Finance and accounting
What happens to your QuickBooks Online data when you cancel
When you cancel a QuickBooks Online subscription you have read-only access to your data for one year. If you cancel during a free trial, or the trial expires, the data is available for 90 days. If a credit card is declined, you have 14 days of full access to update billing. After that the account is suspended and you have to resubscribe to open the data.
| Rule | What changes |
|---|---|
| When you stop paying | When you cancel a QuickBooks Online subscription you have read-only access to your data for one year. |
| Deletion events | 3 events. See the timeline below. |
| Export | 5 steps. See the steps below. |
| Who can export | The company export starts at Settings, in the Tools column, at Export data. |
| What the export requires | Reports and lists download as Excel files in one zip. |
| Recovery after deletion | A canceled paid subscription stays readable for one year, and you can export to Excel or to desktop QuickBooks during that year. |
| Free-plan limits | A free trial that you cancel, or that expires, keeps the data available for 90 days. |
What QuickBooks Online does when you stop paying
A canceled paid subscription and a canceled trial are different clocks. The paid company stays readable for one year, and you can export to Excel or to desktop QuickBooks during that year. A trial you cancel, or that expires, keeps the data for 90 days, and the export has to happen inside those 90 days. A declined card is a third clock: 14 days of full access, then a suspension until you resubscribe. The US article gives these windows. Intuit recommends that you export or print the data before you cancel. A UK or Canada article is a different subscription, so do not borrow its dates. Export before the window that applies to this company closes. Intuit explains what happens when you stop paying in What happens to my QuickBooks Online data after I cancel?. For the other tools you still pay for, read what happens to company data when you cancel software. Closing this subscription while the company closes is part of how to wind down a company.
Deletion timeline for QuickBooks Online
| Event | After | What the vendor says |
|---|---|---|
| Cancel a paid subscription | 1 year | You have read-only access for one year. You can export to Excel or to a desktop version of QuickBooks up to a year after you cancel. |
| Cancel or expire a free trial | 90 days | Trial data is available for 90 days. A trial export has to be done within those 90 days. |
| Credit card declined | 14 days | You have 14 days of full access to update billing. The account is then suspended until you resubscribe. |
See QuickBooks Online in the deletion-window dataset beside the other systems.
Export your QuickBooks Online data before you cancel
The company file export starts at Settings, in the Tools column, at Export data. You pick a reason, set the report dates, and choose which reports and lists to include. The result is an Excel zip of posting transactions, including invoices, receipts, and bills. Estimates, purchase orders, statements, attachments, recurring templates, and the account list are separate exports. QuickBooks Online Advanced can also build a custom report. Third-party apps can keep a separate backup if you want one beside the Excel zip. Open the zip and confirm the reports you selected are inside before you cancel. Estimates and purchase orders will not be in that zip.
The cross-vendor checklist is what to do before canceling software when closing a business.
Go to Settings and, in the Tools column, select Export data.
Go to Settings and, in the Tools column, select Export data.Select the reason for exporting, then select Continue.
Select the reason for exporting, then select Continue.On the Reports tab, set the date from the pre-selected date ranges.
On the Reports tab, set the date from the pre-selected date ranges.Turn reports and lists on or off, then select Export to Excel.
Turn reports and lists on or off, then select Export to Excel.Select OK when the export finishes.
Select OK when the export finishes.
Who can run the export
The person who can open Settings in the company file can start Export data. The US help article is written for that company. The control sits in the Tools column. You choose a reason, set a date range, and turn individual reports and lists on or off before Export to Excel. Run it while the subscription that still lets you open the file is active, or during the read-only year after a paid cancellation, or during the 90 days after a trial ends. A suspended account, after a declined card sits unpaid past 14 days, stays closed until you resubscribe.
What to keep from QuickBooks Online
QuickBooks Online keeps the company's books as invoices, bills, and the accounts those transactions hit. The Excel zip is that ledger. A licensed copy can keep the invoices, receipts, bills, the lists in the zip, and the account list. Names, emails, phone numbers, customer and staff details, passwords, and legal files are removed before any copy is shared. A customer statement you exported on its own is still a customer record and stays out. The account list is a separate Excel file from the reports zip, so save that file too if the chart of accounts is part of the history you want. Attachments download as their own zip from the Attachments list.
- Invoices, receipts, and bills in the reports export
- Lists included in the zip
- The account list
Removed before sharing:
- Names, emails and phone numbers
- Customer and staff details
- Passwords and legal files
Read what data is shared when licensing company data before you decide which of the items below can stay.
Plan-specific caveats
A trial export has to finish within 90 days of cancellation or expiry. A paid export can wait through the read-only year, and waiting that long is still a risk if nobody can sign in. A declined card suspends the account after 14 days until you resubscribe. Resubscribing opens the suspended file. It is not a second copy of a file you never exported. Export the reports you need while the file still opens.
What a licensing program can use from finance and accounting
A licensing program can keep ledger entries as the record of invoices, bills, and the accounts they posted to.
A ledger export is a different file from a ticket backup or a chat export. Read what happens to your Xero data when you stop paying, what happens to your Salesforce data when you cancel, and what happens to your HubSpot data when you cancel.
QuickBooks Online is named on professional services company data for AI research, retail company data for AI research, accounting firm data for AI research, and construction company data for AI research.
Related
- What's shared
Which records can be licensed, which details never leave, and what you approve.
- How it works
The six steps from a short enquiry to payment, and how to stop.
Questions about QuickBooks Online cancellation
Can deleted QuickBooks Online data be recovered?
A canceled paid subscription stays readable for one year, and you can export to Excel or to desktop QuickBooks during that year. A canceled or expired trial keeps the data for 90 days. After a declined card you have 14 days of full access, then the account is suspended until you resubscribe. Export before those windows close.
Do we need a paid QuickBooks Online plan to export everything?
Reports and lists download as Excel files in one zip. The zip covers posting transactions that change balances, including invoices, receipts, and bills. Estimates, purchase orders, statements, attachments, recurring templates, and the account list are separate exports. QuickBooks Online Advanced can also build a custom report. Third-party apps can keep a separate backup.
How long is QuickBooks Online readable after a paid cancellation?
The US article says a canceled QuickBooks Online subscription stays readable for one year. During that year you can export to Excel or to a desktop version of QuickBooks. A trial you cancel, or that expires, keeps the data for 90 days, and that export has to finish inside the 90 days. A declined card is a shorter clock: 14 days of full access, then a suspension until you resubscribe. Use the US article, not a UK or Canada article, for these windows.
Which QuickBooks Online records are left out of the reports zip?
The reports-and-lists zip covers posting transactions that change balances, including invoices, receipts, and bills. Estimates, purchase orders, customer statements, attachments, recurring templates, and the chart of accounts are separate exports. QuickBooks Online Advanced can also build a custom report. Open the zip and the separate files before you cancel. A statement you saved on its own still names the customer, so treat that file as a customer record.
Sources
- Intuit QuickBooks. What happens to my QuickBooks Online data after I cancel?. Checked 2026-11-04
- Intuit QuickBooks. Export your QuickBooks Online data. Checked 2026-11-04