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An Informative Guide to Backup QuickBooks Online [2023]

Intuit QuickBooks Online Backup

It is important for all QuickBooks users to create a backup of their data on a regular basis. This helps them to keep their data secure and avoid any chance of losing the data or any data damage. That is why, in QuickBooks Online, you can save online backups of your accounting data. Moreover, to have access to your chart of accounts, always keep a company file backup. Also, you can schedule automatic backups, do one-time manual backups, and even save copies to DropBox or Google Drive. To know how to set up everything and backup QuickBooks online, read the entire article.

Since QuickBooks is a cloud-based application, there can be chances of data loss for various reasons. There can be any incident, including any error in the application, malicious activity, accidental deletion of data, or overwriting of it. All this can cost you your company data. Thus, you need to be sure about your data protection by taking timely data backup.

No matter how advanced a software is, there are definitely some things that it isn’t capable of doing. Similarly, there is certain data that you can backup and some data that you cannot save while using QuickBooks Online. To help you get aware of it, below we have categorized it into different categories:

Data that gets Backed Up

The Online Backup and Restore application backs everything related to your chart of accounts:

Transaction dataList dataOther data
InvoicesAccountsAttachments
EstimatesBudgetsCompany info
Sales receiptsClassesEntitlements
PaymentsCurrenciesExchange rates
DepositsCustomersPreferences
Bills and bill paymentsDepartmentsIntuit Payroll info backs up as journal entries
Credit memosEmployees (except their SSN)Inventory shrinkage and adjustments back up as journal entries
Vendor creditsItems 
Journal entriesJournal codes (France only) 
Purchases and purchase ordersPayment methods 
Refund receiptsTax agencies 
Time activitiesTax codes and tax rates 
 Terms 

Data that isn’t Backed Up

There’s some data that can’t be backed up. However, as this data is non-posting, it won’t affect your accounts:

  • QuickBooks Online Payments info
  • Customer types and price rules
  • Delayed credits and charges (although associated invoice are backed up)
  • Recurring transactions
  • Bank feeds and their links to transactions, bank rules, and
  • Reconciliation reports
  • Account-based billable expenses
  • Item-based billable expenses with markup
  • Custom reports
  • Custom form templates
  • Audit log entries

Data That Can Not Be Restored

Its not just a simple process that, once you have created a backup for your QB data, you can restore it all back. There is some data that you can not restore back in QB, even if you had created a backup for it. So, let us learn which data you would not be able to restore back.

  • Budgets: To get them back, you have to export them back as a CSV file.
  • Inventory: The data that is backed up does not include the inventory history or inventory adjustment details.
  • Tax rates using expense accounts: You will find these in your liability accounts as these are restored back there by the Online backup and restore app.
  • Data that is backed up using the Local Backup feature: Restoring the data back from a local backup is not supported.

Short Process To Intuit QuickBooks Online Backup

Here, we have mentioned the steps by following which you would be able to Intuit QuickBooks Online Backup:

Step 1: Turn on Automatic Backups

Follow the below-given steps to QuickBooks Online Backup Service automatically.

  • Sign in to the QuickBooks Online as an admin.
  • Go to Settings and then select Back up company option followed by Add a Company.
  • Further, select the company file that you want to connect to and then, follow the onscreen instructions to connect to the application.
  • Click on Enable backup once you have connected your company file.

This turns on automatic continuous, automatic backups. Therefore, whenever you add your company file, your data is backed up automatically every 5 – 10 minutes after you make new changes. Along with that, it also runs daily scheduled backups.

Step 2: Do Manual Backups or Save Backups to External Application

Many times, due to unforeseen circumstances there might come a point where we would have to save everything in the middle of the project. Don’t worry! You can do that by manually backing up your data anytime:

  • Sign in to the QuickBooks Online and then, go to Settings.
  • From there, select the Backup company option.
  • Go to the main menu and select the Backup option followed by New Manual Backup.
  • After that, select the company file you want to manually backup.
  • From the Backup Type dropdown, select Incremental, Full, or Complete. 
  • At last, click on the Request backup option.

Backups can also be saved to DropBox or Google Drive, if desired. However, you must first link your accounts in order to set things up:

  • Sign in to the QuickBooks Online Advanced as an administrator and then, go to Settings.
  • There, select the Backup company option.
  • Select Local Backup from the menu followed by Link a Service option and Link Google Drive or Link DropBox.
  • Lastly, follow the steps that appear on your screen to allow QuickBooks to create the backups.

Now, Follow the instructions given below to Save a Backup to DropBox or Google:

  • From the menu, select Local Backup option followed by New Local Backup Schedule.
  • In the Company field, select the company file you want to backup.
  • In the Frequency field, select Once to save a single backup now. Moreover, you can select Monthly, Weekly, or Daily to schedule automatic backups.
  • In the Service section, select Dropbox or Google.
  • When ready, select Create Local Backup Schedule.

Step 3: Restore your Accounting Data

Whenever you begin to restore your company data, the Online Backup and Restore application can restore your data from a specific time or date. It will consume 1 hour or less to complete QuickBooks online backup and restore.

IMPORTANT: Don’t do anything till the restoration process gets completed. You’ll notice a checkmark in the status when it’s finished. Now, you can use your company.

  • Sign in to the QuickBooks Online Advanced as an administrator and then, Go to Settings and select Backup company option.
  • From the menu, select Restore followed by New Restore.
  • In the Company dropdown, select the company you want to overwrite and restore accounting data to.
  • Select the time and date you want to restore to from Restore to dropdown.
  • When ready, select Create Restore, then select Restore to confirm.
  • Depending on the amount of data it might take around 5- 10 minutes to nearly an hour.

Hopefully, the techniques outlined above made it simple for you to backup QuickBooks Online. If you require any additional assistance, we recommend that you contact our experts by giving us a call on QuickBooks Data Service Solutions Helpline Number +1-(855)-955-1942.

1. What to do if my QuickBooks is not backing up?

Your QuickBooks will not back up if the storage device you used for storing the backup file has some issue. This issue can result from any kind of damage to the company file. Another reason that can cause this issue is the wrong backup path configuration. In such a case, you can directly contact our QuickBooks experts for assistance. 

2. How can I transfer data from one QuickBooks Online to another?

To transfer the data from one QuickBooks Online to another, follow the below-given steps:
1. First, log in to your QuickBooks Online subscription.
2. Then, you need to click on the Gear icon at the top and tap on the Export Data button.
3. After that, go to the data you want to export.
4. And click on the option in QB saying Export to Excel.

3. Can I Backup QuickBooks Online to Desktop?

Yes, You can back up QuickBooks Online to Desktop simply by using the built-in features.

4.  Can I Backup My QuickBooks to Flash Drive?

Yes, you can back up your QuickBooks to a flash drive. For this, you just need to open your QB and go to the File menu. Then, hit on Export and follow the given prompts. And when you have .qbb file, copy it to the flash drive.

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Lily Evans

Lily Evans is a Certified Accountant with Expertise in QuickBooks, Sage and Quicken Accounting Software. Lily has been working with Data Service Solutions for the last 3 years as a QuickBooks Expert and is Helping Accounting software users with their day to day accounting tasks and issues.

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