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Delete your data and start over in QuickBooks Online

by Intuit•33• Updated 3 months ago

Sometimes you need to start fresh with a new QuickBooks Online company. If you're new, you can delete your data and start again. If you've used QuickBooks for more than 60 days, you'll need to create a new file.

Before you start

This process will delete all your company data. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

  • These steps help you delete the data for a QuickBooks Online company. If you need to delete all your Intuit data, find out more about managing data or check out our privacy centre.
  • This process doesn’t cancel your QuickBooks Online subscription. If you need to cancel, learn how to cancel your QuickBooks Online subscription. 
  • If you have banks or third party apps connected, deleting your company can permanently damage these connections for your company.
  • You can reuse your current lists after starting over, find out more about moving your lists to a new file.
If you’re not sure how old your company is, sign in to QuickBooks Online. Then, refresh this page for personalised steps.

You'll need to cancel your current QuickBooks Online company and start a new one.

Step 1: Cancel your current company

Follow these steps to cancel your account.

Note: Once you cancel QuickBooks, we delete your data after one year. This gives you some buffer time if you decide to come back to your previous account.

Step 2: Start a new company

  1. Sign up for QuickBooks Online.
    Note: Find out more about the available pricing plans.
  2. Enter your user ID and password. You can use the same user ID and password as before.
  1. Sign in to your QuickBooks Online account.
    Note: You must be logged in as an admin.
  2. Once you're signed in, open this link. Alternatively, you can go to the URL in your browser's address bar, delete all the text and enter the following web address instead: https://app.qbo.intuit.com/app/purgecompany
  3. To confirm you want to delete your company data, type Yes.
  4. Select OK, then Wipe data.

Frequently Asked Questions

Once you perform a purge and reset, your QuickBooks Online file will delete all historical data. Before you reset your file, you can export your data, reports, lists, and more from QuickBooks Online. 

You can't turn off Multicurrency once it's on. If you reset your QuickBooks Online file, Multicurrency will be automatically turned off.  Be sure you want to delete everything before resetting your company file.

If you have turned on Multicurrency, you will not be able to change your home currency. Resetting your QuickBooks Online file will allow you to start from scratch using a new  home currency. Before you reset your file, be absolutely sure you want to delete everything.

If you made a mistake when creating a transaction, you don't have to delete everything and start over. In QuickBooks, you can either void or delete the transaction. Talk to your accountant to find out the best way to handle an incorrect transaction.

Additionally, find out more about the differences between voiding and deleting transactions.

If you set up a tax rate incorrectly, you won't need to reset your QuickBooks Online file. Currently, there's no way to delete a tax rate in QuickBooks Online. However, you can deactivate or make edits to an existing tax rate. 

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