Back up your app’s data before you need it
The worst time to discover that your export is unreadable is after you lose the phone. A backup routine should include opening the file and restoring a test copy while the original still exists.
Decide what needs protecting
List the records the business cannot easily recreate: completed jobs, customer-approved estimates, or notes still waiting to be entered elsewhere. App code and screenshots are not substitutes for those records.
Choose a schedule based on how much work you could afford to lose. A daily working tool may need an export at the end of each working day. Put a named person in charge.
Make a separate copy
Use the app’s export function and give the file a useful name with a date. Put a copy in an approved location that survives loss of the working device. Keep private records out of shared folders with broad access.
Check the contents. Count a few records and inspect dates, totals, and special characters. A file that contains only the visible page may be a report, not a complete restore file.
Restore into a safe test space
Ask whether importing replaces existing records or merges them. Use a separate test profile, device, or supported test area. Never experiment with a full import over the only working copy.
Restore the file, find a known record, and compare its fields. Try a second import to see whether it creates duplicates. Record the app version and the result in the backup checklist.
Keep recovery instructions short
Write where the latest export lives, who can access it, which app version can read it, and the steps for restoring. Keep previous known-good exports according to your business’s retention needs.
Before clearing browser data, changing devices, or uninstalling, verify the latest backup. If the app has no usable export, ask for one before relying on it for records you cannot replace.
Your choice stays on this device. It is not sent to the site owner.