QuickBooks export to Excel: What you need to know

An emphasis on data increases annual revenue by 5.32%. So, mastering the art of data management is crucial for all business owners.

This is especially true when it comes to your financial data, where accuracy is non-negotiable. One key aspect of keeping accurate numbers is your ability to efficiently move data between platforms, such as making a QuickBooks export to Excel.

Understanding how to export QuickBooks to Excel and leverage this functionality transforms your business operations and makes data analysis and sharing easier than ever.

In this blog, you’ll explore everything you need to know about how to export QuickBooks to Excel, including:

• How to export QuickBooks invoices to Excel.
• Common issues you might encounter in a QuickBooks export to Excel and their solutions.
• The benefits of a QuickBooks expert to Excel.

As a result, you’ll unlock a more efficient workflow. Let’s dive in!

Why export QuickBooks to Excel?

You might be familiar with the importance of importing data to Excel, but what about a QuickBooks export to Excel? A QuickBooks export to Excel is essential as it offers numerous benefits. Here’s how.

For one, it makes it easy to share files. QuickBooks, while robust, isn’t as universally accessible as Excel. When it comes to spreading financial reports and other key information among various departments, stakeholders, and external partners or business owners, Excel is a more universally accepted format. It ensures that everyone can access, view, and understand data easily.

Secondly, Excel’s flexibility lets you incorporate data that QuickBooks does not support directly. This means you can add extra layers of analysis, annotations, or even integrate data from other sources for a more comprehensive view of your financial status.

Lastly, moving data to Excel makes other data transfer easier. Transferring data within QuickBooks is sometimes complex, especially when dealing with large files or a detailed custom report. Overall, a QuickBooks export to Excel simplifies this process and ensures your information is up to date across all platforms.

Types of data you can export from QuickBooks to Excel

A QuickBooks export to Excel lets you transfer various types of data to enhance your data analysis and sharing capabilities. Here are some of the key data types you’ll deal with when you export QuickBooks to Excel:

• Customer, vendor, and payroll lists and transactions: You can export lists containing customer, vendor, and employee data — including names, balances, and contact information. You can also export transactional data by name or transaction type​​. Examples include estimates and purchase orders.
• Items list: QuickBooks lets you export all items listed in your inventory, which is useful for inventory management and analysis. In Excel, you can manipulate this data more for further insights​​.
• Reports: A QuickBooks export to Excel enhances your reporting capabilities. It lets you take advantage of formulas for subtotals, totals, and other calculations, as well as row labels and headers/footers from the QuickBooks report. This is particularly useful for customizing reports in ways otherwise unavailable in QuickBooks​​.

Can I export QuickBooks invoice to Excel?

It’s possible to export QuickBooks invoices to Excel. The best part is that this feature is available in both QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop.

How to export QuickBooks invoice to Excel

Learning how to import and export QuickBooks data is challenging at first. But don’t worry — we’ve got you covered with easy-to-follow steps. Whether you’re dealing with partial payments or a full sum on invoices, here’s how to export QuickBooks invoices to Excel.

Our practical application of the product showed that without a third-party tool, you can only export QuickBooks invoices to Excel in the form of an “Invoice list” report. Here’s how.

How to export invoices from QuickBooks Online

1. Click on “Report” from the list of functions.
2. Enter “Invoice list” in the text box and hit Enter. This brings up a list of invoices for a specific date range.
3. Click “Customize” if you wish to change the report (e.g., date range, filters).
4. Once customized, click on the “Export” function drop-down menu and select “Export to Excel” to proceed with your invoice export.

How to export invoices from QuickBooks Desktop

1. In QuickBooks Desktop, click “Reports.”
2. Enter “Invoice list” in the text box and press Enter.
3. Under ‘Report period’, filter the dates, then select “Run Report”
4. Click the “Export” button and choose “Export to Excel.”

Now that you’ve learned how to export QuickBooks invoices to Excel, let’s take a look at reports.

How to export QuickBooks reports to Excel

When it comes to a QuickBooks export to Excel, reports are one of the most powerful tools you’ll deal with. Here’s how to export reports from QuickBooks.

How to export reports from QuickBooks Online

Exporting reports from QuickBooks Online follows the same steps as exporting your invoice list:

1. Navigate to the “Reports” tab in QuickBooks Online.
2. Use the search box and select the specific report you wish to export.
3. At the top of the report, click on the “Export” icon, then select “Export to Excel”.
4. Save the Excel file in a location that is easy for you to access, such as your Downloads folder or desktop.

How to export reports from QuickBooks Desktop

1. Go to “Reports,” then “Reports Center” in QuickBooks Desktop.
2. Find the report you want to export and double-click on it.
3. Select the “Excel” dropdown, then choose either “Create New Worksheet” or “Update Existing Worksheet.”
4. If a message appears stating that your report has too many columns, select “Advanced,” then uncheck the “Space between columns” checkbox and click “OK.”
5. To proceed with the export, select “OK.”

How to export QuickBooks transactions to Excel

Apart from a QuickBooks export to Excel for invoices and reports, you may want to export your financial transactions, like sales and expenses. Here are the steps.

How to export transactions from QuickBooks Online

1. Access your QuickBooks Online account by entering your login details.
2. Go to the “Transactions” tab in the left sidebar.
3. Use the available filters to select the specific transactions you want to export. You can filter by date, transaction type, customer/vendor, and more, depending on your needs.
4. After applying the necessary filters, look for the “Export” button. Click on it and select “Export to Excel”. This downloads the transactions in an Excel format (.xlsx or .xls).
5. Open the downloaded file in Microsoft Excel to check that all your transactions are correctly exported. Then, save the file on your computer for your records.

How to export transactions from QuickBooks Desktop

1. Start the QuickBooks Desktop application on your computer and log in.
2. Navigate to the section where your transactions are listed. This could be under “Sales,” “Expenses,” “Customers,” or “Vendors,” depending on what transactions you want to export.
3. Customize the view to display only the transactions you need. You can filter by date range, type of transactions, customer detail, customer/vendor name, and more.
4. Once you have the list of transactions you need, look for the “Export” button, which might be displayed as an Excel icon. Click on it and choose to export the list to Excel. In some versions, you might need to select “File” > “Export” > “Export to Excel.”
5. The file automatically opens in Excel if you have the program installed. Check to ensure all data appears as expected. Save the file on your system for further use.

Common QuickBooks export errors and how to resolve them

Exporting data from QuickBooks sometimes leads to errors or issues, especially when exporting to formats like Excel. These range from format issues to data not exporting correctly. Here are some common export errors in QuickBooks and the steps to resolve them:

1. Export not working

Cause: This issue often occurs due to a mismatch in the software versions of QuickBooks and Microsoft Office, or due to a problem with the installation of QuickBooks.

Resolution: Make sure that you’ve updated QuickBooks and Microsoft Office to their latest versions. If the problem persists, try repairing QuickBooks using the installation CD or downloaded installer file.

2. Excel option is grayed out

Cause: The Excel option being unavailable usually means there’s a compatibility issue or that QuickBooks isn’t recognizing the Excel installation.

Resolution: Ensure that Excel is properly installed on your computer. If it is, try reinstalling QuickBooks while Excel is installed, as this sometimes helps QuickBooks recognize Excel.

3. Crashes during export

Cause: This problem often occurs due to large data files or limited system resources.

Resolution: Try exporting your data in smaller batches. Additionally, make sure your computer meets the system requirements for running your version of QuickBooks.

4. Slow performance during export

Cause: Exporting large amounts of data uses significant resources and may cause slow performance.

Resolution: Close unnecessary programs to free up system resources. Consider upgrading your system’s RAM or processing power if this is a frequent issue.

5. Missing data after export

Cause: Missing data can result from incorrect filter settings or issues with specific data entries in QuickBooks.

Resolution: Recheck your filter settings in QuickBooks before exporting. If certain data entries are consistently missing, inspect them in QuickBooks for any errors.

Say goodbye to manual exports with Method’s real-time sync

Method is the #1 lead-to-cash workflow automation tool for QuickBooks users.

With its real-time sync feature, you can effortlessly synchronize your QuickBooks data to eliminate the need for manual exports. This seamless integration ensures that your information stays up to date and accessible, which simplifies your workflow and improves data accuracy.

Here’s a taste of what you can enjoy with Method:

• A powerful, two-way QuickBooks sync to eliminate errors and double-data entry.
• Customizable workflows to tailor your data management to suit your specific business needs.
• Seamless integration with other business applications to centralize operations.
• Scalability with your business as you grow.

Watch how Method extends your potential with QuickBooks.