QuickBooks Online export guide
Your bookkeeper needs these reports from your QBO
To prepare for your bookkeeping cleanup or review, your bookkeeper needs you to export a few standard reports from your QuickBooks Online file. The whole process takes about 10 to 15 minutes.
Before you start
Your bookkeeper will tell you two things before you begin: the date range to use, and whether to run the reports on cash or accrual basis.
Date range
Most reviews use a calendar year (January 1 through December 31). If your fiscal year ends on a different date, use that instead. Use the same date range for every report. If you're not sure which dates to use, ask your bookkeeper before you start.
Cash or accrual basis
QBO can run most of these reports on either cash or accrual basis, and the numbers will differ. Use whichever basis your bookkeeperasks for, and use the same basis for every report. If they haven't told you, ask before you start. Don't guess: a cleanup run on the wrong basis can lead to incorrect findings.
Don't open or edit the files after exporting. Save them straight from QBO and send them as-is. Opening a file in Excel and saving it again can change the formatting and make the report unreadable.
Reports to export (6 required)
For each report below, go to Reportsin QBO, search for the report name, set the date range or "As of" date, then click Export to Excel. Use the same date range for every report.
Account List
The list of every category your books use.
Reports > Account List > Export to Excel
Trial Balance
A snapshot of every account's balance as of one date.
Reports > Trial Balance > set 'As of' to your end date > Export to Excel
Balance Sheet
What your business owns and what it owes, as of one date.
Reports > Balance Sheet > set 'As of' to your end date > Export to Excel
Profit and Loss
What you earned and spent during a date range.
Reports > Profit and Loss > set the date range > Export to Excel
Transaction List by Date
Every transaction during the date range, sorted by date.
Reports > Transaction List by Date > set the date range > Export to Excel
General Ledger
Every transaction during the date range, grouped by account.
Reports > General Ledger > set the date range > Export to Excel
If applicable (up to 4 more)
These reports only matter for some businesses. Skip the ones that don't apply to you. If you're not sure, ask your bookkeeper.
A/R Aging Summary
Money customers owe you, grouped by how long it has been outstanding.
Only if your business sends invoices to customers.
Reports > A/R Aging Summary > Export to Excel
A/P Aging Summary
Money you owe to vendors, grouped by how long it has been outstanding.
Only if your business pays bills to vendors on credit.
Reports > A/P Aging Summary > Export to Excel
Reconciliation Summary
A record of past account reconciliations.
Only if your books have been reconciled in QBO before.
Reconcile > Summary > Export
Bank Feed — For Review
Transactions waiting in your bank feed to be categorized.
Only if there are items sitting in the For Review queue. QBO exports up to 300 rows per file and only captures what's currently visible. If an account has more than 300 items, use the gear icon at the top of the For Review tab to set rows per page, then export each page until you've captured everything.
Banking tab > gear icon (set rows per page) > For Review > Export
A few quick rules
- Use the same date range for every report.
- Don't open or edit the exported files. Send them exactly as QBO saved them.
- .xlsx is the preferred format. Some reports (like Reconciliation Summary and Bank Feed - For Review) export as .csv instead. That's normal, send those as-is too.
- If a report shows zero or empty data, skip it and let your bookkeeper know.
Send the files back
Once you have the files, send them to your bookkeeper using whatever method they prefer (email, secure file share, or a portal they've set up). Your bookkeeper will load them into their diagnostic tool, review what they find, and follow up with next steps.