FAQ

Short answers to the questions we are asked most. Each one links to the page with the detail.

How it works

Do I need to install an agent?

No. BackupSentinel reads the report emails your backup software already sends. You point those reports at a client address, and there is nothing to install on servers or workstations. See Getting started.

Does BackupSentinel need access to my backup servers?

No. It never connects to your backup servers, consoles or storage. Everything it knows comes from the reports it receives, by email or through the Report API.

Does BackupSentinel store my backups?

No. BackupSentinel monitors backups; it never runs them or stores the backed-up data. It keeps the monitoring evidence (report emails, alerts and history) for your plan's retention period. Your backups stay wherever your backup software keeps them.

Which backup products does it support?

Built-in rules read reports from Veeam Backup & Replication, Synology Hyper Backup and Active Backup, Acronis Cyber Protect, Microsoft 365 backup, Proxmox VE and Proxmox Backup Server, Duplicati, NAKIVO, Datto, MSP360 and Cove Data Protection. Other products work through keyword matching or a rule you write. See Integrations and the setup guides.

Can I get alerts by SMS?

No. Alerts go by email, Slack, Microsoft Teams and PagerDuty. PagerDuty receives critical alerts only. See Alerts and channels.

Reports and data

Can my clients see their reports?

Yes, without an account. Build a client's monthly report and create a read-only share link, valid for 7, 30 or 90 days. You can revoke it at any time, and you can see how often it was opened. Clients do not get a sign-in of their own. See Reports and exports.

Can I export reports as PDF?

No. Reports are on screen, as CSV downloads, as a share link, or as a scheduled email with a CSV attached. There are no PDF or white-label reports.

Is there an API to read data?

No. The Report API has one endpoint, for sending a backup's result. There are no endpoints to read jobs, statuses or alerts. For a full copy of your data, owners and admins can download a JSON export from Settings → Data export.

Plans and billing

Do I need a credit card to start the free trial?

No. The 14-day trial starts without a card, with the Starter plan's limits. Nothing is charged automatically when it ends, because there is no card on file. If you do not choose a plan by then, monitoring stops; your clients, jobs and settings stay, and choosing a plan resumes monitoring.

What counts as a backup job?

One job you set up in BackupSentinel to watch one backup task. You pay for configured jobs, not for runs: a Veeam job that protects 20 virtual machines and reports after every session is one job. Report emails, alerts, devices, clients and team members are never counted. See Billing and plans.

What happens if I reach my backup-job limit?

Nothing stops. Every existing job keeps being monitored and alerting. Only adding another job is blocked until you upgrade or delete a job you no longer need. The app tells you when you reach 80% of your allowance.

Can I change plans later?

Yes, in Settings → Billing. An upgrade applies immediately and Stripe charges the prorated difference. A downgrade applies at your next renewal. Monthly plans can move to yearly at any time; yearly plans stay yearly.

Is there a discount for annual billing?

Yes. A yearly plan costs ten times the monthly price, so two months are free. Current prices are on Pricing.

Do prices include VAT?

No. Prices exclude VAT. Taxes are calculated at checkout from your billing address and, for businesses, your VAT number.

Security and hosting

Where is my data hosted?

In the EU, in Frankfurt. The app runs on Vercel, the database, sign-in and file storage on Supabase, and report emails are received by Amazon SES, all in Frankfurt. The raw copy of each incoming email is kept for 30 days. See Security.

Do you support single sign-on?

No. There is no SSO or SAML. You can sign in with email and password, Microsoft or Google, and require two-factor authentication for the whole workspace. See Team and security.

Can BackupSentinel staff see my workspace?

BackupSentinel support can open your workspace to help with a problem you report. Everything done that way is labelled in your activity log.