Copyright © 2026 Everyday Backups · everydaybackups.com · Secure cloud backup for small business & personal files
A survey firm's value lives in files that cannot be reconstructed after the fact: raw field-collector observations, total-station and GNSS data, point clouds from LiDAR and drone capture, CAD and LandXML deliverables, and the boundary research and metes-and-bounds documents tied to a specific parcel and field campaign. From the first field shot to the final plat, every step in that chain is irreplaceable.
Everyday Backups helps survey firms protect field-to-finish project data with managed, encrypted, monitored, off-site backup for Windows computers. Paid plans from $5.99/mo.
A field crew can go back to a site, but they cannot recreate the observation conditions, the instrument setup, or the legal context of the original campaign. The raw data from a total station or GNSS receiver, the point cloud from a drone or terrestrial scanner, the boundary research tied to a specific deed and monument visit: these exist once, created at the time of the field work. Losing them is not a software problem you can solve by reinstalling an application. The file is simply gone, and the only path to recovery is returning to the field, if that is even possible given site access, client deadlines, or conditions that have changed.
Below is a complete picture of what a working survey firm should be able to recover from backup, from a specific project and a specific date, on demand.
A single project folder in a survey office can represent dozens of field hours, extensive deed research, and weeks of office processing. No individual file category is a shortcut around the others. Backup needs to cover the full scope, not just the final deliverable PDF.
Most small businesses can reconstruct lost files with time and effort: rekey the invoice, re-download the document, rebuild the spreadsheet. A survey firm cannot go back and re-observe a control point that has since been disturbed. It cannot recover a field-collector file that was the only record of a boundary corner visit where a monument was set. The raw observations are the source. Everything downstream, the COGO solution, the CAD drawing, the legal description, flows from what was captured in the field on that day.
Point clouds present an additional dimension. A full terrestrial or drone scan of a site can run to tens of gigabytes, sometimes more. That data is the scan, and re-scanning requires returning to a site under the same access arrangements, with the same equipment, at potentially significant cost. Scan data that lives only on the instrument laptop or a single external drive, with no off-site copy, is one hardware failure away from being permanently lost.
Boundary and plat deliverables have their own weight. A final plat for a subdivision or a boundary survey for a property dispute is a formal document tied to a specific legal context. If a client returns two years later with a follow-on question, a resubmittal request, or a dispute about the original work, the firm needs to be able to produce the deliverable as it was issued on the original date. That means not just the PDF, but the CAD source, the coordinate data behind it, and the research that supported it.
For context on how engineering design and calculation files fit into a related but distinct picture, see backup for engineering firms. Survey and engineering practices often overlap on the same project team, but the field-to-finish data chain is a survey-specific concern that the engineering page does not address.
The principles below reflect CISA small-business backup guidance and the #StopRansomware campaign framework, applied to the practical data types a survey office generates. This is not legal or records-retention advice. What files your firm should retain, for how long, and under what conditions is a question for advisors familiar with your state, your project types, and your client relationships. This is about whether your files can actually be recovered if you need them.
For a broader assessment of your firm's backup posture, work through the small-business backup checklist. If ransomware is a specific concern, see ransomware restore readiness for a grounded look at what makes a backup recoverable after an encryption event. Survey firms that work alongside general contractors on construction projects may also find backup for contractors and construction businesses relevant for understanding the broader project data picture.
Ransomware encrypts files and demands payment to restore them. For most businesses, the worst outcome of a successful ransomware attack is losing access to files and facing a costly recovery. For a survey firm, there is an additional layer: some of the encrypted files are irreplaceable even if the firm could afford to recreate them. You cannot go back and re-observe field data that was only ever captured once.
This is what makes an independent, off-site backup with sufficient version history the only real answer to ransomware for a survey practice. A backup that is connected to your network at the time of the attack, such as a mapped network drive or a NAS that is always online, can be reached and encrypted along with your working files. An off-site backup that is independent of your local network, with a retention window long enough to span the typical delay between infection and discovery, is what allows you to restore clean files from before the encryption event.
CISA's #StopRansomware guidance specifically recommends maintaining offline or off-site backups and testing restore procedures, not just verifying that backup jobs complete. The backup that saves a survey firm from a ransomware event is the one that was tested before it was needed, not the one that was assumed to be working.
For a more detailed look at ransomware backup planning, see ransomware restore readiness.
Everyday Backups installs on Windows, and setup does not require IT expertise. You configure which folders to protect, and the service handles encrypted, monitored, off-site backup automatically. Paid plans start at $5.99/mo.
For a survey office, the typical starting point is the main project folder on the primary workstation or server, the folder where field-collector downloads land, and the accounting or QuickBooks folder. From there, coverage can be expanded to other machines and to locations where scan and drone data is stored.
If you are not sure what your firm's actual backup gaps are before you start, our team offers a free 15-minute Backup Risk Check. It is a brief human review of your current setup, at no obligation. You can schedule it at the link in the band below, or call 850-980-3691 to talk to someone directly.
Important note: Everyday Backups is a general file-backup service for Windows computers and mobile devices. We are not a records-retention program, a compliance advisor, or a substitute for guidance from a licensed land surveyor or qualified legal counsel. We do not advise on what files your firm is required to retain, for how long, or under what conditions. We do not make any claim about survey-software compatibility or about meeting the requirements of any licensing board or professional body. Our role is to help make sure that whatever files your firm decides to keep, those files are actually recoverable when you need them.
An office server organizes your project files and makes them available to the team, and those are real benefits. But a server is not an independent backup on its own. A ransomware attack that reaches your network can encrypt files on a server just as it would on any workstation. An accidental deletion propagates immediately, with no independent copy to fall back on. A fire or theft that affects the office takes the server with it. Per CISA's 3-2-1 principle, an adequate backup strategy includes at least one copy that is off-site and independent from your primary storage. An office server meets neither of those criteria by itself.
Cloud sync is a useful step, but it is not the same as an independent backup with version history. When a file is saved incorrectly, the sync reflects the bad save. When a folder is deleted locally, the sync removes it from the cloud. When ransomware encrypts local files, the encrypted versions sync to the cloud and overwrite the clean copies, often within minutes. A backup with its own version history, retained independently of your local file state, is what allows you to recover from those events. For a fuller look at how sync and backup differ, see cloud sync vs. backup.
Everyday Backups runs on Windows and protects files in whatever folders you configure for backup. Large files, including scan project folders and point cloud datasets, are handled the same way as smaller files. The practical consideration is upload time for the initial backup of large archives, which depends on your internet connection speed. After the initial upload, only new or changed data is sent, which keeps ongoing backup much faster. The key step is making sure that scan and point cloud folders are explicitly included in your backup scope, since those file types are sometimes excluded from other backup configurations to save storage costs.
No. Everyday Backups is a backup service, not a records-retention or compliance program. We do not advise on what files a survey firm is required to retain, what a state licensing board or professional association requires, or what constitutes an adequate project record under any professional or legal standard. Those questions belong to your state licensing board, a licensed professional land surveyor advisor, or qualified legal counsel familiar with your jurisdiction and project types. What we can do is help ensure that whatever files your firm decides it wants to keep, those files are actually recoverable from a specific date when you need them.
Paid plans start at $5.99/mo. The best starting point is to sign up and configure backup for your primary project workstation or server. You can expand coverage to additional machines and storage locations from there. If you would like a human review of your current setup before committing, schedule a free 15-minute Backup Risk Check with our team at no obligation. The link to schedule is in the section below, or you can call 850-980-3691.
Everyday Backups runs on Windows, iPhone, iPad, and Android. Set it once; it backs up automatically, encrypted, off-site. Paid plans from $5.99/mo.
Prefer to talk to a person? Call 850-980-3691
Want a second set of eyes? Schedule your free 15-minute Backup Risk Check with our team
Copyright © 2026 Everyday Backups · everydaybackups.com · Secure cloud backup for small business & personal files