How to Export Data from QuickBooks to Excel

All editions and versions of the accounting software enable you to export data to Excel, which can be accessed and edited through any spreadsheet program. But there is a limitation on the type of data that you can export using the built-in utilities. In this post, you’ll learn how to export data from QuickBooks to Excel. You can export customer, vendor, and payroll details. Further, you can export items – inventory, non-inventory, tax, etc.

Things to Export to Excel from QuickBooks Desktop

Let’s start with the desktop edition of the accounting software provided by Intuit. Since the Online and Desktop versions have completely different user interfaces, users need to follow a different set of steps to export the data.

Steps to export customer list from QuickBooks Desktop to Excel

• Log in to the QuickBooks company file as an admin.
• Go to the Customer/Vendor/Payroll center.
• Click on the Excel drop-down option and then choose one of these two options:
  • Export Customer/Vendor/Employee list: This option enables you to export data for employees, vendors, and customers. Data that can be exported includes name, contact information, etc, about the items.
  • Export transactions: This option enables you to export invoices and bills from QuickBooks to Excel.
• Choose one of the two options in the Export window:
  • Create a new worksheet: QuickBooks Desktop creates a new Excel file with the selected data.
  • Update an existing worksheet: QuickBooks updates an existing Excel worksheet with the data selected by the user.
• Click on Export after checking your preferences.

Steps to export items from QuickBooks desktop to Excel

• Log in to the QuickBooks company file as an admin.
• Click on Lists from the main menu.
• Choose Item list.
• Click on the Excel dropdown option, then select Export all items.
• Choose one of the two options in the Export window:
  • Create a new worksheet: QuickBooks Desktop creates a new Excel file with the selected data.
  • Update an existing worksheet: QuickBooks updates an existing Excel worksheet with the data selected by the user.
• Click on Export after verifying your preferences.

Steps to export a report from QuickBooks Desktop to Excel

• Log in to the QuickBooks company file as an admin.
• Launch the report that you want to export.
• At the top of the report, click on the Excel drop-down option.
• Choose one of the two options in the Export window:
  • Create a new worksheet: QuickBooks Desktop creates a new Excel file with the selected data.
  • Update an existing worksheet: QuickBooks updates an existing Excel worksheet with the data selected by the user.
• Select your next options for the report in the Send Report to Excel window.
• Click on Advanced to access additional options in QuickBooks Desktop for data export.
• Click on Ok, then on Export.
• Launch the exported Excel file with MS Excel or another spreadsheet program to make the required changes.

Export invoices from QuickBooks to Excel

While QuickBooks Desktop has no utility to directly export invoices, you can create a report and then export the report to get invoice data out of QuickBooks. So that’s exactly the process that I’ve elaborated on below. First, I’ll guide you to create a customer report with transactions. Then, I’ll provide the steps to export the invoice data from the report to Excel.

• From the Customers menu, click on Customer Center.
• Click on the Transactions tab.
• Choose Invoices and apply the various filters to narrow down your search.
• Click on Run Reports once you’re sure that you’ve included all the invoice data that you want to export to Excel.
• At the top of the invoices report, click on the Excel drop-down option.
• Choose one of the two options in the Export window:
  • Create a new worksheet: QuickBooks Desktop creates a new Excel file with the selected data.
  • Update an existing worksheet: QuickBooks updates an existing Excel worksheet with the data selected by the user.
• Select your next options for the invoices report in the Send Report to Excel window.
• Click on Advanced to access additional options in QuickBooks Desktop for data export.
• Click on Ok, then on Export.
• Use MS Excel or another spreadsheet program to launch the Exported Excel file that contains the invoice data.

Export item list from QuickBooks to Excel

• Log in to the QuickBooks company file as an admin.
• Click on Lists from the main menu.
• Choose Item list.
• Click on the Excel dropdown option, then select Export all items.
• Choose one of the two options in the Export window:
  • Create a new worksheet: QuickBooks Desktop creates a new Excel file with the selected data.
  • Update an existing worksheet: QuickBooks updates an existing Excel worksheet with the data selected by the user.
• Click on Export after verifying your preferences.

Export 1099 from quickBooks to excel

While QuickBooks cannot directly export 1099 data, you can still rely on the workaround I’ve mentioned below. You can run a custom report for transactions. By filtering the transactions based on 1099 transactions, you can easily separate the 1099 data from the rest of the data.

• From the Customers menu, click on Customer Center.
• Click on the Transactions tab.
• Choose Invoices and Filter the transactions by Vendor.
• Choose only the 1099 vendors.
• Click on Run Reports after going through the preferences and ensuring that you’ve applied the filter for 1099 vendors.
• At the top of the transactions report, click on the Excel drop-down option.
• Choose one of the two options in the Export window:
  • Create a new worksheet: QuickBooks desktop creates a new Excel file with the 1099 data.
  • Update an existing worksheet: QuickBooks updates an existing Excel worksheet with the 1099 data.
• Click on Ok, then on Export.
• Use MS Excel or another spreadsheet program to launch the Exported Excel file that contains the 1099 data.

Export transactions from QuickBooks to Excel

The steps to export transactions from QuickBooks to excel are similar to those of invoices. Use the steps given below to export your transaction data from QuickBooks desktop to Excel:

• From the Customers menu, click on Customer Center.
• Click on the Transactions tab.
• Choose Invoices and apply the various filters to narrow down your search.
• Click on Run Reports once you’re sure that you’ve included all the transactions that you want to export to Excel.
• At the top of the transactions report, click on the Excel drop-down option.
• Choose one of the two options in the Export window:
  • Create a new worksheet: QuickBooks Desktop creates a new Excel file with the selected data.
  • Update an existing worksheet: QuickBooks updates an existing Excel worksheet with the data selected by the user.
• Select your next options for the transactions report in the Send Report to Excel window.
• Click on Advanced to access additional options in QuickBooks Desktop for data export.
• Click on Ok, then on Export.
• Use MS Excel or another spreadsheet program to launch the Exported Excel file that contains the transactions data.

Export customer list from QuickBooks to Excel

You can export a customer list from QuickBooks Desktop to Excel with a few simple steps. Once you visit the customer center, you can export the entire list or choose specific customers and export data related to them.

• Log in to the QuickBooks company file as an admin.
• Go to the Customer Center.
• Click on the Excel drop-down option, and then choose Export customer list.
• Choose one of the two options in the Export window:
  • Create a new worksheet: QuickBooks Desktop creates a new Excel file with the customer data.
  • Update an existing worksheet: QuickBooks updates an existing Excel worksheet with the customer data selected by the user.
• Click on Export after checking your preferences.

Export trial balance from QuickBooks to Excel

A trial balance shows the debit and credit balances of each ledger account. It is often used to create a balance sheet, one of the three essential financial statements. When you create a trial balance, you can export its data from QuickBooks Desktop to Excel.

• Log in to the QuickBooks company file as an admin.
• Click on Reports from the main menu.
• Choose Accountant & Taxes.
• Click on Trial Balance from the available reports.
• Choose the Customize Report option to apply filters to the data.
• At the top of the trial balance report, click on the Excel drop-down option.
• Choose one of the two options in the Export window:
  • Create a new worksheet: QuickBooks Desktop creates a new Excel file with the trial balance data.
  • Update an existing worksheet: QuickBooks updates an existing Excel worksheet with the trial balance data selected by the user.
• Select your next options for the report in the Send Report to Excel window.
• Click on Advanced to access additional options in QuickBooks Desktop for data export.
• Click on Ok, then on Export.
• Use MS Excel or another spreadsheet program to access the Excel file containing the trial balance data.

Export journal entries from QuickBooks to Excel

Journal entries are used to record transactions. These entries are then summarized in a general ledger so that the user can use the general ledger to create various types of financial statements. As journal entries record transactions, the steps to export them are similar to those of transactions.

• From the Customers menu, click on Customer Center.
• Click on the Transactions tab.
• Choose Invoices and apply the various filters to narrow down your search.
• Click on Run Reports once you’re sure that you’ve included all the journal entries that you want to export to Excel.
• At the top of the transaction or journal entries report, click on the Excel drop-down option.
• Choose one of the two options in the Export window:
  • Create a new worksheet: QuickBooks Desktop creates a new Excel file with the chosen journal entries data.
  • Update an existing worksheet: QuickBooks updates an existing Excel worksheet with the journal entries data selected by the user.
• Select your next options for the journal entries report in the Send Report to Excel window.
• Click on Advanced to access additional options in QuickBooks Desktop for journal entry export.
• Click on Ok, then on Export.
• Use MS Excel or another spreadsheet program to launch the Exported Excel file that contains the journal entries.

Export chart of accounts from QuickBooks to Excel

As the chart of accounts simply lists all of the accounts present in a company file, you can export the chart of accounts as a list. The exported file will contain the names of all the accounts along with the information that you chose to include in the report.

• Go to Lists from the main menu.
• Click on Chart of Accounts.
• Choose the Reports dropdown menu from the bottom bar.
• Click on Account Listing.
• From the top bar, choose Excel.
• Choose one of the two options in the Export window:
• Create a new worksheet: QuickBooks Desktop creates a new Excel file with the chart of accounts data.
• Update an existing worksheet: QuickBooks updates an existing Excel worksheet with the chart of accounts data.

Export vendor list from QuickBooks to Excel

You can export a vendor list, which contains details such as name, contact information, and balances of specific vendors, from QuickBooks desktop to Excel.

• Log in to the QuickBooks company file as an admin.
• Go to the Vendor Center.
• Click on the Excel drop-down option, and then choose Export vendor list.
• Choose one of the two options in the Export window:
  • Create a new worksheet: QuickBooks Desktop creates a new Excel file with the vendor data.
  • Update an existing worksheet: QuickBooks updates an existing Excel worksheet with the vendor data selected by the user.
• Click on Export after checking your preferences.

Export reports from QuickBooks to Excel

Report data that can be exported from QuickBooks Desktop to Excel includes:

• Log into QuickBooks company file as an admin.
• Launch the report that you want to export.
• At the top of the report, click on the Excel drop-down option.
• Choose one of the two options in the Export window:
  • Create a new worksheet: QuickBooks Desktop creates a new Excel file with the selected data.
  • Update an existing worksheet: QuickBooks updates an existing Excel worksheet with the data selected by the user.
• Select your next options for the report in the Send Report to Excel window.
• Click on Advanced to access additional options in QuickBooks Desktop for data export.
• Click on Ok, then on Export.
• Launch the exported Excel file with MS Excel or another spreadsheet program to make the required changes.

Export W2 from quickBooks to excel

Since W-2 form data is payroll data, you can export it by creating a payroll report. You’ve to select the correct type of report to get the data in the desired format.

• From the main menu, click on Reports.
• Click on Employees & Payroll.
• Choose the tax form report that you want to export, W2 in this case.
• When the report appears on your screen, click on the Export option on the top right corner of the screen.
• Choose Excel as the format you want to export the data in.
• Choose the location to which you want the file saved, and choose the Save option.

You can apply filters while creating the report or later when you open the exported file using Excel. While QuickBooks Desktop has inbuilt filters, Excel doesn’t.

Export addresses from QuickBooks to Excel

In QuickBooks Desktop, you can store addresses for each customer and vendor. So, depending on the addresses that you’re trying to export from QuickBooks, you need to choose to export either the customer data or the vendor data.

• Log in to the QuickBooks company file as an admin.
• Go to the Customer or Vendor center.
• Click on the Excel drop-down option, and then choose Export customer/vendor list.
• Choose one of the two options in the Export window:
  • Create a new worksheet: QuickBooks Desktop creates a new Excel file with the vendor or customer data.
  • Update an existing worksheet: QuickBooks updates an existing Excel worksheet with the vendor or customer data selected by the user.
• Click on Export after checking your preferences.

Kindly ensure that you’ve selected addresses as one of the data types that you’re exporting for the list. If you deliberately deselect the addresses option, the data won’t appear in the exported Excel file.

Export check register from QuickBooks to Excel

Most users need to rely on the print feature to export check register data from QuickBooks desktop to Excel. The print option enables the users to export the data in “Comma Delimited File”, which can be accessed using Microsoft Excel. Users can then save the data in Excel format.

• From the edit menu, click on Use Register.
• Choose the Check Register whose data you want to export. Click on Ok.
• Choose the Print option.
• Choose the desired date range for the data.
• Choose the File option.
• Choose “Comma Delimited File.”
• Click on Print, and choose a local directory for storing the file.
• Click on Save.
• Open the export file using Microsoft Excel.
• Click on File, then choose Save as.
• Choose Excel as the format and click on Save.

Export general ledger from QuickBooks to Excel

If you want to export all the general ledger accounts, then you can simply export all the transactions to Excel. However, if you want to filter transactions by a particular account before exporting them, then you should follow this method, which enables you to export the transactions related to the general ledger accounts of your choice.

• From the main menu, click on Reports.
• Click on the Reports Center.
• Choose the report you created to filter transactions by general ledger accounts.
• Click on Excel from the toolbar on top of the report.
• Click on Create New Worksheet.
• Choose Ok, then Export.

Export work orders from QuickBooks to Excel

To streamline work and schedule, you can create work orders in QuickBooks desktop. While QuickBooks lacks the feature to create a work order directly, it still enables you to have reasonable workarounds to create such documents and reports.

• Go to the Edit menu and choose Preferences.
• Choose the Sales & Customers tab.
• Click on Enable Sales Orders, then Ok.
• Choose Sales Orders from the Dashboard or Home screen.
• Go to the Formatting tab, then choose Manage Templates.
• Click on the Custom Sales Order option.
• Click on Copy so that QuickBooks can create a duplicate of the template.
• Input a new name for the template, then click on Ok.
• Choose the Additional Customization option to alter the filters applied in the template.
• From the Header tab, alter the title to Work Order.
• Input all the necessary information to create the work order.
• Click on the Export icon on top of the report.
• Choose Export to Excel.
• Select the local directory to which you want to save the Excel file containing the report’s data.

Export email list from QuickBooks to Excel

In QuickBooks Desktop, you can save the contact information for your customers and vendors. The contact information, including email addresses can be exported from QuickBooks to Excel using the inbuilt utilities.

• Choose Reports from the main menu.
• Click on Customers & Receivables or Vendors & Payables.
• Click on the Customer/Vendor Phone list.
• Choose Customize Report.
• Choose Email as one of the fields to be included in the exported Excel file.
• Click on Excel from the toolbar above the Report.
• Click on Save.

Export inventory from QuickBooks to Excel

You can export items, such as inventory and non-inventory items, from QuickBooks Desktop to Excel.

• Log into QuickBooks company file as an admin.
• Click on Lists from the main menu.
• Choose Inventory Item list.
• Click on the Excel dropdown option, then select Export all items.
• Choose one of the two options in the Export window:
  • Create a new worksheet: QuickBooks Desktop creates a new Excel file with the inventory item list.
  • Update an existing worksheet: QuickBooks updates an existing Excel worksheet with the inventory item data.
• Click on Export after verifying your preferences.

Export balance sheet from QuickBooks to Excel

The balance sheet is a financial statement that you can create using the transactions stored in QuickBooks desktop. You can choose the transactions for a specific date period and then export those transactions to Excel. You can then use the data to create a balance sheet in Excel.

• Go to Reports from the main menu.
• Click on Company & Financial.
• Choose Balance Sheet Detail.
• From the top toolbar, choose Excel.
  

  

  Choose a location and then click on Save.

Export bank transactions from QuickBooks to Excel

You can export bank transactions directly from your bank account. However, if that’s not an option for you, then you can filter the transactions in QuickBooks so that you get a list of transactions associated with a particular bank account. You can then export these transactions.

• From the Customers menu, click on Customer Center.
• Click on the Transactions tab.
• Choose Invoices and apply the various filters to narrow down your search. Choose the bank account as a filter to ensure that only transactions associated with that account are exported.
• Click on Run Reports once you’re sure that you’ve included all the transactions that you want to export to Excel.
• At the top of the transactions report, click on the Excel drop-down option.
• Choose one of the two options in the Export window:
  • Create a new worksheet: QuickBooks Desktop creates a new Excel file with the selected data.
  • Update an existing worksheet: QuickBooks updates an existing Excel worksheet with the data selected by the user.
• Select your next options for the transactions report in the Send Report to Excel window.
• Click on Advanced to access additional options in QuickBooks Desktop for data export.
• Click on Ok, then on Export.
• Use MS Excel or another spreadsheet program to launch the Exported Excel file that contains the transactions data.

Related Topic: Fix QuickBooks Export to Excel Greyed Out

How to Export Data from QuickBooks Mac to Excel

QuickBooks Desktop for Mac also has the ability to export your data in Excel format. You can use MS Excel or the Apple Numbers software to access the exported files on your Mac.

• From the main menu, click on Reports.
• Open or create the report that you want to export as an Excel file.
• Choose Export.
• When the Excel file opens up, click on File.
• Choose Save As, then select a location to save the file.

Related Topic: Fix Exporting from QuickBooks to Excel Problems

How to Import Excel from QuickBooks Online

Export customer data to Excel

QuickBooks Online offers two different ways to export customer data to Excel. You can either use the customer menu or the reports menu to export your data, but the information included in the exported file differs based on the method you choose.

• Click on the Get paid & pay menu.
• Choose Customers.
• Choose the Export to Excel icon.
• Click on Print and save the data in Excel format.

The reports option gives you more control over the type of data to include in the exported file. Using various filters available in QuickBooks Online, you can narrow down the data that you need to export.

Steps using reports page to export customer data from QuickBooks Online to Excel:

• From the Business overview menu, click on Reports.
• Click on the Customer Contact List from the Sales and Customers section. Follow these steps to modify your selection.
  • Click on Customize.
  • Click on Change Columns from the Rows/Columns dropdown menus.
  • Click on Run report after you’ve made all the changes to the report preferences.
  • Click on Save Customization if you want to store the settings and use them later for other reports.
• Click on the Export icon and choose Export to Excel.

Export reports to Excel from QuickBooks online

After generating a report, you can export the data included in the report in Excel format. By doing so, you can use the data in other programs.

• From the dashboard, click on Business overview.
• Click on Reports.
• Choose the report that you want to export.
• Click on the Export icon on top of the report.
• Choose Export to Excel.
• Select the local directory to which you want to save the Excel file containing the report’s data.

Export employee data to Excel from QuickBooks online

To export employee or payroll data from QuickBooks Online to Excel, you can first create the report for the type of information you want to export. You can then use the export feature to export the report data in Excel format.

Steps to export employee data from QuickBooks Online to Excel:

• From the dashboard, click on Business overview.
• Click on Reports, then Standard.
• Choose one of the employee or payroll reports.
• Click on the Export icon on top of the payroll or employee report.
• Choose Export to Excel.