How to export your QuickBooks Online data

To export QuickBooks Online data, we suggest signing in as Primary Admin or Company Admin, opening Settings, Tools, Export data and exporting the reports and lists you need to Excel. Keep the official export instructions open while you work.

Who runs it and how long it takes

We suggest the Primary Admin or a Company Admin. In the Intuit export article we read on 7 Oct 2026, we found no role named for Export data and no stated time for the ZIP to prepare. Intuit's audit-log page requires admin access.

• Who can run it: We suggest the Primary Admin or a Company Admin for the company you are exporting.
• Audit log: Intuit's audit-log page requires admin access.

Before you start, read How to export your Salesforce data and How to export your Slack workspace.

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Before you start

Decide the date range you need before you open Intuit's export, which lets you set the date range on the Reports tab. If you keep books for clients, export only your own company file. Client books hold your clients' information (client confidentiality). Check the company name in the top bar before you export.

The steps

1. Sign in to the company you are exporting, ideally as Primary Admin or Company Admin.
2. Go to Settings ⚙ > Tools > Export data, choose the reason and continue.
3. On Reports, choose the date range. On Reports and Lists, switch on every item you need, then Export to Excel and OK. Save the ZIP as it is.
4. Attachments come from a second section. Attachments are listed under Intuit's heading for non-posting transactions and other data. Open that section in Intuit's export article, follow its steps, and save that export on its own.
5. That section also lists Recurring Templates, Chart of accounts and Products and Services, along with Estimates, Purchase Orders and Customer Statements. Open each one in Intuit's article, run the ones you need, and save each file.
6. Then Settings ⚙ > Audit log. In the Intuit audit-log article we read on 7 Oct 2026, we found no export option described. A QuickBooks community moderator reply (second-hand) says only the first 300 lines print. Capture what you can across the date range you need, and note what you could not.
7. You, or whoever runs your systems, run the removal tool on your own computer and review flagged items there. You upload only the cleaned package; your original export, review queue and review decisions stay on your computer. These checks do not guarantee that all personal data has been removed.

What you get

You end up with one ZIP of Excel workbooks (your reports and lists), the attachments export, and whatever you can capture of the audit log. Intuit says the audit log provides a detailed trail of who made changes and what actions they performed. Intuit says the audit log shows 150 records at a time and keeps events for two years, so an older change is not there to capture.

Review the cleaned package on your computer before you upload

Your QuickBooks workbooks and attachments stay on your computer. Check the ZIP and any separate exports against your list, then run the removal tool on the unchanged files and review the cleaned package there before anything is uploaded.

1. Before you export, open one report you already rely on for the date range you need and write down its total.
2. Open the ZIP and list the Excel files inside. Compare that list with the items you switched on in the Reports and Lists tabs.
3. Open the workbook for the report from step 1 and compare its total and date range with what you wrote down.
4. Tick off each separate download you need: the attachments export, Recurring Templates, the Chart of accounts, Products and Services, Estimates, Purchase Orders and Customer Statements.
5. For the audit log, write down the date range and how many pages you captured, and note what is missing.

What the removal tool checks, and what stays on your computer

You, or whoever runs your systems, run the removal tool on your own computer and review flagged items there. You upload only the cleaned package; your original export, review queue and review decisions stay on your computer. We accept the package after checking its manifest, file hashes, completed review and specified personal-data patterns. These checks do not guarantee that all personal data has been removed.

Leave payroll, client books and tax return information out of the export (how personal data is removed).

If the export looks incomplete

Missing a report? Intuit's export page points to its article on exporting reports to Excel if you need a different report. Follow it and note the report's name and range. If the export option is greyed out, check the user's role with whoever runs your systems.

Intuit's terms say "Your Content remains yours". We do not ask for a connection to your QuickBooks account (why we ask for an export).

If you also run NetSuite or QuickBooks Desktop, the NetSuite export guide and the QuickBooks Desktop export guide cover those.