Oct 17, 2026
Admin |
Estimated Read Time : 5 MIN
QuickBooks Online stores your accounting data in the cloud, so you can access your company records through your account rather than relying on a local company file. However, cloud hosting is not the same as having an independent backup you can restore yourself. A mistaken bulk deletion, a faulty import, an accidental change to your chart of accounts, or an account with excessive permissions can affect your financial records. Knowing how to back up QuickBooks Online helps you preserve important information and prepare for data recovery.
The feature must be enabled before you can use it to restore company data to an earlier point in time. If your subscription does not include this feature, you can export reports and lists to Excel or consider a compatible third-party QuickBooks Online backup app. Even if you are using Simple Start, Essentials or Plus, you can still safeguard your records by exporting your reports and lists to Excel or by using a third-party backup application.
This guide explains how to back up QuickBooks Online, compares the available QuickBooks Online backup options, and helps you choose the right method for protecting your accounting data.
Table of Contents
ToggleThe table below provides a condensed overview of what we discuss in this article on QuickBooks Online backup.
| Method | Who can use it | What you get | Best for |
| Online Backup and Restore app | QuickBooks Online Advanced and Intuit Enterprise Suite | Automatic backups and a restore to a chosen date and time | Undoing mistakes and recovering a company to an earlier point |
| Manual backup | QuickBooks Online Advanced and Intuit Enterprise Suite | A one-time full backup that captures your latest changes | Taking a snapshot before a risky change or an import |
| Personal cloud backup | QuickBooks Online Advanced and Intuit Enterprise Suite | A backup archive saved to your linked Google Drive | Keeping a copy outside QuickBooks |
| Export data to Excel | All QuickBooks Online plans | Reports and lists in Excel files, packaged in one .zip file | Keeping a readable record of your books |
| Third-party backup apps | All QuickBooks Online plans | Continuous backups with their own restore tools | Teams that need coverage without upgrading plans |
Intuit provides the Online Backup and Restore app for users of QuickBooks Online Advanced and the Intuit Enterprise Suite; the app is not included in the other plans.
Intuit’s documentation states that QuickBooks Online Accountant does not support the Online Backup and Restore feature. If you manage a client’s books, ask an authorized administrator of the client’s eligible company to configure and run the backup or restore. You can also export available reports and lists to Excel when you need a separate record of the data.
Before you begin, check three things:
If you don’t know which plan you’ve chosen, access the Settings menu and check the Account and settings page since your subscription details are given there.
Understanding what QuickBooks Online backs up is essential before you rely on a recovery point. The Online Backup and Restore app covers specific transaction data, lists, and company settings, but some records are excluded or have additional restore limitations.
Two points are worth keeping in mind. First, transactions you have already reconciled are not left reconciled after a restore, so allow time to reconcile your accounts again. The other is that tax rates which are based on expense accounts are restored in liability accounts, and this may affect the way they appear in your reports. Since recurring transactions, custom reports, and custom form templates aren’t stored, it makes sense to record your main recurring schedules and take screenshots of important templates before you make major changes.
Enabling QuickBooks Online automatic backup helps you recover supported company data from an earlier point in time if an unwanted change occurs.
To enable automatic QuickBooks Online backups, open the backup settings for your eligible company and turn on the backup feature.
You can also access the backup controls through Settings > Back up company > Change backup settings. Once backups are enabled, QuickBooks Online starts backing up the company and tracking supported changes. Check the backup history periodically to confirm that backups are being recorded.
Daily automatic backups protect your data day to day. Still, it is useful to carry out a manual backup when you want a fresh snapshot just before carrying out something risky, for example, when importing a large file, merging customers, or cleaning up your chart of accounts. Intuit points out that with a manual backup, you can capture the state of your books from the most recent moment rather than waiting for the next automatic backup.
Wait for the process to finish, and check the backup list to confirm that the new backup is available. If you manage multiple companies, verify that the correct company is selected before starting.
A QuickBooks Online backup to Google Drive gives you an additional copy of your backup archive outside your accounting account. However, the archive cannot be restored directly through the app.
QuickBooks Online Advanced and eligible Intuit Enterprise Suite companies can use the personal cloud archive feature to export a backup archive to a linked Google Drive account. This provides an additional stored copy of your data, but the archive is not a restore point that you can load directly through the Online Backup and Restore app.
Exports may take about ten minutes or sometimes longer, depending on the size of your company. Please bear these time limits in mind:
Restoring replaces your company data with the data from the point in time you select; this is a powerful feature, so take time to prepare before you start.
Important: A restore replaces the current company data with an earlier version; it does not simply reverse one selected transaction. Confirm that the correct company and restore point are selected before proceeding.
Even when data is included in a QuickBooks Online backup, some information has additional restore limitations. Intuit notes that budgets must be saved separately as CSV files, and restored inventory data does not include inventory history and inventory adjustments. Tax rates originally associated with expense accounts may also be restored to liability accounts. Review these exceptions before restoring your company, and keep separate records of important budgets and inventory information.
Intuit’s Online Backup and Restore documentation states that the app retains backup snapshots from the previous year; snapshots older than one year are not retrievable through the company. This makes the feature useful for recovering from recent changes, but it should not be treated as a long-term financial archive. For audit preparation and record retention, export important reports and lists regularly and store them securely outside QuickBooks Online.
If your QuickBooks Online subscription does not include Online Backup and Restore, the built-in Export data tool lets you save reports and lists as Excel files inside a ZIP archive. This provides an offline reference copy of selected accounting data, but it does not create a company snapshot that you can restore directly to QuickBooks Online.
You can use the QuickBooks Online export to Excel feature to save selected reports and lists for offline access, bookkeeping reviews, and financial recordkeeping.
Save the downloaded ZIP archive to a secure folder, then copy it to a separate location, such as an external drive or cloud storage account.
The main Export data tool does not include every type of QuickBooks Online information. Some non-posting transactions, such as estimates, purchase orders, and attachments, require separate export steps. Depending on the data type, you may be able to export it from its relevant transaction list, report, or Attachments page. Recurring templates and other lists may also require separate exports. Check Intuit’s current Export your QuickBooks Online data instructions to identify the appropriate method for each item.
An Excel export serves as a record rather than as a restore point, so you can’t reload it into QuickBooks Online to reconstruct your company as a restore would allow. It’s very useful for audits, for giving your accountant a copy of it, and for providing a sense of security, but it won’t compensate for a bad bulk edit. If genuine recovery features are needed on a lower-tier plan, then a third-party backup app should be considered.
QuickBooks Online backup software from third-party providers can offer additional scheduled backups and recovery tools for eligible company data. Before choosing a provider, verify its supported data types, retention period, restore capabilities, security controls, and compatibility with your QuickBooks Online subscription.
Various third-party services can connect to QuickBooks Online via Intuit’s approved connection and back up your data on a schedule, then let you restore the records you want. Intuit’s own help pages state that third-party apps can be used for this purpose. When you look at them, check the following:
It should be noted that a third-party app can only back up the data that Intuit permits it to access; moreover, certain items, for example, bank feeds and recurring transactions, are often beyond the scope of these tools, so you should check each provider’s list of coverage before depending on it.
QuickBooks Online can’t save directly to a flash drive because the software runs in your browser and your data is stored in the cloud. However, you can still get a copy on a flash drive by following a few simple steps.
If you use QuickBooks Online Advanced and want to maintain a backup archive, export it to Google Drive, then download the file from Drive and copy it to your flash drive. Remember that flash drives may be lost or damaged, so use them as just one of several copies rather than as your sole backup.
You can download copies of your data to your desktop computer by using the Excel export mentioned above, giving you reports and lists which you can open and search offline. However, if you aim to obtain a QuickBooks Desktop company file, then you will need to go through a different conversion procedure with its own set of requirements and limitations; therefore, it is important that you read Intuit’s present guidance regarding the move from QuickBooks Online to Desktop before you begin, and make sure that your online company remains active until you have verified that everything has been transferred correctly.
It should be noted that the procedures for creating a local backup in QuickBooks Desktop (such as switching to single-user mode and selecting Create Local Backup from the File menu) apply solely to QuickBooks Desktop and are not available in QuickBooks Online; carrying out these steps while logged into the online version will have no effect.
Possessing the tools is one thing and using them properly is something else; these habits will make your records safer.
Give people the minimum access level they need to do their jobs, and review user permissions every quarter, since many data problems start when someone has more access than they need.
If your plan permits it, take a manual backup beforehand; if it doesn’t, export the key reports.
Make sure you keep at least three copies of vital data, store them on two different kinds of storage, and have one copy kept away from your main place; in the case of QuickBooks Online, this could involve the live company file, an export on your computer, and a copy in cloud storage.
At the end of every month, quarter, and year, export your Profit and Loss statement, Balance Sheet, General Ledger, and customer and vendor lists to Excel, and keep the files with your other financial records.
Make a brief note outlining your regular transactions, custom report settings, and form templates so that you can reestablish them quickly following a restore.
By setting a closing date and by using a password for any changes made before that date, accidental modifications of completed periods can be avoided.
When you’re using Advanced, make it a habit to check the backup list regularly. And if your method of relying on exports is being used, open a recent file to make sure it includes the data that you’d expect.
Multi-factor authentication should be enabled for all users since an account that has been compromised can cause more damage than a technical fault.
The ‘Back up company’ option cannot be found; this is generally because your plan doesn’t include it or because you are not logged in as an admin. First, check your subscription and your user role.
A reliable QuickBooks Online backup strategy combines the built-in Online Backup and Restore feature, where available, with separate exports and securely stored copies of important financial records. If you use QuickBooks Online Advanced or Intuit Enterprise Suite, turn on the Online Backup and Restore app today, run a manual backup before any major change, and send a copy to Google Drive for extra protection. If you use another plan, build a routine of exporting your reports and lists to Excel, store the files in more than one place, and consider a reliable third-party backup app for deeper recovery. A few minutes spent setting this up now can save you days of rework later.
However, if you have a query or need assistance with something, speak to a QuickBooks expert at +1(866)500-0076!
Does QuickBooks Online back up my data automatically?
QuickBooks Online stores your accounting data in the cloud, but a user-controlled restore point is a separate feature. For eligible QuickBooks Online Advanced and Intuit Enterprise Suite companies, automatic backups begin after Online Backup and Restore is enabled. If your plan does not include this feature, you can use the Export data tool to save reports and lists as Excel files or consider a compatible third-party QuickBooks Online backup service.
Is there a free way to back up QuickBooks Online?
Yes. Every plan includes the Export data tool, which saves your reports and lists as Excel files in a single .zip file at no extra charge. It provides a readable record you can store safely, share with your accountant, or use during an audit. However, it is not a restore point, so you cannot use it to roll your company back to an earlier date.
What data does QuickBooks Online not back up?
The Online Backup and Restore app excludes QuickBooks Payments information, recurring transactions, bank feeds and their transaction links, bank rules, reconciliation reports, customer types and price rules, delayed credits and charges, custom reports, custom form templates, and audit log entries. Some billable expenses are also excluded. In addition, budgets and inventory history and adjustments have restore limitations, and reconciled transactions do not remain reconciled after a restore. Review Intuit’s current list of backup and restore exclusions before relying on a recovery point.
How do I save a QuickBooks Online backup to Google Drive?
If you have QuickBooks Online Advanced, open Settings, choose Account and settings, select Advanced, and then select Personal cloud backup. Link your Google account and allow access. Next, go to Back up company and select Export backup, then choose Google Drive. The export may take ten minutes or longer, and the archive is saved as a .cab file that you cannot restore through the app.
Who can run a backup or restore in QuickBooks Online?
Only an administrator can connect a company to the Online Backup and Restore app and start a restore. You may also be asked to sign in with your Intuit account and select Authorize. Accountant users cannot use this feature in a client’s file because the accountant version of QuickBooks Online does not support it. In that case, ask the client’s admin to run it, or export the data to Excel.
Lana Creston is an experienced technical and accounting writer with a total of 9 years of experience. She currently works on QuickBooks accounting and technical guides at QuickBookSupportNet. Lana has a passion for reading and writing about various technical topics, especially exploring new accounting methods and software, while continuously expanding her expertise in the ever-evolving field of finance and technology.
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