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Restore your company files

When life does not go to plan, unfortunately, you can not always rewind the clock and have another go. However, the good news is that when using your MYOB software, providing you have created a backup of your company files, you are able to rewind the clock and restore your company files. This topic shows you how you can try to fix any technical errors in your company file using the Optimise Company File tool or restore your company file from a backup should your company file become corrupt.

Optimising your company file

If you discover that your company file has been corrupted, the first step is to see if you can fix these technical errors by optimising the file. To do this:

  • From the main menu bar, select File → Optimise Company File.

This will run the optimisation process. Read and follow the messages presented to you during this process. You will know when your company file has been optimised when you see the following message:

Your company file has been optimised message

Verifying your company file

Once the optimisation process is complete, you can check if the errors have been fixed by verifying the company file. To do this:

  • From the main menu bar, select File → Verify Company File.

Hopefully, the optimisation process has fixed the technical errors in your company file and your verification process reports that no technical errors were found in your company file.

Image of the end of the verification process

Restoring your company file

If, after optimising and verifying your company file, you find there are still technical errors in your company file, you will need to restore the company file from a backup file. From the main menu bar, select File and then Restore.

Select Restore from the File menu

This opens the Select File to Restore window where you select the .ZIP file that you created during the backup process. Once you have selected the file, click the Open button.

Select File to Restore window

This opens the Save As window where you select the location where you wish to save the restored file. In this example, we are saving the file to C:\myob18 but you can choose to save the file to any folder that you like, as long as you remember where it is when you go to open the file! Click the Save button.

The Save As window image 1

Note that you can not save over the file that you are trying to restore, otherwise you will be presented with the following error message:

Error message

Click the OK button. This will take you back to the Save As window where you can either choose to save the restored file in a different folder, or save it in the same folder but just with a different name, as shown below:

The Save As window image 2

Click the Save button. You will be presented with the following message confirming the name and location of the restored file. Click OK.


Confirmation message

Your MYOB software then begins to open the company file you just restored. If you see the following Sign-on screen, leave the Password field blank and click the OK button.

Sign-on message

If you are using MYOB Accounting Plus v18 you may then see the following message:

Activate your company file message 01

If you are completing our software practice set you are using the student version of the software. Select the 'I want to activate my company file later' option then click the Continue button. If you are using the student version of the software, you are not required to activate your company files. Instead, you have 90 days from the creation of the file to use that file. After the 90 day period ends, the company file turns into a read-only file where you will not be able to add any more new information into the file.


After clicking the Continue button you will be presented with a message that reminds you how many days you have left to use the company file before it becomes a read-only file.

Activate your company file message 02

Clicking the OK button will take you to the Command Centre for that company file. You are now ready to start work!

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