How do I purge company data for a file that is 45 days old if the company is canceled?

Resusbcribe a cancelled account and purge it is useless. You should sign up for a new blank QBO account instead.

That old company with the expired subscription is an old copy of my QB Desktop migrated file.  I want to migrate the latest version of my QB Desktop.  If I don't purge the old company, both will be present.  Will that cause a problem?

Let me share some information about purging your company file in QuickBooks Online (QBO), deanr73.

We can only cancel your current QBO company and start a new one if your book is 60 days old and older. Since you canceled your subscription (with 45 days old data), the option to delete or wipe your company data is unavailable. This is the reason why you encountered the pop-up message. You can check out this article for more details about deleting your data in QuickBooks Online and starting over with new books: Delete your data and start over in QuickBooks Online.

If you already migrated to QuickBooks Desktop and need to move the old QBO company file to your new Desktop version, then we need to reactivate your QBO account. Just sign in to your Online account and download the migration tool. Once done, follow the steps below:

1. Sign in to the QuickBooks Online account you want to convert with a browser we support. Use your Intuit Account credentials.
2. Choose the URL and replace anything after /app/ with exportqbodatatoqbdt. The URL should say https://app.qbo.intuit.com/app/exportqbodatatoqbdt. Then select Enter on your keyboard. Other support task links won't work during this process.
3. You'll see Export Overview. Read the Export Overview. You can print out it if you'd like. Select Get Started.
4. Hit the Download tool to download the QuickBooks Desktop migration tool.
5. Once you download the tool, launch the tool to install it and select Next.
6. Accept the terms in the license agreement and select Next.
7. Tap Complete as the type of setup, then Next.
8. Click Install, then Finish.

For detailed steps, please read this article: Move your QuickBooks Online data to QuickBooks Desktop.

Take note that when you move from QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Desktop, you may notice differences in how your books appear. You can check this article to know how your books will move from QBO to QBDT: Learn how features and data move from QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Desktop.

Please go back to this thread if you are referring to something else or if you need assistance with the migration process. I'll be here to help you out as I want to ensure this is resolved for you. Take care always.

No, it's actually the other way around.  My company file is in QB Desktop, and always has been.  I migrated a copy of it to QBO to try out QBO in anticipation of someday moving to QBO.  I continued to work in QB Desktop though.

I didn't get time to finish my evaluation of QBO and decided to cancel that trial subscription.  Now, I would like to migrate another copy of my QB Desktop company file to QBO and continue testing.  I thought I could delete the original QBO company file, since it is out of date and I have no reason to keep it.

Can I delete that file?  Or should I just leave it, and migrate a new copy of my existing QB Desktop file?  Will it hurt anything to have both present in QBO, one inactive and the other active?

Can I delete that file? Or should I just leave it, and migrate a new copy of my existing QB Desktop file? Will it hurt anything to have both present in QBO, one inactive and the other active?

You can open a new trial account with the same email address to export data from QB Desktop. You can ignore the old trial accounts.

Thanks for coming back to the thread, @deanr73. I am here to assist you and ensure you'll be guided properly with your trial subscription on QuickBooks Online (QBO).

In addition to what @4Gal mentioned, yes you can create a new trial account with the same email address. However, it is also important to note that if the trial account you wish to reactivate has been inactive for more than 30 days since its creation, you'll be prompted to subscribe to a monthly plan to reactivate it. 

If you want to continue testing QuickBooks Online and its features without paying for a monthly plan just yet, the better option is to open a new trial subscription using a different email. This is especially true if you wish to migrate a more recent QBDT file and don't want to reactivate the previous trial account, purge the data on it, and start all over again. 

Feel free to check out these helpful articles for future reference after migrating your data to QBO:

• Learn what to do after you move from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online.
• Get started with QuickBooks Online Payroll.

Let me know if you need any further assistance. I'll be on the lookout for your updates or additional queries on trial subscriptions and any other QuickBooks-related matters. Take care and have a good one.