Relocate your data

Summary

How to move your Sage 50 Payroll data to another location on your computer or over a network.

Description

You can use the Relocate Data option to move your company data to a different location.

You can also use these steps to move your data from a server to a computer, either permanently or as a temporary measure.

NOTE: Online storage solutions, for example One Drive or Dropbox, aren't compatible with Sage 50 Payroll.

Resolution

The following options are available for you to relocate data to a different location:

Use the Relocate Data feature – use this to move data to a new location
Manually moving the data – use this alternative option to move multiple companies at once

You can read about each option below.

To check where your data is currently held, you can go to Help then click About. In the Program Details area, check the Data Directory.

Using the Relocate data feature

This process moves the contents of the existing Company_XXX folder into the folder you specify in the Relocate Data window.

First, create a folder in the location you'd like to move your data to. We recommend naming this folder the same as your existing data, such as Company_001.

TIP: It's easy to check the folder name of the company you're logged into. Click Help, then About and check the Data directory under the Program Details heading.

After you create the new folder, complete the following steps to move the company data.

Click File then click Relocate Data.
Enter the path to the new folder in the Data Path section.
Click OK then click OK.

Depending on the size of your data and where it's moving to, this may take several minutes.

If you have a multi-company licence, you can repeat the steps above for each company.

To check the data has relocated correctly, click Help then click About. In the Program Details area, check the Data Directory. This shows the new data location.

If you have a multi-user version of Payroll, link any other client computers to this new location so they can access the data. For further information about this, refer to the 'Link other computers to the new data location' section.

Move data manually

Instead of using the Relocate Data feature, you can manually copy your existing Company_XXX data folders to a new location then connect payroll to them.

This is best if you have multiple companies to move, or if you're moving your data temporarily, for example to troubleshoot an issue.

To do this, check the existing data location and decide where you want to move your data to. This can be a different location on the same computer or to a server on a network.

You then copy the Company_XXX folder that contains your data. This folder contains your Paydata, Submissions and Archive folders, along with other data. You can then paste the folder in the new location.

Close Sage 50 Payroll.
Browse to your existing data location.
Right-click your Company_XXX folder, then click Copy.
Browse to your new, desired data location.
Right-click then click Paste.

The next step is to connect Sage 50 Payroll to the new data location using the steps below.

Link other computers to the new data location

If other people connect to the data you moved using software on their computer, you need to connect their software to the new data location.

Depending on your software licence and how you need to connect, there are three methods:

Single Company Licence

This is the best method to use if you have a single company licence and need to connect to the new data location.

▼ Click here to view the steps.

Open Sage 50 Payroll.
Click Help then click About.
In the Program Details area, make a note of the Settings directory.
NOTE: The default settings directory is C:\PROGRAMDATA\Sage\Payroll\.
Close Sage 50 Payroll.
Browse to the Settings directory noted in Step 3 then:
- Rename Payroll.usr to Payroll.old
- Rename Paydata.txt to Paydata.old
- Rename Company_001 to Company001old
  - Remove the underscore '_' from the Company_001 folder name
Open Sage 50 Payroll then enter your serial number and activation key.
Click Next then select the Select an existing set of Windows data option.
Click Next then browse to the Payroll.mdb file on the server.
Click Next then click Finish.

Add a new company - Multi-company licence

This is the best option if you have a multi-company payroll licence. You can add the new company to your list and then remove the old one if required.

▼ Click here to view the steps.

Open Sage 50 Payroll.
Log in to any existing company you can access.
Click File, then New Company.
Click Next, then Select an existing set of Windows data.
Click Next, then Browse to the new data location.
Click Next, then Finish.

This connects the new data location to your Sage 50 Payroll, allowing you to log in to your company as normal.

To delete the old data location from your software, select File, then Delete Company from within any other existing company. Check the Path to Data field to identify the old company to delete.

Copy the Payroll.usr file

This is the best method if you have multiple computers, and you've connected one computer to all required companies.

Follow the steps below to update the data locations for each company on other computers.

▼ Click here to view the steps.

On the computer that you've already set up:

Open Sage 50 Payroll.
Click Help then click About.
In the Program Details area, click the Settings directory link.
Copy the Payroll.usr file.
TIP: Copy the file to a memory stick, or a network location that you can access on the computer you need to copy it to.

On the computer you're updating:

Copy and paste the Payroll.usr file to the Sage 50 Payroll Settings directory folder

Upgrading your licence

Need a little more room? To add extra companies, users, employees or more to your software licence, leave your details and we'll be in touch.

Leave your details

Solution Properties

Solution ID: 200427112222849
Last Modified Date: Fri Mar 21 11:58:02 UTC 2025
Attributes: Product Details
Modules: Administration
Modules: Serial Numbering
Modules: Service Manager
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