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Access and view your QuickBooks Desktop reports online

by Intuit•3• Updated 6 months ago

Using the online tool, you can access your past QuickBooks Desktop reports and download them as a CSV file to your computer for safe keeping. 

This online tool is especially useful if you need to refer back to certain customer transactions that weren’t included when you moved to QuickBooks Online, or if you require a report for an HMRC inspection. 

In this article, we’ll take a look at what you can download using the online tool, as well as what you can’t download.

While you can use this online tool to view and download reports, there are a few things that you should know: 

  • You can’t use the online tool to move your QuickBooks Desktop data to QuickBooks Online. 
  • You can’t download your company data, but you can download reports and view them online. You can also drill into these reports.
  • The tool is available until June 2030, so you can access your historical desktop reports until then. 

You can use this tool if you: 

  • Had a UK QuickBooks Desktop subscription (version 2006 or above). 
  • You’re an accountant who works with Quickbooks Desktop UK customers.

Here's a list of things you can download using the online tool:

  • Default reports (download these to your computer first to print reports)
  • Existing customised and memorised reports (the online tool can’t create new reports)
  • List information
  • Addresses 
  • Timer lists

Here's what you can’t do with the online tool:

  • Download attachments or notes 
  • Print reports
  • Save reports as a PDF
  • Add, edit or delete transactions

Before you use the online tool, make sure you have these things ready: 

  1. Download your QuickBooks Desktop company file (this can be QBB, QBW, or QBM formats) to your computer. 
  2. Make sure you have the QuickBooks Desktop company file admin credentials. Without them, you can’t access the online tool. 
  3. You can access your Desktop reports for a few hours. Your session will time out after 30 minutes of inactivity and your data will be deleted. To continue working, simply log in again. Session limits will be increasing soon.

Step 1: Use the online tool to view your reports

  1. Open the online tool in a browser.
  2. Read the terms of service and tick the box if you accept them. 
  3. Select Get started.
  4. Sign in to your Intuit Account. If you're new to Intuit, select Create an account.
  5. After you login to QuickBooks, the software will prepare and load your session. This may take a few minutes. Wait until this process is finished before you upload your company file.

Step 2: Upload your company file

  1. Select the file icon from the menu.
  2. Select Temporary Files. 
  3. Select Upload Files. Browse and choose the QuickBooks Desktop company file that you want to upload.
  4. After uploading, select Show uploaded file to close the pop-up. Depending on how large your company file is, this may take some time to complete. 
  5. Once the upload is complete, select your company file, and then select Continue.

Step 3: Save your reports

  1. Enter the user ID and password for your QuickBooks Desktop company file. 
  2. Go to the report you want to export. 
  3. Select Excel from the menu. 
  4. Select Create New Worksheet. 
  5. Select Create a comma separated values (.cvs) file. 
  6. Select Export.

The files will be downloaded in the Temporary Files section under My Files. The name of the file is pre-defined, so make a note of the file name so you’ll know what you’re looking for before you start your search.

Step 4: Download the reports to your computer

  1. Select the file icon from the menu. The file will be a CSV or Excel format. Your saved reports are in a list, but your company file is in the same folder.
  2. Find the report you saved and want to download. Select the dropdown arrow. 
  3. Select Download. 

That’s it! You have saved your QuickBooks Desktop reports to your computer.

As technology continues to develop and evolve, it’s essential for businesses to help ensure their data is accessible. While desktop applications can offer reliable read-only access, they are limited by the hardware, software or operating systems they’re installed on. To provide future-proof long-term access to data, an online tool is needed – one that is not dependent on any hardware or software components.

Fortunately, this solution has already been developed in the form of our data export tool. This tool allows you to download all your data from a cloud server, making it available until 2030.

It also means that if you need to refer back to the information in future years (up until 2030) you will have a copy of your data ready and waiting.

You can download your data manually by exporting your desktop data in an Excel or CSV format. Read our step-by-step guide on how to do this.

Note: There are a few third-party export apps from Intuit's App store. For example, Access lets you download and transfer your data to other applications. Back up your data and keep a copy. This way, you'll have a copy if something goes wrong during migration.

If you have a licence you purchased via one-off payment, either directly from Intuit or through a retail outlet like Staples or Curry's, your perpetual access will be retained post June 30, 2023.

Note: Older versions of QuickBooks Desktop, excluding the 2021 version, will not have received updates nor important security patches. The risk associated with no updates will be compounded after June 30 with no customer support available for UK customers.

To help ensure the highest level of security for our users, and after careful consideration, we decided to opt for AWS (Amazon Web Services) as it is the most flexible cloud computing environment. Additionally, when uploading data to AWS, the data is only available for 3 hours after which point it is automatically and permanently deleted.

You can use the QuickBooks Desktop report centre to see data and export it the same way you would have on Desktop. It also offers convenient formats including but not limited to Excel, CSV and PDF. From reports you can drill down and view data at a transaction level, which is helpful if you're looking for specific information.

More help

If you need additional help or have questions, or you require assistance at any point in this process, start a discussion with an expert in our QuickBooks Community. 

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