How to Back up QuickBooks Online Data

10 Apr 2025

5 min read

Gopika

Article at a glance

Recovering deleted files from QuickBooks Online can be challenging with native tools.

Backing up QuickBooks Online data is crucial for protecting financial information.

Native options include manual exports which can be cumbersome and incomplete.

Introduced in 2001, QuickBooks Online is an accounting software that has become an industry standard for small and medium businesses globally. QuickBooks Online allows organizations to record cash flow, sales transactions, expenses, budgets, payroll, and more. QuickBooks now serves over 29 million businesses in the United States and holds a 66% share of the accounting software market.

Any QuickBooks data that gets deleted—accidentally or otherwise—is permanently deleted. This means it is impossible to restore deleted data unless a backup solution is in place. With highly important business data stored in the application and no built-in recycle bin, it is essential to have a reliable backup strategy for QuickBooks Online.

What are the different ways to backup QuickBooks Online data?

Businesses can backup QuickBooks Online data in three ways:

Using the native tool (available only with the QuickBooks Online Advanced plan)
Export QuickBooks Online data to local storage
Third-party tool that incrementally backs up all business transactions, files, and other related data

Backup QuickBooks Online using the native backup tool

The Backup and Restore feature in QuickBooks Online Advanced ensures that your company data is securely saved and can be restored when needed. Depending on the interface you see (new or old), the steps may vary slightly.

Available editions

The QuickBooks Online backup and restore tool is available exclusively for QuickBooks Online advanced users, at no additional cost. The backup and restore tool is not available for QuickBooks Online Simple Start, Essential, and Plus plans.

How to back up QuickBooks Online using the native backup tool

Important Note:

If you're using the new interface, QuickBooks automatically begins backing up your company data once you access the Backup & Restore tool — no need to manually connect your company. If you don’t see your company listed or prefer the classic interface, click “Prefer the old environment?” to follow the manual setup process.

Steps in the new interface (default for most users)

Step 1: Sign-in to Intuit QuickBooks Online using an administrator credentials.
Step 2: Click the gear icon and click “Back up company”. (User might need to sign-in once again to authorize the backup and restore app to access the company information).

Step 3: Once the Backup & Restore dashboard opens, your company is automatically connected. Backups run automatically every 24 hours.
Step 4: To run a manual backup, click the "Run manual backup".

Step 5: Select the kind of backup you need (Incremental, Full, Complete) and click “Backup”.

Steps in the old interface (“Prefer the old environment?”)

Step 1: In the backup and restore home page, choose the company that needs to be backed up. Click “Add Company” if the company is not visible on the list. Choose the company name and click “Next”.

Step 2: Click “Connect”. Once the company is connected, it will appear on the Companies list in the homepage.
Step 3: Click the “Enable Backup” next to the company name.

QuickBooks runs an automated backup every day. Once the first back up job is initiated, all the changes made to the company’s account will be tracked. In case of any deletion or unwanted transaction, the company account can be rolled back to a date before the error was made. Click here to learn more.

What data gets backed up by the QuickBooks Online backup tool?

Here is a table summarizing the types of data backed up by the QuickBooks Online native backup tool:

Transaction data	List data	Other data
Invoices  Estimates  Sales  Receipts  Payments  Deposits Bills and bill payments  Credit memos  Vendor credits  Journal entries  Purchases and purchase orders  Refund receipts  Time activities  Transfers	Accounts  Budgets  Classes Currencies  Customers Departments  Employees (except their SSN)  Items  Payment methods  Tax agencies  Tax codes and tax rates  Terms Vendors (except the Tax ID field)	Attachments Company info  Entitlements  Exchange rates  Preferences  Intuit Payroll info backs up as journal entries  Inventory shrinkage and adjustments back up as journal entries

What data does not get backed up by the QuickBooks Online backup tool?

Below is a list of data types that are not backed up by the QuickBooks Online native backup tool:

Data not backed up
QuickBooks Online Payments info Customer types and price rules  Delayed credits and charges (although associated invoices are backed up)  Recurring transactions  Bank feeds and their links to transactions and bank rules Reconciliation reports  Account-based billable expenses  Item-based billable expenses with markup  Custom reports  Custom form templates  Audit log entries

Limitations of using the QuickBooks Online backup and restore tool

The backup and restore feature in QuickBooks Online is exclusively available in the QuickBooks Online Advanced plan, which comes at a higher cost.
A restore action can only roll back the data to the last backup date.
Although the backup tool tracks every single change, it is impossible to track deletions without a cumbersome audit log.
QuickBooks backup does not allow individual transactions to be restored.
It does not cover several data types stored in the application.

Save and schedule backups to Google Drive

Once the automatic backup is set up using the QuickBooks Online Back Up and Restore app, organizations can go a step further and schedule and save the backups to a linked Google Drive account.

How to link Google Drive to QuickBooks Online Backup and Restore app

Follow the below steps to link Google Drive to a QuickBooks Online advanced account.

Step 1: Log in to Intuit QuickBooks Online Advanced account. Click the gear icon and click “Back up company”.
Step 2: Navigate to “Personal Cloud Archive”
Step 3: Click “Export Backup”

Step 4: Select Google Drive and authorize access

Limitations of using QuickBooks' Local Backup feature to save and schedule backups to Google Drive

The Personal Cloud Archive feature is part of the QuickBooks Online Backup and Restore application and is available only to QuickBooks Online Advanced users.
Backups must be manually exported; there is no scheduling option to automate exports to Google Drive.
Businesses may incur additional cloud storage costs depending on their Google Drive usage.
Backed up data cannot be imported directly from Google Drive. This means businesses need to spend additional effort and time to download the data from the cloud storage.

Export QuickBooks data to create a local backup

Organizations can back up their QuickBooks Online data by manually exporting the company data and creating a local backup.

How to export QuickBooks data to create a local backup

Follow the below steps to export QuickBooks Online data:

Step 1: Sign-in to Intuit QuickBooks Online.
Step 2: Click the gear icon (settings) and click “Export data” from the settings drop-down menu.

Step 3: In the Export data dialog box, click a date range (choose from All dates, a Custom date range, Last calendar quarter, This year-to-date, and Last year).

Step 4: Unselect the items to be removed from the export.
Step 5: Export to Excel. The data will be downloaded as a ZIP file in the Downloads folder in the local system.

What type of QuickBooks data can be exported?

Below are the types of QuickBooks data that can be exported using the native tool:

Report	List data
General ledger Profit and loss Balance sheet Trial balance Journal	Customers Employees Vendors

Limitations of exporting QuickBooks Online data for backup

Exporting data allows QuickBooks Simple Start, Essential, and Plus users to create a backup. However, it is still not a comprehensive backup solution:

Data needs to be manually exported on a regular basis.
Users need to keep track of and organize the exports to be able to quickly access it in case or a deletion or unwanted transaction.
Export formats are limited to Excel and PDF.

c. Back up QuickBooks Online data using third-party cloud backup solution

The above methods do not act as comprehensive backup solutions for your QuickBooks Online data. A third-party backup solution like SysCloud lets users back up multiple companies on the QuickBooks Online platform directly to the cloud. SysCloud automatically backs up QuickBooks transaction and list data and makes it available to be restored at any time. The solution backs up multiple versions of QuickBooks data and lets users compare them before restoring.

What type of QuickBooks data does SysCloud backup?

Below is a list of QuickBooks data items that SysCloud backs up:

Transactions	List data
Bills Bill Payments Credit Memos Deposits Estimates Invoices Journal Entries Payments Purchases Purchase Orders Refund Receipts Sales Receipts Time Activities Transfers Vendors credits	Accounts Attachments Classes Customers Departments Employees (except SSN field) Items Journal Codes (France only) Payment Methods Terms Vendors

Click here to learn more about SysCloud backup for QuickBooks Online.

How to set up QuickBooks Online backup using SysCloud

Follow the below steps to set up QuickBooks Online backup using SysCloud:

Note: Only the primary owner can set up a QuickBooks Online backup with SysCloud.

Step 1: Log in to your SysCloud account.
Step 2: Click "Jobs" from the top menu bar.
Step 3: Enter a job name and a description (optional). Click "Next".

Step 4: Click the "Connect" option beside QuickBooks Online from the Clouds list.

Step 5: Click "Connect and add QBO Companies".

Step 6: Sign-in to Intuit to authenticate.

Step 7: Click "Start backup".

Step 8: Select the checkbox next to the QuickBooks Online company you want to backup. Click "Confirm".

This will start the backup for your QuickBooks Online data.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does QuickBooks Online have a native backup solution?

QuickBooks Online has a native backup tool in place. However, it is still not a comprehensive solution to protect all business transactions. Although it can backup company data, it cannot restore individual transactions or files. Don’t believe us? Take a look at the screenshot from the QuickBooks' support page below.

While QuickBooks does not recommend a third-party backup tool, QuickBooks clearly states that their backup solution cannot restore to a previous point-in-time. QuickBooks can only roll back company-wide data to the last backup date, and transactions and associated attached files cannot be recovered individually. Therefore, it is best to invest in a cloud backup solution like SysCloud.

Do I need to backup QuickBooks Online?

Any QuickBooks data that gets deleted(accidentally or otherwise) is permanently lost. This means it is impossible to restore the deleted data unless there is a backup solution in place.

With highly important business data stored in the application and no recycle bin, it is pertinent to have a backup strategy in place for QuickBooks Online. Click here to know the different ways you can back up QuickBooks Online data.

How do I backup QuickBooks Online data to an external drive?

Click here to learn how to export data from QuickBooks Online for a local backup. However please note that while this seems like a good method, it is manual and time-consuming, in addition to a being complex in case you wish to restore the exported data to the QuickBooks Online account. Check out How to Export QuickBooks Online Data to learn more about the different export options available for QuickBooks Online.

Does SysCloud backup the attachables related to transactions?

Yes, SysCloud backs up attachables related to transactions. Click here for the complete list of QuickBooks data items that SysCloud backs up.

Can I access the SysCloud backups after I unsubscribe to QuickBooks Online?

Absolutely, your backups are always available on the cloud throughout your SysCloud subscription period, and you can access it anytime, anywhere.

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