# Books Backup

> One-time, audit-ready archives of QuickBooks Online companies: full general ledger, every report in cash and accrual basis, every attachment linked to its transaction, and the audit log, delivered as a single download with a custom cover page and summary. For businesses cancelling QuickBooks Online after closing, selling, or switching software.

QuickBooks Online keeps data read-only for one year after cancellation, then deletes it permanently, while the IRS can request records for up to seven years. Books Backup closes that gap with a one-time archive instead of an ongoing subscription.

All content is for general information only. Not tax, legal, or accounting advice.

For the full text of every article in a single file, see [llms-full.txt](https://booksbackup.com/llms-full.txt).

## Core pages

- [Home](https://booksbackup.com/): What the archive includes and how the service works.
- [Pricing](https://booksbackup.com/pricing/): One flat fee per company.
- [Get Started](https://booksbackup.com/get-started/): Tell us about your company.
- [Blog](https://booksbackup.com/blog/): Guides on QuickBooks data retention and closing a business.

## Blog: Guides

- [What Happens to Your QuickBooks Online Data When You Cancel?](https://booksbackup.com/blog/what-happens-to-your-quickbooks-online-data-when-you-cancel/): QuickBooks Online keeps your data read-only for one year after you cancel, then deletes it permanently. Here is the exact timeline and what to export before it runs out.
- [Closing Your Business? How to Archive Your QuickBooks Records Before They're Deleted](https://booksbackup.com/blog/closing-business-archive-quickbooks-records/): Cancelling QuickBooks starts a 12-month deletion timer on your books. When you close a business, archive your records in the right order before you cancel.
- [Before You Cancel QuickBooks Online: The 7-Point Data Backup Checklist](https://booksbackup.com/blog/before-cancelling-quickbooks-online-backup-checklist/): Cancelling QuickBooks Online starts a one-year deletion clock. Run these seven exports and verify them first, so you cancel with a complete copy of your books.
- [Why QuickBooks Won't Let You Export Attachments Linked to Their Transactions](https://booksbackup.com/blog/export-quickbooks-attachments-linked-to-transactions/): QuickBooks bulk-exports your receipts, but the files come out disconnected from their transactions. Why that gap matters and how to keep the link intact.
- [The 7-Year Records Rule: Why Your 1-Year QuickBooks Access Isn't Enough](https://booksbackup.com/blog/irs-7-year-rule-quickbooks-1-year-access/): The IRS can ask for business records for three, six, or seven years, sometimes longer. QuickBooks deletes yours one year after you cancel.
- [Do I Have to Keep Paying for QuickBooks Just to See My Old Data?](https://booksbackup.com/blog/keep-paying-quickbooks-to-access-old-data/): For the first year after you cancel QuickBooks, read-only access is free. After that, the company is permanently deleted, and a new subscription cannot bring it back.
- [How Long to Keep Business Records After Closing a Business](https://booksbackup.com/blog/how-long-to-keep-business-records-after-closing/): The IRS can ask for records three to seven years after a business closes, and longer in some cases. Here is what to keep, for how long, and how to keep it accessible.
- [How to Keep Your QuickBooks Data for 5 or 7 Years After You Close the Account](https://booksbackup.com/blog/keep-quickbooks-data-5-7-years-after-closing-account/): QuickBooks deletes your data 12 months after you cancel, but the IRS can ask for records for years. Here are the three real ways to keep your books.
- [How to Download All Your Receipts and Attachments from QuickBooks Online in Bulk](https://booksbackup.com/blog/download-all-attachments-quickbooks-online-bulk/): The Attachments page lets you bulk-download every receipt in QuickBooks Online. Where to find it, how to select all and export, and the limits you hit.
- [How to Export the QuickBooks Online Audit Log Before It's Deleted](https://booksbackup.com/blog/export-quickbooks-online-audit-log/): QuickBooks keeps the audit log for only two years and deletes it with your account. Here is how to export it, 150 rows at a time, before it is gone.
- [What QuickBooks Online's Export to Excel Actually Leaves Behind](https://booksbackup.com/blog/quickbooks-export-to-excel-missing-data/): QuickBooks Online's Export to Excel pulls your reports and lists but omits others. See what it leaves out, per Intuit's docs, and why it matters for an audit.
- [QuickBooks Online's Read-Only Year, Explained](https://booksbackup.com/blog/quickbooks-online-read-only-year-explained/): What you can and can't do during the 12 months after cancelling QuickBooks Online, what the built-in exports miss, and how to use the window before it closes.
- [I Sold My Business. How Do I Back Up My QuickBooks Data for the Future?](https://booksbackup.com/blog/sold-business-backup-quickbooks-data/): When you sell a business, the QuickBooks file usually goes to the buyer. Make your own complete copy before you hand over admin, while you still can.
- [How to Archive a Client's QuickBooks Online File When You Offboard Them](https://booksbackup.com/blog/archive-client-quickbooks-file-offboarding/): When you offboard a client, their QuickBooks file can disappear a year after they cancel. How to hand off a complete, verified archive that protects you both.
- [Client Closing Their Business: What to Pull from QuickBooks Online Before Access Ends](https://booksbackup.com/blog/client-closing-business-what-to-pull-from-quickbooks-online/): An accountant's ordered pull-list for a client closing their business in QuickBooks Online, sequenced by what expires soonest.
- [The Complete Checklist for Closing a Business: Taxes, Records, and Your Accounting File](https://booksbackup.com/blog/closing-a-business-checklist/): A sequenced checklist for winding down a business: final returns, employees, closing accounts, and archiving your books before the software deletes them.
- [What Records Does the IRS Actually Ask For in a Small Business Audit?](https://booksbackup.com/blog/what-records-irs-asks-for-small-business-audit/): When the IRS audits a small business, it mails a written request for specific documents. This is what that list usually contains, and where each record lives.
- [Native QuickBooks Backup vs. Export vs. a Full Archive: Which One Protects You?](https://booksbackup.com/blog/quickbooks-backup-vs-export-vs-archive/): Backup, export, and archive are not the same thing. Here is what each protects, what QuickBooks Online's built-in backup misses, and when to choose which.
- [How Do I Get ALL My Data Off QuickBooks Online? A Complete Export Guide](https://booksbackup.com/blog/export-all-data-from-quickbooks-online/): QuickBooks Online has no one-button data download. See every export surface, what each covers and misses, and how to assemble a complete copy.
- [Can the IRS Audit a Business That's Already Closed?](https://booksbackup.com/blog/can-irs-audit-closed-business/): Yes. Closing or dissolving a business does not end IRS audit exposure. How long the window stays open, who answers for it, and why records are the defense.
- [Why Has QuickBooks Online Gotten So Expensive?](https://booksbackup.com/blog/why-is-quickbooks-online-so-expensive/): QuickBooks Online prices have climbed for several years running. What changed, why it keeps happening, and when the monthly bill stops being worth paying.
- [Fed Up With QuickBooks Costs? Read This Before You Cancel](https://booksbackup.com/blog/quickbooks-too-expensive-what-to-do-before-cancelling/): QuickBooks got more expensive again and you are ready to cancel. The one mistake to avoid, a 10-minute check to run first, and your real options.
- [How to Cancel Your QuickBooks Online Subscription the Right Way](https://booksbackup.com/blog/how-to-cancel-quickbooks-online-without-losing-records/): The steps to cancel QuickBooks Online, what happens to your data after, and the export-first routine so cancelling doesn't delete records you'll need.
- [I Cancelled QuickBooks and It Just Shows the Resubscribe Page. Can I Still Get My Data?](https://booksbackup.com/blog/cancelled-quickbooks-resubscribe-page-get-data/): Cancelled QuickBooks and only see a resubscribe screen? Whether your data is still reachable comes down to how long ago you cancelled.
- [Filing Your Final Business Tax Return: What Records the IRS Expects You to Keep](https://booksbackup.com/blog/final-business-tax-return-records-to-keep/): A final return closes the business but starts your record-retention clock. What each entity files, and which records back a final return up.
- [Dissolving an LLC: The Records You Must Keep](https://booksbackup.com/blog/dissolving-llc-records-to-keep/): Dissolving an LLC ends the entity, but your record-keeping obligation continues. What to keep, for how long, and why members stay exposed afterward.
- [Sold Your Rental Property? The LLC's Books Matter for Years After the Closing](https://booksbackup.com/blog/sold-rental-property-llc-books-after-closing/): After the sale the single-property LLC is empty, but its books still back your gain, depreciation recapture, and a fresh IRS clock running for years.
- [How Long to Keep Records After Selling a Rental Property](https://booksbackup.com/blog/how-long-keep-records-after-selling-rental-property/): Keep records relating to property until the limitations period for the year you sold it expires. What that means for a rental, with a timeline example.
- [Closing a Single-Property LLC After the Sale: A Records Checklist](https://booksbackup.com/blog/closing-single-property-llc-after-sale-records-checklist/): How to wind down a single-property LLC after the sale: settle the books, file the final return, and archive your records before the software deletes them.
- [Depreciation Recapture: The Records the IRS Expects When You Sell a Rental](https://booksbackup.com/blog/depreciation-recapture-records-selling-rental/): When you sell a rental, the gain tied to depreciation is taxed, and the IRS figures it from your whole holding period. The records to keep before you cancel.
- [Capital Improvements vs. Repairs: The Old Receipts That Decide Your Tax Bill When You Sell](https://booksbackup.com/blog/capital-improvements-vs-repairs-receipts-basis/): A repair receipt matters a few years; an improvement receipt matters until you sell. Why old renovation invoices decide your gain, and how to keep them.
- [1031 Exchanges and Record Keeping: Why the Old Property's Records Follow You](https://booksbackup.com/blog/1031-exchange-record-keeping/): A 1031 exchange creates real estate's longest record obligation: the old property's records must survive until you sell the property you exchanged into.
- [What Real Estate Attorneys Should Tell Sellers About Their Books at Closing](https://booksbackup.com/blog/real-estate-attorneys-sellers-books-at-closing/): A seller's record duties peak at closing while their bookkeeping starts a deletion clock. One sentence from the closing attorney protects the client for years.
- [How to Save a Copy of Your QuickBooks General Journal for Audit Purposes](https://booksbackup.com/blog/save-quickbooks-general-journal-for-audit/): The Journal shows every transaction in debit and credit form. How to run, export, and verify it in QuickBooks Online before you cancel.
- [Switching Accounting Software? The One Step Everyone Forgets](https://booksbackup.com/blog/switching-accounting-software-archive-old-system/): Moving off QuickBooks Online to Xero, Wave, or anything else? Archive the old system completely before you cancel, since migrations rarely carry everything.
- [Switching from QuickBooks to Xero? Archive Your Full History First](https://booksbackup.com/blog/quickbooks-to-xero-archive-full-history-first/): Xero's conversion carries only recent balances. Archive your complete QuickBooks Online history before you cancel, or the deletion clock erases the rest.
- [Moving from QuickBooks to Wave? Make a Complete Backup First](https://booksbackup.com/blog/quickbooks-to-wave-complete-backup-first/): Moving to Wave to stop paying QuickBooks? Wave won't hold your full QuickBooks history. Make a complete backup before you cancel QuickBooks.
- [A Bookkeeper's Guide to Preserving QuickBooks Records for Departing Clients](https://booksbackup.com/blog/bookkeeper-guide-preserving-client-quickbooks-records/): Make client record preservation a standard step in your disengagement workflow. What to pull, when to pull it, and how to deliver it as billable final work.
- [How to Give a Departing Client a Clean, Audit-Ready Copy of Their Books](https://booksbackup.com/blog/audit-ready-copy-of-client-books/): What turns QuickBooks exports into an audit-ready archive: complete records, linked source documents, the change history, and written verification.
- [Cancelling a QuickBooks Trial? You Only Have 90 Days Before Your Data Is Gone](https://booksbackup.com/blog/cancel-quickbooks-trial-90-days-data/): A cancelled QuickBooks Online trial keeps your data read-only for just 90 days, not the 12 months a paid plan gets. Here is what to export before it deletes.
- [QuickBooks Export Keeps Crashing or Failing? Why It Happens and What to Do](https://booksbackup.com/blog/quickbooks-export-crashing-failing/): QuickBooks Online exports crash on large reports and attachment batches. Here is why big exports fail and the smaller-batch workarounds that actually finish.
- [Closing Your Business Bank Account: Which Statements to Save and for How Long](https://booksbackup.com/blog/closing-business-bank-account-statements-to-save/): Download the full statement run from every bank and credit card account before you close it, and keep it for the IRS windows that outlast the account.
- [Cancelling Your EIN and Notifying the IRS When You Close a Business](https://booksbackup.com/blog/cancel-ein-close-irs-business-account/): You can't cancel an EIN. The IRS keeps the number permanently and closes the business account tied to it by letter. What to file first and what to send.
- [Transferring a QuickBooks Company to a New Owner Without Handing Over Your History](https://booksbackup.com/blog/transfer-quickbooks-company-new-owner/): Handing a QuickBooks company to a buyer moves the primary admin, and the cancel button, to them. Build your own archive before the login changes hands.
- [Should Accountants Keep an Archive of Former Clients' QuickBooks Files?](https://booksbackup.com/blog/accountants-archive-former-clients-quickbooks/): The client owns their books; your firm keeps its workpapers. The real move is delivering a complete archive at offboarding before it can be deleted.
- [Business Record Retention Schedule by Document Type (Free Reference Table)](https://booksbackup.com/blog/business-record-retention-schedule-by-document-type/): How long to keep each type of business record, in one table built on the IRS retention periods. Covers tax returns, payroll, property, and more.
- [Statute of Limitations on IRS Audits: 3 Years, 6 Years, or Forever](https://booksbackup.com/blog/irs-audit-statute-of-limitations/): The IRS audit statute of limitations is generally three years, six if you understate income over 25%, and unlimited for fraud or an unfiled return.
- [Leaving QuickBooks for FreshBooks? Don't Lose Your Transaction History](https://booksbackup.com/blog/quickbooks-to-freshbooks-keep-transaction-history/): A FreshBooks migration brings your clients and recent invoices but leaves your full QuickBooks history behind. Archive QuickBooks Online before you cancel.
- [Does QuickBooks Migration Carry Over My Attachments and Audit Trail? (No)](https://booksbackup.com/blog/quickbooks-migration-attachments-audit-trail/): No migration or conversion tool moves your QuickBooks attachment links or audit log into the new software. Here is why, and what to save before you cancel.
- [Cheaper QuickBooks Alternatives for a Business That's Winding Down](https://booksbackup.com/blog/cheaper-quickbooks-alternatives-winding-down/): A closing or dormant business does not need accounting software, it needs its records. Why switching to a cheaper tool misses that, and the options that fit.
- [The Executor's Guide to a Deceased Owner's QuickBooks Records](https://booksbackup.com/blog/executor-guide-deceased-owner-quickbooks-records/): When a business owner dies, their QuickBooks records matter for the final return, the estate, and probate. What an executor should secure, and when.
- [How to Access a Deceased Owner's QuickBooks Online Account](https://booksbackup.com/blog/access-deceased-owner-quickbooks-online-account/): The login belonged to someone who died. How Intuit's request-to-be-primary-admin process works, and what to pull the moment you get in.
- [Settling an Estate: Which of the Business's Records the Executor Must Keep](https://booksbackup.com/blog/settling-estate-business-records-executor-must-keep/): When a business owner dies, the duty to keep the company's records passes to the executor. Which records, for how long, and why the books matter.
- [Final Tax Returns After a Business Owner Dies: the Records Each One Needs](https://booksbackup.com/blog/final-tax-returns-deceased-business-owner-records/): After a business owner dies there can be three separate returns in play. What each one is, and which of the business's records it draws on.
- [Date-of-Death Value and Stepped-Up Basis: Why the Business's Books Matter to the Heirs](https://booksbackup.com/blog/date-of-death-value-stepped-up-basis-books/): When you inherit a business, its value at the date of death becomes your basis for a later sale. The books behind that value sit on a deletion clock.
- [What Estate Attorneys Should Tell Executors About the Business's Books](https://booksbackup.com/blog/estate-attorneys-executors-business-books/): When an estate includes a business run in QuickBooks Online, one sentence early in the settlement spares the executor from reconstructing deleted records.
- [Divorce and the Business's QuickBooks: Preserve the Records Before Valuation and Discovery](https://booksbackup.com/blog/divorce-business-quickbooks-records-valuation/): A business is often a marital asset valued from its books. How to preserve a complete QuickBooks copy before valuation and discovery in a divorce.
- [Locked Out of the Company QuickBooks in a Divorce? How to Get a Complete Copy](https://booksbackup.com/blog/locked-out-company-quickbooks-divorce-copy/): One spouse controlled the QuickBooks login. How to get a complete, accurate copy of the business books the right way, and why timing matters.
- [Buying Out a Business Partner? Both Sides Need the Books First](https://booksbackup.com/blog/business-partner-buyout-quickbooks-records/): A partner buyout price is built from the financials, so both the departing and remaining owner need a complete copy of the QuickBooks books before access changes hands.
- [Leaving a Business Partnership: The Records You Keep for the Years You Co-Owned It](https://booksbackup.com/blog/leaving-business-partnership-records-keep/): Leaving a partnership does not end your tax exposure for the years you were a partner. Keep the records behind your K-1s, and get your own copy before you lose access.
- [Business Bankruptcy: The Trustee Needs Your Books, and Missing Records Can Put Your Discharge at Risk](https://booksbackup.com/blog/business-bankruptcy-trustee-books-discharge/): In a business bankruptcy you must hand the trustee your books, and for an individual debtor a court can deny a discharge over records that were never kept.
- [Filing Chapter 7 for Your Business? Archive Your QuickBooks Before You Lose Control of It](https://booksbackup.com/blog/chapter-7-business-quickbooks-archive-before-losing-access/): A Chapter 7 hands your company and its accounts to a trustee, so pull a complete copy of your QuickBooks records before you lose access to the file.
- [How to Add Your Accountant to QuickBooks Online (Accountant User)](https://booksbackup.com/blog/how-to-add-accountant-user-quickbooks-online/): Add your accountant to QuickBooks Online in about a minute. The accountant user is free and does not count toward your plan's paid user limit.
- [Is QuickBooks Online Advanced's Backup Enough to Close On?](https://booksbackup.com/blog/quickbooks-online-advanced-backup-enough-closing/): QuickBooks Online Advanced's backup restores data into a live company, so it is not the copy to keep when you cancel and close the business.
- [What's Actually in an Audit-Ready QuickBooks Archive](https://booksbackup.com/blog/whats-in-an-audit-ready-quickbooks-archive/): An audit-ready QuickBooks archive is a complete, verified copy: the full ledger, attachments linked to transactions, the audit log, and reports in both bases.
- [Closing a Construction Company: The Records to Keep Beyond the Tax Window](https://booksbackup.com/blog/closing-construction-company-records-keep/): Closing a construction business? Defect, warranty, and lien exposure can outlast the tax window, and your QuickBooks job history is the record behind it.
- [Job-Costing Records: Why a Contractor's QuickBooks History Matters After the Job Is Done](https://booksbackup.com/blog/contractor-job-costing-records-after-job-done/): Per-job costs, WIP, change orders, and retainage in QuickBooks still matter after a job closes. A bare export breaks the file-to-job link a claim depends on.
- [Construction Warranties and Defect Claims: The Records That Outlast Your Tax Return](https://booksbackup.com/blog/construction-warranty-claims-records-outlast-tax-return/): Defect and warranty claims can arrive years after a job, on a clock set by your state. The job's records are your defense, and QuickBooks holds them briefly.
- [You Got an IRS Audit Notice for a Closed Business: What to Do](https://booksbackup.com/blog/irs-audit-notice-closed-business-what-to-do/): An IRS audit notice for a business you already closed is stressful but routine. What it asks for, how far back it reaches, and where your records are.
- [Facing a State Sales Tax Audit After Closing? The Records You Need](https://booksbackup.com/blog/state-sales-tax-audit-after-closing-records/): A state sales tax audit can arrive after you close. The sales detail, exemption certificates, and filed returns it wants live in your accounting file.
- [Dissolving a Nonprofit: Records to Keep and the Final Form 990](https://booksbackup.com/blog/dissolving-nonprofit-records-final-990/): A dissolving nonprofit files a final Form 990 and Schedule N showing where its assets went. The accounting records behind that trail have to survive.