting data. Sometimes, the data in the QuickBooks company file gets corrupted due to sudden crashes of the QuickBooks application, virus attacks, hard-disk issues, etc. When this happens, you may fail to access the file or receive random errors when you try to open the file. This can hamper your workflow. Hence, repairing the corrupt QBW data as soon as possible is essential to prevent work delays. In this article, we’ll learn how to repair damaged/corrupted company files in QuickBooks.
Methods to Repair QuickBooks Company File Data
If your QuickBooks file is corrupted, the easiest option is to restore the file from backup, if you have a recent healthy backup. However, if the backup is obsolete or not available, then you can try the below methods to repair and restore the QuickBooks file.
Method 1 – Use QuickBooks Auto Data Recovery Feature
QuickBooks Desktop has a built-in feature – Auto Data Recovery (ADR). In case of data loss or corruption, you can use this feature to recover all your file data. ADR uses the Transaction log file and .QBW.adr to recover the recent transactions of the QBW file. However, it is only available in QuickBooks Pro, Premier, and Enterprise solutions and has the ADR file size limit of 1.5 GB.
Method 2 – Use Verify and Rebuild Data Tool
You can use the Verify and Rebuild Data tool to repair QuickBooks company files. It verifies and rebuilds the file data. The Verify data tool detects issues in the QBW file and the Rebuild data tool resolves them. Here’s how to use the Verify and Rebuild Data tool:
- First, click Close All to close all active windows.
- In QuickBooks, go to the File > Utilities.
- Click Verify Data. If you get the error message “Your data has lost integrity”, it means the company file is corrupted. You need to rebuild the file data.
- Go to File > Utilities and then select Rebuild Data.
- Before data rebuild, a backup file is required. So, click OK on the “Create a backup” dialog box.
- Save the backup with a new name and click OK.
- You will get a completion message “Rebuild has been completed.”
- Now, again navigate to File > Utilities and click Verify Data to check for remaining damage.
If the Verify Data option detects further damage, you can use other repair tools in QuickBooks.
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Method 3 – Use QuickBooks Tool Hub
QuickBooks tool hub contains a number of QuickBooks repair utilities. If you want to repair the QBW file, you can use the Quick Fix My File and QuickBooks File Doctor utilities in the tool hub. Here are the steps:
- First, download, install, and launch the latest version of QuickBooks Tool Hub.
- On the tool hub, select Company File Issues.
- You will see three options.
- Quick Fix my File
- Run QuickBooks File Doctor
- Open QBWinlog Folder
- Click Quick Fix my File option to repair the company file.
- If it fails, then click Run QuickBooks File Doctor option.
- In the QuickBooks File Doctor tool, click Browse to choose the affected company file from the dropdown menu.
- Click the Check your file option and then click on the Continue option.
- Enter the QuickBooks credentials and then click Next.
Note: The tool may take some time to scan the QBW file. Wait till the scan is complete.
What if nothing works?
The above repair tools can repair minor-corruption issues in the QBW file. However, if your file is severely corrupted, you can use a professional QuickBooks repair tool, like Stellar Repair for QuickBooks. It can easily repair severely corrupted QBW file and restore all the data. It maintains data integrity while performing the repair and restore operation. It can even help in resolving complex corruption issues in the company file. You can download the demo version of the tool to check its functionality. It allows you to scan the corrupt QBW file and preview the recoverable data.
Conclusion
QuickBooks company file data can get corrupted due to different reasons. You can repair and restore the corrupt file data by using the above-mentioned methods. You can use the Auto Data Recovery feature or use the Verify and Rebuild tool or QuickBooks File Doctor tool. However, if none of these methods works, then use a powerful QuickBooks repair tool to repair QBW files. Stellar Repair for QuickBooks is one such tool that can repair severely corrupt QuickBooks file without file size limitations. It can restore all the data, including chart of accounts, company data, etc., from the corrupt company file. It can help you efficiently resolve complex corruption-related issues in QBW files.