create local backup of QB online

I find this very concerning. Having worked in the information technology industry for over 30 years, I find this situation particularly concerning. I asked my bookkeeper how often she backed up the books, and she said there isn't an option. Is it not safe in the cloud? I stated, "Not necessarily even with redundancy." It's imperative you find out how to do a local backup. Then she reported to me, "Well, we need the "Advanced Version" to do a local backup!!!"

With the desktop version, there was always a backup process. Every day, upon closing the books on the desktop version, you had the option to create a backup of your data. That gave customers control over their information.

Now, with the online version, OUR data is in your possession, and from what I understand, we cannot create a full backup unless we pay for the advanced version. That feels less like a feature upgrade and more like customers are being held hostage over access to their own data. That is not right!

If a customer chooses not to buy the advanced edition and your systems are ever compromised by a cyberattack, what protection do they have? More importantly, this is not Intuit’s data. It is our data.

It is also troubling that customers may only discover after signing up for the online version that, if they want proper access to or export control over their own records, they may be required to pay for a higher-tier subscription.

If that is truly your policy, then I believe it is unfair, misleading, and contrary to what customers should reasonably expect when trusting a company with critical financial records. I would appreciate a clear explanation of why customers are not given standard backup access to their own data without being forced into a more expensive plan.

“Restricting customer access to their own financial data behind a premium paywall is not a value-added service. It is vendor lock-in.”