Issues with exporting report to Excel

Thank you for laying out the details of your concern, @jenakason.

I’ve got some troubleshooting steps to help you fix this error message you've encountered when exporting a report to Excel, so you’ll be able to get back to business in no time.

To do the trick in sorting out this error, let’s ensure we always have our QuickBooks Desktop updated to the latest release to keep your software up-to-date and have the latest features and fixes.

For manual updating, we can start by uninstalling our QBDT for Mac. Here's how:

1. Close QuickBooks.
2. From the Finder menu, select Go Applications.
3. Drag the QuickBooks icon to the Trash.

Then, reinstall it to get the latest version. I'll show you how:

1. Go to QuickBooks Downloads & Updates.
2. Make sure to select the correct country, product, and version.
3. Select Search.
4. Select Download to download the installer file.
5. Double-click the .dmg file.
6. Drag the QuickBooks icon to the Applications folder to install. To verify the update and check the release number, open QuickBooks and press Cmd+1.

Once done, restore your company file in QuickBooks Desktop. Then, check the system requirements for your version of QuickBooks to ensure that each version of QBDT works with specific versions of Microsoft Office.

When everything is all set, we can try exporting a report again. If the issue still persists, you may need to follow the steps in this article: Uninstall and reinstall Excel.

Please keep me posted on your progress. I want to ensure that you're able to get this report exported into Excel. I'm only a post away if you need me. Have a great day! 

My Quickbooks and Excel are both up to date. Still no luck in being able to export the customer contact list. When I click through and allow it to create a report, a repaired workbook pops up just showing the zip code column and the balance total. There is no other information included (and it's supposed to show customer name, address, phone number, etc.). I have tried to run other financial reports and these seem to pull up fine on Excel. Other suggestions on how to fix this? I desperately need to get a customer contract report exported to Excel in order to do a mailing list!

Thanks for the update, jenakason.

Let's fix the issue so you can export the customer contact list. QuickBooks opens Excel workbooks with the default application you set. 

Here's how:

1. Right-click on the file and select Get Info.
2. From the Open With menu, select Microsoft Excel or Apple Numbers.
3. Select Change All.

You can open the Excel workbooks with Apple Numbers v3.5 or Microsoft Excel 2016 or later, including Mac Office 365. You may also set your report preferences to change the file type that QuickBooks exports (.sylk or .xlsx). 

Also, make sure your report is up-to-date. After you export, you can get the latest version of the report from QuickBooks while you're in Excel.

Here are the steps you can follow.

1. In Microsoft Excel, go to the QuickBooks tab. Excel adds this automatically the first time you export the report.
2. Select Update Report to get the latest version of the report from QuickBooks.
3. Once done, run again the customer contact list report, then export it to Excel.

If you're the same issue persists, I recommend contacting our QuickBooks Desktop for Mac Team. They can check this for you and create a case under your company for further investigation.

I'm adding this article to help you show different fields and options on the report: Customize reports in QuickBooks Desktop for Mac.

Get back to me if you need anything else. You can also take a screenshot of the Excel where it's showing the zip code column and the balance total. That way, I can see if there's an additional step you need to take. Thank you and take care always!

"Right-click on the file and select Get Info. From the Open With menu, select Microsoft Excel or Apple Numbers. Select Change All." 

What file are you referring to?

Also, I'm not seeing in Preferences under Quickbooks where I can set my report preferences besides changing from cash to accrual basis, options for accounts, etc. 

I'm here to elaborate on some information in question, jenakason.

With regards to your question about what file is being referred to, this is the Customer Contact Listreport. Also, you'll be able to locate the steps provided when setting up the report preferences if you're using QuickBooks Desktop for Mac. You'll see the QuickBooks menu beside the File menu which is at the upper part highlighted in yellow. You'll just have to click QuickBooksso you'll see the Preferencesoption mentioned in the steps. I've added a screenshot below:

Also, you can customize your report so you can print them. In addition, to create and manage reports in QuickBooks for Mac, check out these articles so you'll be guided: Create And Manage Reports.

Reply with a comment below if you have further questions about reports. I'll be one post away if you need help.

When I go to reports, choose Customer Contact list, I then format what information I need in my report. If I right click on the report itself, the only options I see are: print, save report as text, chart of accounts, and email as pdf. There is no option to save as a different format. I need it in excel. Still when I try to export it to excel, I'm getting the same message and then the only info that displays in my excel workbook is the zip code column and the balance column. Under preferences, reporting, the only things shown are accrual vs cash, aging reports, how to show accounts by. There's also a tab for classifying cash. There is no preference here for how to open/save during exporting to excel. Please help.

Hello, jenakason.

I'll walk you through some additional steps so you can successfully export the Customer Contact List report to Excel.

As long as you have the most recent versions of QuickBooks Desktop and Excel, you should be able to export the report without issue. The Customer Contact List report file may be corrupted or damaged, which is why you are receiving the error. 

Let's fix it by utilizing the Repair feature in the MS Office application or copying the content to a separate spreadsheet. I'll show you how.

These are the steps to repair MS Office:

1. Open MS Excel application.
2. Click on the File tab and then choose the Open option.
3. The open dialog box will appear, then navigate to the folder where the Customer Contact List XLSX file is located.
4. Select the Excel file, then click the down arrow located just beside the Open button.
5. From the list of options, choose Open and Repair.
6. This option will force MS Excel to repair the file and open it. If this option fails, you can also choose the Extract Data option. 

Here's how to copy the content to a separate spreadsheet:

1. Open the corrupted Customer Contact List XLSX report file.
2. Press Command + A and then Command + C to copy the content.
3. Open a blank worksheet and then press Command + V to paste the data.
4. Once done, Save the new file.

If the issue persists, I suggest getting in touch with our QuickBooks Support Team. They have the tools to pull up your account and open a ticket for further investigation.

I've included this article for future reference to assist you in personalizing your report to display only the data required for your business: Customize reports in QuickBooks Desktop for Mac.

You're welcome to post again if you need anything else. We're always available to help you.

There is no option for open and repair (no arrow by the open button). I searched it on Excel help and it says 'Excel for Mac doesn't currently have Open & Repair like Excel for the desktop'.

Please advise what else can be done to fix this issue.

Hi jenakason,

I understand how much you need the Customer Contact List report for your mailing list and I appreciate your patience in keeping us updated.

The Open and Repair option is only available in Excel versions 2013 and 2016. At this point, I recommend contacting our QB Desktop for Mac Support so they can check this further. However, please be open to the possibility that they may also send you to Microsoft or Mac support when necessary.

1. Follow this link: https://intuit.me/3aoO8ls.
2. Click the down arrow, choose QuickBooks for Mac, and click Continue.
3. Enter a sentence to describe your concern and click Continue.
4. Select Chat or Callback.

 Feel free to reach back out if you have any other questions in mind.

I had a 2+ hour chat on Friday. The customer rep helping me had me purchase QB 2022, which came with customer support. I then verified and rebuilt my company file (everything was fine). She then had me upload my customer file so they could determine where the issue was. 3 days later I get my "repaired" customer file back and am told 'it should be working fine now'. It's not. I've spent hours trying to fix this problem myself and cannot figure out a resolution.

Again, when I try to export a customer contact list to Excel I keep getting the alert from Excel saying "We found a problem in Customer Contract List. Do you want us to try to recover as much as we can? If you trust the source of this workbook, click Yes. I click Yes and get the message "Excel was able to open the file by repairing or removing the unreadable content.". I click View. A Word doc pops up saying:

Repair Result to Customer Contact List60.xml

Errors were detected in file '/var/folders/sn/x3p8xn2x0ps6ly61rk4kqp4w0000gn/T/Customer Contact List6.xlsx'

Excel completed file level validation and repair. Some parts of this workbook may have been repaired or discarded.Removed Part: /xl/sharedStrings.xml part with XML error.  (Strings) Xml parsing error Line 1, column 790818. Removed Records: Cell information from /xl/worksheets/sheet1.xml part

A box pops up saying "The file has custom XML elements that are no longer supported in Word.' Saving the file will remove these elements permanently." 

Please help. There has to be others that are having the same issue. I have exporting this report to excel many times in the past and it worked just fine. 

Hi there, @jenakason. Let me share information about exporting reports to Excel.

First, I appreciate you for performing some troubleshooting steps to export your report. I want you to know that there's an ongoing investigation related to the error message you're getting. Our engineering team is now all hands working together to fix this error as quickly as possible.

 At this time, I'd recommend reaching out to our Support Team. This way, a live representative can add your name to the list of affected users. Once added, you'll automatically receive email notifications of the updates.

Once the issue gets fixed, you can continue working with your reports. I'm adding these links as your reference: 

• Create reports in QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
• Create and manage reports

If you have any other questions about your reports, let me know by adding a comment below. I'll be right here to help. Keep safe!

Can you let me know how to get added to the list of affected users so I can get notifications? I really need this issue fixed.

I want to make sure you're taken care of, @jenakason.

You'll have to reach out to our QuickBooks Support Team so they can add your company to the list of affected users. This way, you'll get an update via email about the resolution status. You can also provide this investigation number (INV-55426) for easy tracking.

You may also want to learn more about customizing reports in QuickBooks Desktop for Mac. This article will guide you through the process: Customize reports in QuickBooks Desktop for Mac.

Thank you for your patience while we're working on this, @jenakason. Please know that the Community forum is always open if you have any other questions about QuickBooks.