Make a copy of your QuickBooks Online Advanced company

Learn how to make a copy of your QuickBooks Online Advanced company to start a new one.

If you want to create a copy of an existing QuickBooks Online company and use it to start a new one, consider upgrading to QuickBooks Online Advanced, and then follow these steps.

Create a copy of your QuickBooks Online Advanced company into a new one. You can even set the exact date and time you want to copy the data from.

Note: In the following steps, we'll refer to the source company with all the data as "Company A". We'll name the company where we want the data to download "Company B".

• You can name these companies anything you prefer.
• Company A should have a QuickBooks Online Advanced account while Company B can have QuickBooks Online Plus or Advanced.
• The primary admin of both the source company and the target company needs to do this.

If you only need to save your accounting data, you can review what data you can and can't back up.

Step 1: Create a blank company file

Let's create a copy of Company A, and name it Company B. Then, we’ll replace it with Company A’s info. Make sure of the following:

• Company B shouldn’t have data and should have a QuickBooks Online Plus or Advanced account.
• Company B should have a unique name, so you can tell it apart.
• Sign out when you're done.

Important: Company A and Company B should have the same lists setup. If they don't, you may see an error when copying data. For example:

• The chart of accounts must all have the same number of accounts and the same account names.
• If you use Sales Tax, all the Sales Tax Agencies must have the same name.

Step 2: Set up the Online Backup & Restore feature

Set up the Online Backup & Restore for the companies you want to copy and export data from. Here’s how:

1. Follow the steps to “Turn on the Online Backup & Restore app for your data” for Company A.
2. Follow the steps to “Turn off backup” for Company B only.
3. Turn off all automation settings in both Company A and B:
   1. Go to Settings ⚙, then Account and settings.
   2. From the Account and settings window, select Advanced, then Automation.
   3. In the Automation section, turn off each option, then select Save.

Step 3: Copy a QuickBooks Online Advanced company

Now, we’ll copy the data from Company A to Company B.

1. Sign in to your QuickBooks Online account with Company A.
2. Go to Settings ⚙, then select Back up company.
3. From the Copy tab, select Create Copy. Make sure the source company is Company A.
4. In the Copy To▼ dropdown, make sure the list includes Company B. If not, follow these steps:
   1. Select Add company.
   2. Select the Select a Company ▼ dropdown.
   3. Select the company that's not yet listed in your Copy To list.
   4. Select Continue.

Tip: Make sure the Add company list includes Company B in the Copy To ▼ dropdown.

6. Set the Date and Time of the backup you want to copy.
7. Select Continue.

Copy a QuickBooks Online Advanced company from an existing backup

1. Go to Settings ⚙, then select Back up company.
2. Select the Backups Tab.
3. Select the dropdown ▼ next to View for the backup date you want to copy from.
4. Select Copy.
5. Select your target company in Copy To.
6. Select Continue.

Backup Restore Copy Precheck

After you follow the steps to copy the company, you’ll be directed to the Backup Restore Copy Precheck page. Follow these steps:

1. From the Pre-Copy Configuration Check tab, select Next. If that option isn't available, read the message and select Take me there to fix it.
2. In the Pre-Copy Confirmation Step, select the box, then Next.
3. In the All Set tab, select Start Copy.

Depending on the amount of data you have, the time for completion of the copy may vary.

Fix copy and restore issues

When you migrate your company from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online Advanced, some data may come over that isn't readable. That also means the Online Backup and Restore won't save it.

Note: New journal entries might appear on your balance sheet. When the tool can't read your data, it may create journal entries to keep everything balanced. This can happen if you:

• Change an item's expense account, but didn't update open or existing transactions.
• Use account-based lines marked as billable on bills or expenses for sales forms (like invoices or sales receipts).
• Use item-based lines marked as billable and add markup to bills or expenses for sales forms.
• Import transactions from QuickBooks Desktop using custom Accounts Payable or Accounts Receivable accounts.
• Migrate data from QuickBooks Desktop that QuickBooks Online Advanced can't read.

Tip: If you see an error message during the backup, you can contact the Support team by selecting the Help icon. Select the Search tab, then select Contact Us to continue. We'll work with you to fix the error and get the data into QuickBooks.