How to export and license your QuickBooks history

Short answer: To export your QuickBooks Online history, open Settings, choose Export data under Tools, pick a reason, set the report date range, select the reports and lists to include, and click Export to Excel. QuickBooks downloads a zip of Excel files. Estimates, purchase orders, and attachments are exported separately. No export is needed to start a Latopis check.

Steps below are from QuickBooks’s official documentation and are accurate as of October 2026. Menus change, so check the linked sources before you start.

What you need first

These steps cover QuickBooks Online. QuickBooks Desktop is not covered here.
Estimates and purchase orders are non-posting transactions and are exported from their own transaction lists.
Attachments are exported separately from the Attachments list.

Export reports and lists

Select Settings ⚙, then under Tools select Export data.
Select a reason for exporting and select Continue.
On the Reports tab, set the date range.
Use the toggles on the Reports and Lists tabs to choose what to include.
Select Export to Excel, then OK. The data downloads as a zip of Excel files.

Estimates, purchase orders, and attachments

Estimates: open the sales transactions list, filter Type to Estimates, and select Export to Excel.
Purchase orders: open the expense transactions list, filter to purchase orders, and export to Excel.
Attachments: go to Settings > Lists > Attachments, select the attachments, then choose Batch actions > Export. They download as a zip file.

Sources

QuickBooks: Export reports, lists, and data from QuickBooks Online

What buyers value in your QuickBooks record

For a construction firm, the books show what the work actually cost and earned: job costing, estimates against actuals, invoices, and vendor bills over the years. Buyers who license the operating record look for that financial history alongside the job records it matches.

Privacy and ownership

Accounting data contains customer, vendor, and employee details and account numbers. Strip or mask personal names, account numbers, and client details before anything is shared. Names, emails, phone numbers, and account numbers come off before a buyer sees the record, and records you hold for clients as their agent are not part of a license.

You do not need to export anything to start. The Latopis check asks three questions: your systems, the company, and who can sign. You approve the scope before anything moves, and the company keeps its data.

What is your QuickBooks record worth?

Three questions, a rough range, and nothing leaves your systems.

Run the two-minute value check

Questions about exporting QuickBooks

Do I need to export QuickBooks data to start?

No. The Latopis check asks three questions: your systems, the company, and who can sign. Nothing is uploaded to start.

Are estimates included in the main export?

No. Estimates and purchase orders are non-posting transactions. Export them from their transaction lists.

Does this cover QuickBooks Desktop?

No. This guide covers QuickBooks Online only.

This page is general information, not legal advice. If contracts with clients or employees limit how records may be used, check them with your own counsel.