diff --git a/rwm.py b/rwm.py
index 49e3c5d6d676b0f06606eecb4ad5b7af93e4b486..8a41a9d64017dc57ac6dcfa3bf00e65a5e513a83 100755
--- a/rwm.py
+++ b/rwm.py
@@ -68,12 +68,19 @@ class RWM:
         # aws cli does not have endpoint-url as env config option
         return subrun(["aws", "--endpoint-url", self.config["S3_ENDPOINT_URL"]] + args, env=env, check=False).returncode
 
-    def rclone_cmd(self, args):
-        """rclone wrapper"""
+    @staticmethod
+    def _rclone_validate_args(args):
+        """rclone args helper"""
 
-        # ensure command uses expected backend
         if (not any(x.startswith("rwmbe:") for x in args)) and all(x != "help" for x in args):
             logging.error("rclone command missing 'rwmbe:' backend specification")
+            return False
+        return True
+
+    def rclone_cmd(self, args):
+        """rclone wrapper"""
+
+        if not self._rclone_validate_args(args):
             return 1
 
         env = {
@@ -95,9 +102,7 @@ class RWM:
         * https://rclone.org/crypt/
         """
 
-        # ensure command uses expected backend
-        if not any(x.startswith("rwmbe:") for x in args):
-            logging.error("rclone command missing 'rwmbe:' backend specification")
+        if not self._rclone_validate_args(args):
             return 1
 
         env = {