Self-Hosting and Backups.
What self-hosting means for your invoicing data, what you are responsible for, and how to protect your records.
Self-Hosting and Backups
For: business owners and developers running InvoiceScript on their own server.
What self-hosting means
Self-hosting means InvoiceScript runs on your server. You own the files, the database, and every invoice record. No third party has access to your data unless you grant it.
This also means you are responsible for keeping it running. There is no InvoiceScript support team monitoring your server at 3am. If your hosting goes down, your invoicing goes down with it.
Your responsibilities
Keep backups. Your database contains your invoice records, customer data, payment history, and audit trail. If the database is lost, that data is gone. Back up your database on a schedule.
For SQLite: copy the database file. For MySQL or MariaDB: use mysqldump or your hosting panel's backup tool.
Keep PHP updated. InvoiceScript requires PHP 8.4 or later. Security patches for PHP are released regularly. Run a supported version.
Keep your server secure. Use HTTPS. Keep your operating system patched. Use strong passwords. Restrict SSH access.
Configure email. InvoiceScript sends invoices by email through your configured mail provider (SMTP or Resend API). If your mail server goes down, your credentials expire, or your API key is revoked, invoice delivery stops. Monitor your email setup.
Backup strategy
A minimum backup strategy for a small business:
- Daily: database dump (automated with cron)
- Weekly: full file backup (application files, uploads, database)
- Off-site: store at least one copy somewhere other than your hosting server
Test your backups. A backup you have never restored is a backup you do not have.
What InvoiceScript stores
| Data | Location |
|---|---|
| Invoice records, line items, payments | Database |
| Customer records and contacts | Database |
| Company settings and tax rates | Database |
| Audit log | Database |
| Company logo | storage/app/ directory |
| PDF cache | Generated on demand, not persisted |
The database is the critical piece. Everything else can be reinstalled from the InvoiceScript package.
What InvoiceScript does not do
InvoiceScript does not back up your data for you. It does not replicate to a remote server. It does not send you alerts if your disk fills up or your database becomes corrupted.
If you are not comfortable managing a server, consider managed hosting from a provider that handles backups and security patches for you. InvoiceScript runs on standard shared hosting (cPanel, Plesk) where your hosting provider often includes automated backups.
Related pages
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