Data Protection Centre/QuickBooks Online/How to Export QuickBooks Online Data: A Complete Guide

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In this article

  • Export QuickBooks Online data using native export tool
  • Export QuickBooks Online data into Google Drive or Dropbox
  • QuickBooks Online data export using third-party backup solutions

How to Export QuickBooks Online Data: A Complete Guide

11 Apr 2023
5 min read
Gopika

QuickBooks Online data export at a glance

QuickBooks Online’s data export options are limited, making it difficult to protect financial records effectively. • Manual exports are time-consuming and error-prone, risking incomplete backups. • Exported data may miss important details and needs constant manual updates. What is the solution? • SysCloud offers automated backups for QuickBooks Online, ensuring financial data is always protected and easily accessible without manual effort.

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Introduction

QuickBooks Online is an accounting software that offers solutions for managing personal, business, and tax finances. With over 4.5 million users, QuickBooks is one of the most popular accounting solutions among small and medium business owners globally.
This article discusses how to export your QuickBooks data and its limitations as a backup solution. 
There are three methods you can use to export QuickBooks Online data:

export-qbo-flowchart

1. Export QuickBooks Online data using the native export tool

Organizations can back up their QuickBooks Online data by manually exporting the company data and creating a local backup. The data exported will be available in Excel or PDF format. 

1.1. Available editions

Available in Simple Start, Essentials, Plus, and Advanced subscriptions.

1.2. What type of QuickBooks Online data can be exported?

Below are the types of QuickBooks data that can be exported using the native tool:
ReportsList data
General ledger
Customers
Profit and loss
Employees
Balance sheet
Vendors
Trial balance
Journal

1.3. How to export QuickBooks data to create a local backup

Follow the below steps to export QuickBooks Online data:
  • Step 1: Sign-in to Inuit QuickBooks Online.

  • Step 2: Click the gear icon (settings) and click “Export data” from the settings drop-down menu.

native QBO export
  • 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).

export QBO data
  • 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. 

zip file QBO

1.4. Limitations of exporting QuickBooks Online data using the native export tool

  • 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 of a deletion or unwanted transaction. 

  • Export formats are limited to Excel and PDF. 

  • Exported files may not include the complete information. For example, while exporting employee details only employee name, phone numbers, email, and addresses can be downloaded and would not include details like joining date, job role, salary etc.

2. Export QuickBooks Online data into Google Drive or Dropbox

QuickBooks Online has a backup and restore tool available exclusively for Advanced subscription users at no additional cost. Once the automatic backup is set up using the QuickBooks Online backup and restore tool, organizations can go a step further and schedule and export the backups to a linked Google Drive or Dropbox account. 

To learn more about the QuickBooks Online backup and restore tool, click here

2.1. How to link Google Drive or Dropbox to QuickBooks Online backup and restore app

Follow the below steps to link Google Drive/Dropbox to QuickBooks Online advanced account:
  • Step 1: Login to Inuit QuickBooks Online Advanced account. Click “Backup company” from the settings drop down.

  • Step 2: Select “Local Backup” from the navigation menu on the left-hand side. 

  • Step 3: Click the “Link a Service” button on the top right corner of the screen. 

  • Step 4: Click the “Link Dropbox” or the “Link Google Drive” button. 

2.2. How to schedule exports from the QuickBooks Online local backup and restore tool

  • Step 1: Navigate to the “Local Backup” page. 

  • Step 2: Select “New Local Backup Schedule”.

Local backup schedule
  • Step 3: Set the date and time on when to run the first scheduled backup.

  • Step 4: Set the frequency of the backups.

Schedule backup
  • Step 5: Select “Create Local Backup Schedule”.

Create local backup schedule

2.3. Limitations of exporting QuickBooks Online data into Google Drive or Dropbox

  • Exporting QuickBooks Online data into Google Drive or Dropbox is only available for Advanced subscription users which is a lot more expensive than other QuickBooks Online plans. 

  • Regularly exporting QuickBooks to Google Drive or Dropbox also means businesses need to pay for additional cloud storage as well.

  • Backed-up data cannot be imported directly from Google Drive or Dropbox. This means businesses need to spend additional effort and time to download the data from cloud storage and import the data into QuickBooks.

3. QuickBooks Online data export using third-party backup solutions

With third-party applications like SysCloud, administrators can export QuickBooks Online data in addition to effortlessly backing up and restoring QuickBooks’ transaction and list data. SysCloud can also identify ransomware files, and compliance issues in the QuickBooks data being backed up.

Follow the steps below to export QuickBooks Online data from the SysCloud backup application:   
  • Step 1: Log in to SysCloud using your admin credentials. 

  • Step 2: Click Archives and select QuickBooks Online from the drop-down.

backup qbo s1
  • Step 3: Click on the company you want to export the item(s) from.

backup qbo s2
  • Step 4: Click on the QuickBooks Online item type you want to recover (e.g.: Bill payments)

qbo backup s3
  • Step 5: Choose the required backup snapshot.

qbo backup s4
  • Step 6: Select the item(s) you want to export by clicking the checkbox next to the item name and click Export.

qbo backup s5
  • Step 7: In the export pop-up, add a comment if you wish to, and click Export.

qbo backup s6

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

Frequently asked questions

  • How to export all QBO transactions for backup?

You can export QuickBooks Online data using the native export tool, or into Google Drive or Dropbox. However, both these methods have their own set of limitations. Exporting QBO transactions using a third-party backup solution will help keep your data secure and serve as a comprehensive data retention strategy.

  • What's the best way to prevent data loss in QuickBooks Online?

Investing in a cloud backup solution like SysCloud can help administrators export QuickBooks Online data in addition to effortlessly backing up and restoring QuickBooks’ transaction and list data. SysCloud can also identify ransomware files and compliance issues in the QuickBooks data being backed up. Click here to learn more about SysCloud backup for QuickBooks Online.

  • How to Recover Deleted QuickBooks Online Data?

QuickBooks Online does not have a recycle bin. This means any transaction, list, or item that's deleted gets removed from the application permanently. 
Below are three ways using which you can recover deleted QBO data:

- Recover from QuickBooks Online backup

- Recover from exports

- Recover from the SysCloud backup archives

  • Does QuickBooks Online have a native export tool?

Yes, organizations can utilize the native export tool to back up their QuickBooks Online data by manually exporting the company data and creating a local backup. The data exported will be available in Excel or PDF format. However, the tool has its own set of limitations. Click here to learn more.

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How to Backup QuickBooks Online Data

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How to Recover Deleted QuickBooks Online data

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6 Reasons Why You Should Back up QuickBooks Online

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In this article

  • Export QuickBooks Online data using native export tool
  • Export QuickBooks Online data into Google Drive or Dropbox
  • QuickBooks Online data export using third-party backup solutions

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