Orkely keeps your business records on your own computer. That is the point, but it also means nobody else is making a copy for you. A backup is the difference between a bad afternoon and a lost client history.
This guide covers the built-in backup, what it does and does not contain, how to restore it, and how to move Orkely to a new PC without leaving your data or your Pro add-on behind.
Back up from inside Orkely
Go to Settings → Backup & Restore. There are three ways to make a copy:
- Backup schedule: Off, Daily or Weekly. The schedule runs when you open Orkely, not on a Windows timer, so a machine that stays closed makes no backups.
- Destination folder: any folder you can write to. Point it at a synced Google Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox folder and the sync client will upload the file for you.
- Backup now: runs one immediately, in addition to the schedule.
The file is named orkely-backup-YYYY-MM-DD.zip. Running the backup again on the same
day replaces that day's file rather than creating a second one, so keep older copies elsewhere
if you want a longer history.
There is also Email Backup under the same screen. It sends the same zip to an address you enter as an attachment. That needs working SMTP settings — if email is not configured, use the folder method instead.
What the backup contains — and what it does not
The zip contains the database: clients, projects, tasks, invoices, proposals, finance entries and your settings. That is everything you typed into Orkely.
It does not contain uploaded files or your company logo. Those live in a separate storage folder. If your work depends on attachments — signed documents, site photos, receipts — copy that folder alongside the database, or upload the files again after a restore.
Restore a backup
- Open Settings → Backup & Restore → Restore from Backup.
- Select the
.zipfile and confirm. - Orkely checks the file, saves a safety copy of your current database, then replaces it.
- Restart Orkely for the restored data to take full effect.
The safety copy matters: choosing the wrong file cannot destroy the data you already have. It is written next to the database as a pre-restore copy.
Move to a new PC
The clean order is: install, restore, re-unlock, then bring the files across.
- Install Orkely Free on the new PC from the Microsoft Store.
- Restore your latest backup from the old PC using Settings → Backup & Restore. Restart Orkely when it finishes.
- Restore the Pro add-on if you own it. Sign in to the Microsoft Store with the same Microsoft account used for the purchase, open Proposals or Reports, and click Check again. The same link is on Help → About.
- Copy uploaded files and your logo from the old PC's storage folder, or upload them again. The database backup does not include them.
The add-on is tied to your Microsoft account, not to the old machine, so there is no new purchase and no licence key. It does need an internet connection for the check. If it still looks locked, see the Pro add-on guide for the firewall, Store update and account checks.
Where the data lives, if you need to copy it by hand
The built-in backup is safer than copying a live database. If you do need the files directly, the Microsoft Store build keeps them under:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Criss-Design.OrkelyFree_ac9ek79d5w1y4\LocalCache\Roaming\orkely\
- Database:
database\database.sqlite - Uploaded files and logo:
storage\app\public - Restore safety copies:
storage\app\private\pre-restore-backup-*.sqlite
The installer build uses the same layout under %APPDATA%\Roaming\orkely\. Close
Orkely before copying anything by hand. The built-in backup snapshots the database properly; a
manual copy of a live file can catch it mid-write.
A backup you never test is only a hope
Once a quarter, restore your latest backup on a spare machine or after renaming your working database. If the restore opens and the client list is there, the backup is real. If it does not, you have found out before you needed it.