intuit is saying I have to upgrade to QB Online advanced to be able to back up my data?

Hi, Kirsten.

I appreciate you asking about the backup feature in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

Yes, you'll need to upgrade to QBO Advanced to access the automated backup and restore option. This feature allows automatic data backups and tracks changes made to your company at any point in time.

If you're using Simple Start, Essentials, or Plus, you may consider manually exporting your data like reports and lists in Excel file for backup purposes.

Feel free to reply to this post if you have any additional questions.