It is good maintenance to verify your data occasionally. Your QuickBooks file could easily have two thousand links. Links connect transactions between one account and another. These links can be complicated, and when your computer is turned off before you exit QuickBooks, a link may occasionally be broken. By verifying your data, QuickBooks identifies if any links are broken. You will then need to rebuild your data in order to restore the links.

Procedure:

1) Click on "Window" on the menu bar.

2) Select "Close All" from the drop-down list.

3) Click on "File" on the menu bar.

4) Select "Utilities" from the drop-down list.

5) Choose "Verify Data" from the pop-up list.

6) A window will pop up, click "OK".

6) QuickBooks will verify your data. If your data has not lost integrity, you will get a message that "No problems have been detected in your QuickBooks data." You can then continue, knowing that the transactions between your accounts are linked correctly.

If a message comes up, saying your data has lost integrity, you should rebuild your data.

Procedure:

1) Click on "Window" on the menu bar.

2) Select "Close All" from the drop-down list. All your windows will close

3) Click on "File" on the menu bar.

4) Select "Utilities" from the drop-down list.

5) Choose "Rebuild Data" from the pop-up list.

6) QuickBooks will ask you to make a backup and then rebuild your data.

7) QuickBooks will work with your data and then give you a message that the rebuild has completed.

Please note: You should only rebuild your data if QuickBooks tells you that your data has lost integrity.

The amount of time it takes to rebuild your QuickBooks file depends on the speed of your computer and the size of your file. You will not be able to use your computer for any other purpose while your file is rebuilding. Your computer
may be inaccessible for several hours during this process.

By rebuilding your data after it loses integrity, you will improve the performance and accuracy of your QuickBooks file.