Configure Exact Backup Schedules in a QCBM Profile

QCBM Profiles can run automatically on an exact schedule when scheduled backups are available for your entitlement. The schedule belongs to the Profile, so the same backup type, exclusions, archive settings, retention rules, and export options are reused every time that Profile becomes due.

Exact schedule times use the Joomla site timezone. The Joomla Scheduled Task checks for due work; it does not replace the time stored in the Profile.

Open the Profile Schedule

  1. Go to Components > QC Backup Manager > Profiles.
  2. Edit the Profile you want to automate.
  3. In Backup and Exact Schedule, confirm the Backup type.
  4. Choose the appropriate value from Schedule.
  5. Complete the schedule-specific fields, review the retry wait, and save the Profile.

Only published Profiles are eligible to run automatically. An unpublished Profile can still retain its schedule settings, but QCBM reports it as not scheduled while unpublished.

Choose the Schedule Rule

QCBM 1.5.13 provides these schedule choices:

  • Manual only — the Profile is available for manual use but is not due automatically.
  • Hourly at an exact minute — choose minute 0 through 59. For example, 15 means 1:15, 2:15, 3:15, and so on.
  • Daily at an exact time — choose a local site time such as 02:00.
  • Weekly on selected days — select one or more weekdays plus the run time. QCBM requires at least one weekday.
  • Monthly on a selected day — choose day 1 through 31 plus the run time. If that day does not exist in a shorter month, QCBM uses the final day of that month.
  • Every scheduler check (advanced) — makes the Profile eligible at recurring scheduler checks rather than at a calendar time. Use this only when you intentionally want very frequent eligibility.

Confirm the Joomla Site Timezone

The Profile editor displays the Joomla site timezone next to the schedule controls. Hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly occurrences are calculated in that timezone, not from the browser clock of the administrator who saves the Profile.

If a backup appears to run at the wrong local time, verify Joomla's configured site timezone before changing the QCBM schedule. Changing the Profile to compensate for an incorrect Joomla timezone can create another timing error later.

Understand Exact Time Versus Scheduler Polling

The Profile determines when an occurrence becomes due. Joomla's QCBM Scheduled Backups task provides opportunities to notice and start that due occurrence. Those are different concepts.

For example, if a Profile is due at 02:00 but the scheduled task does not run until 02:06, QCBM can recognize the 02:00 occurrence as due when the task finally checks. Making the Joomla task poll more frequently does not change the Profile's saved 02:00 schedule.

QCBM also avoids starting a second persistent backup while another QCBM Backup Set owns the backup-create operation. Due Profiles can wait until the active Backup Set finishes.

Set the Failed-Attempt Retry Wait

The same schedule section includes Retry wait after a failed attempt. Available choices are 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 6 hours, 12 hours, and 24 hours.

This setting prevents QCBM from immediately repeating the same scheduled occurrence after a failed, running, or pending attempt. It does not move the Profile's normal calendar schedule. The retry behavior is covered in detail in the separate retry-timing article.

Verify the Schedule

After saving, return to the Profiles or scheduler view and review the Profile's schedule description and next-run information. QCBM can show states such as Due now, the next calendar occurrence, or Retry after when a failed attempt is still inside its retry wait.

Before depending on unattended backups, confirm that the QCBM Scheduled Backups task is present and healthy and that the Profile is published. Then review Backup History after the first automatic run to make sure the expected Profile, backup type, and result were recorded.

Common Scheduling Mistakes

  • Setting an exact Profile time but assuming the Joomla task itself must use that exact same time.
  • Forgetting that QCBM uses the Joomla site timezone.
  • Leaving a scheduled Profile unpublished.
  • Choosing a monthly day such as 31 without realizing QCBM intentionally uses the final day in shorter months.
  • Using Every scheduler check when a daily or hourly schedule would better describe the intended policy.

Community Discussion

Want to compare workflows, share practical tips, or discuss how you use this QCBM feature? Visit the QC Backup Manager Community. For private support, bug reports, account-specific issues, or feature requests, use the QuantaCade support system.