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Find QuickBooks company data files and backups

by Intuit • Image Alt Text 20
Image Alt Text Updated 5/26/2026 08:13

Learn how to find your company file or most recent backup in QuickBooks Desktop. 

QuickBooks makes it convenient to locate your file or backup files.

Select Find a company file on the No Company Open window. You normally see this when you first start QuickBooks or when you close your company file.

NoComapnyOpen.png

When you select Find a company file, it automatically scans for the following file extensions:

  • .QBW, your QuickBooks working file.

  • .QBB, your QuickBooks backup file.

You can scan for removable media such as a USB flash drive, or your network.

FindCompanyFile.png

Manually locate your files

You can also find your files or backups with File Explorer. Here’s how:

Search with file explorer:

  • Open the Windows Start menu A computer keyboard with a bunch of dots on it.

  • Type File Explorer into the search and open File Explorer.

  • Select My Computer or This PC from the navigation bar. 

  • In the search field, type *.qbw, *.qbb to find all files. Make sure you include the asterisk (*) before the extension. You can also search for *.qb for QuickBooks.

What to look for:

  • The usual location for a QuickBooks Desktop company files is:
    C:\Users\Public\Public Documents\Intuit\QuickBooks\Company Files

  • View the file name, date, timestamp, and or size to see which is the most current.

  • If you host your file through a Hosting Service, contact your service directly for help.

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