# Repair a damaged company file
Source: https://www.desktopaccountingapi.com/docs/help/guides/repair-company-file/

> Use QuickBooks Verify Data and Rebuild Data when one kind of record keeps failing while the rest of the connection works.

Company files pick up small inconsistencies over years of use, crashes and network drops. QuickBooks itself often keeps working around them, but they can make specific requests fail. The connection is fine in this case. The problem is inside the file, and only QuickBooks tools can fix it.

## Signs of a damaged file

- Most actions in the app work, but one kind of record, or one specific record, fails every time.
- The app reports an unexpected error from QuickBooks for that record, and trying again gives the same result.
- QuickBooks itself is slow, crashes in the same place, or shows wrong balances in reports.

If nothing works at all, the file is probably not the problem. Start with [Connection not active](https://www.desktopaccountingapi.com/docs/help/connection-errors/connection-not-active/) instead.

## Back up first

Repairs change the file. Always make a backup before you start.

1. Open the company file as **Admin** in single-user mode.
2. Choose **File › Back Up Company › Create Local Backup**.
3. Follow the prompts and save the backup to a location other than the company file's folder, such as a USB drive.

## Step 1: Verify Data

Verify Data checks the file and reports problems. It does not change anything.

1. Ask everyone to close the company file.
2. On any computer with QuickBooks, open the company file as **Admin**.
3. Choose **File › Utilities › Verify Data**.
4. Wait. Large files can take a long time.
5. Read the result:
   - **QuickBooks detected no problem with your data.** The file is fine. Try the failing action in the app again. If it still fails, contact the app's support team.
   - **Your data has lost integrity.** Continue to Rebuild Data.
   - A specific error. Write it down and continue to Rebuild Data.

## Step 2: Rebuild Data

Rebuild Data repairs the problems Verify Data found.

1. Choose **File › Utilities › Rebuild Data**.
2. QuickBooks asks you to make a backup first. Accept, and save it to a new location.
3. Wait for **Rebuild has completed**.
4. Run **Verify Data** again.
5. If Verify Data still reports problems, run Rebuild Data once more. Some files need two or three passes.

After a clean Verify Data result, try the failing action in the app again.

## Step 3: Fix the specific record

If one record keeps failing after a clean Verify Data, the damage may be in that record alone.

- Open the record in QuickBooks, make a small change, save it, then undo the change and save again.
- For a list entry such as a customer or item, open the list, select **View › Re-sort List**, and try again.
- If the record still fails, create a replacement and make the old one inactive. Ask your accountant before you delete or void a transaction.

## Step 4: Intuit's repair tools

If Rebuild Data cannot fix the file, Intuit offers a free troubleshooting program for QuickBooks Desktop that includes a company file repair tool. It does a deeper repair than Rebuild Data. Download it only from Intuit's website, and follow Intuit's instructions. Close QuickBooks before you run it.

When none of these work, Intuit offers a data repair service for damaged company files. Contact Intuit support for details.

We cannot repair QuickBooks company files, and neither can the app. These steps all run in QuickBooks or in Intuit's tools.

## Check that it worked

- **Verify Data** reports no problem.
- The action that failed in the app now succeeds.

## When to contact the app's support team

Contact them if Verify Data is clean and the same request still fails. Send the record type and name, the exact message the app showed, the time and the Verify Data result.

## Related pages

- [A record is open or locked by another user](https://www.desktopaccountingapi.com/docs/help/connection-errors/record-in-use/)
- [Fix a moved, renamed or restored company file](https://www.desktopaccountingapi.com/docs/help/guides/moved-or-renamed-file/)
- [End-user FAQ](https://www.desktopaccountingapi.com/docs/help/faq/)