I haven't specifically checked the most recent version but the program by default is set up to keep almost all reporting based on the version of the file.  Pro will keep current and 6 previous years of Financials, Premium and Quantum will keep up to 100 years.  Customer and Vendor Aged Detail reports will be kept forever and Payroll will keep detail for the current year and two previous fiscal years.

If you don't have this, then someone has either manually Cleared data or setup the program to Automatically Clear Data on a fiscal year transition (Maintenance Menu) and then allowed it to Clear Data when moving to a new fiscal year.

When I say forever, it will go back to the beginning of the data file's creation.

EMaude said:

is there a way to save it each fiscal year end so I could go to that back up or copy and look at past years.  

I use File, Save As and give the filename a year at each fiscal year transition (before moving the session date to the new year).  This way I have a file based on the session date as of the last day of each year.  I also keep a cab file backup.

Thanks Richard.  No one has cleared data, and I double checked to make sure it wasn't set up in Maintenance.  
I can go back in Income Statements, Balance Sheet, Trial Balance, GL reports to 2016.  I discovered by playing around I do have Customer and Vendor back to 2017. 

But I don't have Payroll reports before the start of the 2019 fiscal year.  Payroll is the report I needed to go back through - to 2017.  

I do keep a cab file backup, and started keeping a copy and a save as at the end of each fiscal year, but only started doing that early this year. 

Having the copy etc. would I also need to keep a copy of the version of Sage it was used in, ie Sage 2018 instead of Sage 2021, to be able to open the copy or .cab file

If you were a partner in 2018 then you would have a copy of the program, possibly still installed that you could use.  However, if you restore a 2018 backup with Sage 50 AE 2021 then it will unpack the file to the hard drive then attempt to upgrade it.  Therefore you don't need to have the 2018 version of the program unless there is a problem upgrading.  Most of us keep our old versions because we often come across people with older versions and have to keep compatible if we wish to take them on as clients.

Thanks, that is what I thought

Hi EMaude, if the above suggested answer helped, please do mark it as verified  for the benefit of others in this forum :). Thank you!

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