Your firm's data belongs to you. You can export it for your own records, for reporting, or to keep a copy outside the platform.
Two different needs
It helps to keep two ideas separate. A backup is a copy made in case something goes wrong. An export is a copy you take out to use elsewhere, for example to hand records to your accountant or to work on a report in a spreadsheet. The platform is hosted and its infrastructure is backed up, but keeping your own exports gives you an independent copy you fully control.
Exporting records you can read
Most list views in the workspace let you export what you are looking at. Matters, invoices, time entries, clients, and similar lists can usually be exported to a common format such as CSV or Excel, and many can print to PDF. This is the everyday way to pull a clean set of records for a specific purpose.
- Open the list you want. Go to the area holding the records, such as Invoices or Matters, and filter it to the rows you actually need.
- Choose export. Use the export option on the list to save the visible records as a spreadsheet file, or print the view to PDF.
- Store the file safely. Treat the exported file as sensitive, because it now holds client data outside the platform. Keep it somewhere encrypted and access-controlled.
An exported file has none of the platform's access controls around it. Once it lands on a laptop or a shared drive, anyone who reaches that location can open it. Store exports only where they are properly protected, and delete them when you no longer need them.
Documents and attachments
Records in a spreadsheet are only part of the picture. Your firm also holds documents attached to matters and clients. You can download these files individually when you need a copy, and if your firm uses Connected Storage, documents can be linked to your own cloud storage so a copy already lives in a location you manage.
A sensible routine
You do not need a heavy process. A light, regular habit is enough for most firms.
- Decide which records you would most want a copy of, usually financial data and key client lists.
- Export them on a schedule that suits your firm, for example monthly or quarterly.
- Keep the exports in an encrypted, access-controlled place, and label them by date.
- Retire old exports you no longer need, so sensitive data does not pile up in forgotten folders.
If you are moving records between systems or preparing a bulk change, look at Data Import as the companion to export. Together they let you take data out, adjust it, and bring it back in a structured way.