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Banana Accounting files are not saved within the program itself, but on the drive selected by the user, just like any other file, such as Word or Excel. Banana accounting files have the extension ".ac2", while the program has the extension ".exe" (Windows), ".dmg" (Mac), or ".deb, .rpm, .run, .tgz" (Linux).
Where and how to save files
Banana Accounting files are saved on your computer or on an external drive, such as: external disk, USB stick, Google Drive, Dropbox, or other Cloud services.
To save the file, choose from the menu File > Save As:
- Open the destination folder
- Give your file a name.
By default, .ac2 files are saved in the Documents folder, but you can change the destination folder. Once you've saved the file with a name, use the Save command to save your changes. Each time you save, the previous file is overwritten.
Banana Accounting can save files to any drive that is recognized by the operating system, such as a rewritable disk. From non-rewritable media (CD or DVD), Banana Accounting can only read files.
Saving when closing the program
Every time the accounting data is updated and the work has not yet been saved, a warning message appears when closing the program:
- "The current document xxx.ac2 has been modified. Do you want to save it anyway?"
If you use the Do not Save button, all data will be lost. You must click the Save button to save your changes.
If you want automatic saving when closing files, you can activate the option from the menu:
Tools > Program Options > File Management and enable the Automatically save when you close the program option.
Make sure the data is correct, otherwise it will be saved as is.
Saving a shared file
When multiple users need to use the same file, they cannot use it at the same time. The first user to open the file can save it. The other users open the file in read-only mode.
- Only one user at a time can save the same file.
- Saving is only possible if the file is not in use by others.
Managing files for different accounting entities
To manage multiple accounting files, before saving, we recommend:
- Creating a folder for each company
- Creating a subfolder for each fiscal year.
See also: Organizing work.
Saving and recovering data in case of crash
Banana Accounting automatically saves your work in a temporary file at regular intervals. The time interval between one auto-save and the next can be customized via the menu:
This temporary file is deleted each time the file is saved normally by the user.
In the event of a computer crash or power failure, when restarting the program, if Banana detects an undeleted temporary save file, a window appears as explained on the page File Auto-Recovery.
In this window, the user has the option to confirm recovery. If accepted, the file will be opened and can then be saved manually.
Saving the file with a password
Each file saved on the device and in the selected folder can be protected by a password for added security.
Files are saved in the same way as those without a password.
File compatibility across different operating systems
Files created with Banana Accounting have the extension “*.ac2”, regardless of the operating system used. A file can be saved in Windows, opened and edited on Mac, and then reopened in Linux or Windows.
Therefore, .ac2 files are compatible with:
- Windows
- Mac
- Linux
.ac2 files can also be sent via email and opened with Banana Accounting regardless of the operating system used.
Copying or moving files
*.ac2 files can be copied or moved:
- From one folder to another
- Use Windows Explorer or Mac Finder to locate the folder where the files were saved.
- Copy and move them to the new destination folder (once pasted, if needed, they can be deleted from the previous folder).
- From one computer to another
- By sending an email (as attachments) and saving them on the new computer.
- Files can be saved on a USB stick or an external drive and then moved to the new computer:
- Open the file you want to save.
- From the File menu > Save As, select the desired destination drive.
- You can also copy by opening Explorer and dragging the file to the selected drive.
Saving to Cloud systems
Banana Accounting Plus does not have its own Cloud, but it allows you to work with your own. The program is installed on your computer and runs locally.
As for accounting files, they belong exclusively to you and you can save them wherever you want, including on services like Dropbox and Google Drive that keep files synchronized with cloud storage services.
In the cloud, Banana Accounting overwrites the *.ac2 files and deletes the *.ac2.bak file. The deleted files list in the cloud contains previous versions of the *.ac2.bak file.
Viewing changes
Banana Accounting, Android version, works directly with the Dropbox server. If you make changes on your PC, you usually need to wait a few seconds to see the updates on the server and thus in the Banana Accounting file.
To ensure that the file is properly synchronized with the server from your computer, the file should be marked with a green checkmark.
If you do not see the synchronization symbols (green, red, blue), you need to update the Dropbox application installed on your PC.
Another way to check the synchronization status from your PC is to click the Dropbox icon in the lower taskbar:
Additionally, on Android synchronization does not occur while working with the app. You need to close and reopen it.
Warning:
Banana Accounting cannot detect if files are opened and modified simultaneously on multiple computers. Therefore, it may happen that one person deletes some data while another adds new entries. Only the most recently saved copy of the file is retained. It is important to avoid working on the same file at the same time.
Deleting and renaming files
Banana Accounting does not have a delete or rename function for files; to do this, you must use the appropriate function of the operating system (Windows Explorer or Finder on Mac).