If the log files are excessively large, you may wish to restart SQL first.

Make sure everyone is out of Sage Taxation, Corporation Tax or Sage Practice Solutions. If any other software uses the same SQL instance, please speak to your local IT first.

1. Select Start, Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Services

   You can also search the start menu for services.msc.

2. Find the SQL instance that your software is using (the default is SQL Server (SageSPS) or SageTax).
3. Right click on the service and select Restart.

You can now proceed with the backup instructions below.

To truncate the log files, you should use the Backup and Restore utility:

1. Select Start, Programs, Sage Practice, Tools, Sage Taxation, Backup and Restore

   You can also search the start menu for Backup to locate the Backup and Restore utility. You'll want the one that has an icon like a Swiss army knife.

2. Click Backup to start the process.
3. When prompted to check the data, select Yes and Yes again when prompted to continue.
4. For optimum results, repeat these steps and take a second backup. This second backup may still take some time, but will be quicker than the initial backup.

In the majority of cases, no further space saving will be gained from more than two backups. Please contact us for further advice if you still have this issue after taking two successful backups.

Depending on the size of your log files and the power of your machine, this may take some considerable time. The backup utility may show as 'Not responding' for prolonged periods, but will be working in the background.

Frequently asked questions

Why has this happened?

Some anti-virus (or third-party backup software) software can increase the size of your SQL log files as they scan them, increasing their size each time. Taking regular backups using our backup and restore utility performs housekeeping on these log files, drastically reducing their size.

If the problem reoccurs despite regular backups and housekeeping, the most likely cause is anti-virus software continually trying to scan the databases. You should arrange for your SQL data directory to be excluded from your anti-virus scan.

Please visit the Microsoft website for more information on SQL servers and anti-virus software, specifically the section "Directories and file name extensions to exclude from virus scanning"

Why should I back up if I haven't used the software?

We recognise that not everyone uses Sage Taxation on a daily basis, however, external factors (such as anti-virus software) can continuously scan your data files, filling up the SQL logs.

If you don't use the software for a period of time, and haven't performed a backup, these files can grow to a considerable size which can impact not only the performance of Sage Taxation, but if left unchecked may impact the performance of your machine overall.

Backing up remains the best way to avoid (and resolve) this situation. Once the initial issue is fixed, if you still don't want to take regular backups, you might want to alleviate the situation by asking your local IT support to either:

1. Make sure you're running Sage Taxation v22 or later. We've had reports that changes we've made in this version can alleviate this environmental issue.
2. Exclude the SQL data directory from your anti-virus scans (or exclude the specific SQL data files that are affected).

What if I don't have enough free space to take a backup?

Taking backups is the best way to stop this happening. If you don't have space on your main drive to take a backup, you could point the utility to another local hard drive on the server machine and store the oversized backups there.

If you have no other drives or free space, please contact us on 0191 479 5999 for further advice.

Can I automate backups to prevent this happening again?

Regular backups are the best way to prevent this happening in future and you can use the Windows Task Scheduler to do this.

This is best done on your server (or the machine which hosts your data), and set to run out of hours when the software isn't open.

Create a basic task pointing to C:\Program Files (x86)\Sage\Sage Taxation\Client\BackupRestore.exe and add /BACKUP as an argument.

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