I want to backup only 5 years on Quickbooks Desktop

Forum|Forum|3 months ago
March 25, 2026
2 replies
3 views

The company I work for has been in business since 2006. When I do a backup, it backs everything up from 2006 to current. I would like to be able to backup from 2020 to current BUT not delete or lose the historical information.

Is this doable? Any advise will be greatly appreciated! Thank you.

QuickBooks Desktop

ElykaJen_A

QuickBooks Team

Hello there, kelper62. Unfortunately, you can’t back up a specific date range in QuickBooks Desktop Canada (QBDT CA), because the software uses a continuous database where all transactions are linked.

If you have any follow-up questions, feel free to ask in the comments.

kelper62Author

Well that's not what I wanted to hear. What about if I move to QB Online which I plan to do in 2027. Can I move just files from 2020 to current? The reason I ask is from 2006-2017 there are thousands of errors that were before my time that I cannot fix.

Erika_K

QuickBooks Team

Hello there, @kelper62. I get why that’s disappointing to hear. When you’ve worked hard to keep things clean since 2020, the last thing you want is the previous errors tagging along. In terms of how the programs work, the migration process transfers your entire history, not just a few years.

With that in mind, you can skip the automated process and opt for a manual export instead. Just keep in mind that this route is much more hands-on. Since Desktop only allows you to export specific lists and transaction types, you’ll need to save those as individual files and import them into QuickBooks Online (QBO). But keep in mind that QBO also has its own file type limitations. If you export a list that QBO doesn't support, you’ll have to enter those records manually to ensure your books are accurate.

We're here if you have more questions about how that works.

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