Could not create a temporary file used for accountant's copy" in Sage 50
Sage 50 cannot write the working file it needs to produce an accountant's copy, usually a permissions or disk space problem.
When Sage 50 shows “Could not create a temporary file used for accountant’s copy.”, it means the program tried to create the working file it builds an accountant’s copy from, and the operating system refused. The message is about the temporary file, not your company data itself. In most cases your data is intact; the program simply could not find a place it was allowed to write.
Why it happens
An accountant’s copy is assembled in stages: Sage 50 writes a temporary working file, fills it with the data for the dividing-date window you chose, then converts it into the transfer file your accountant opens. If any step in that chain fails, the program reports that it could not create the temporary file. The usual causes are:
- The folder Sage 50 uses for temporary files is full, or the drive is nearly out of space. Accountant’s copies of large companies can need a surprising amount of room.
- The user running Sage 50 does not have write permission to the temporary folder or to the folder where the company file lives. This is common on network installations where the company data sits on another machine or a share.
- Antivirus or backup software locks files in the company folder while Sage 50 is mid-write, so the temporary file appears and then vanishes.
- The company file itself is damaged in a way that stops the export partway through, and the failure surfaces as this message.
Check free space first
The safest first step costs nothing. Make sure the drive holding the company file, and the drive holding your Windows temporary folder, both have generous free space. If either is nearly full, clear room and try the accountant’s copy again.
Check permissions
Run Sage 50 as the same Windows user who normally works in the company, and confirm that user can create and delete files in the company data folder. On a network setup, the share permissions on the server side matter as much as the local ones. If you are unsure which folders are involved, this depends on your installation, so treat it as a question for whoever manages your network rather than something to guess at.
Pause interfering software
Temporarily disable antivirus real-time scanning and any backup job that targets the company folder, then try again. If the copy succeeds, add an exclusion for your Sage data folders rather than leaving protection off permanently.
Try a backup-and-restore cycle
If the message persists, make a standard backup of the company, restore it to a new location, and attempt the accountant’s copy from the restored file. This rules out folder-level problems and sometimes sidesteps minor internal damage. Never attempt this on your only copy: keep the original untouched until you have confirmed the restored file behaves.
When the file itself is the problem
If space, permissions, and interference are ruled out and the message still appears, the company file likely has internal damage that the accountant’s copy routine cannot get past. That is not something to keep retrying or to fix with utilities you are not sure of, because a failed write can leave the file in a worse state. Professional repair is the appropriate route here. Our engineers repair damaged Sage 50 and Simply Accounting databases, and if your goal is ultimately to hand the data to your accountant in QuickBooks instead, we also handle Sage 50 to QuickBooks conversions.
A useful next step
Before anything else, make a fresh backup of the company file right now, while it still opens normally. Then, if the message persists after the checks above, send us the file for a free evaluation: we will tell you what is wrong, whether it is repairable, and what a fix would involve, with no obligation.