How to export all general ledger transactions from QuickBooks Online

Exporting the entire general ledger (GL) transaction list in a clean, tabular format benefits the accounting team. These include:

Create the SEC financial statements
Analyze activity with an Excel pivot table
Run a trial balance rollforward report

This article will walk through the steps to get this data out of QuickBooks Online. Also, the video link goes through each step with a sample QuickBooks file.

Navigate to the Reports page. Then, scroll down to the For my Accountant section and click the Transaction Detail by Account report.

We want to minimize the data manipulation needed once the report is in Excel. To remove the subtotals, select None within the Group by dropdown list.

Next, add any relevant columns under the settings wheel. At a minimum, add the appropriate segment values, such as account, class, department, debit, and credit amounts. In addition, select the date range. Finally, use the Save customization button to reuse the report.

Once the data is in Excel, you can use SUMIFS and VLOOKUP formulas to prepare summary reports for analysis. Ideally, build the Excel files to be reused every period. Then, you can copy and paste this data export whenever the information needs updating.

In addition to the financial operation benefits, use this report when migrating data to NetSuite. There are a few potential use cases for this report in the data migration process, including:

Reviewing when master records, such as vendors, customers, or GL accounts, were last used
Calculating the usage volume of each segment value within the data set
Preparing the historical monthly financial statements for loading into NetSuite

Do you need additional assistance with this transaction? We will prepare and execute your data migration plan and ensure that all your data is imported quickly and accurately into NetSuite. Contact us today or check out our NetSuite implementation resource page.

Paul Giese

Paul Giese is the founder of OptimalData Consulting, a firm specializing in NetSuite data migration for companies moving off QuickBooks, Sage, Great Plains, Xero, and other legacy systems. He has over a hundred migrations focused on preserving detailed transaction-level history for audit readiness, financial reporting, and post-acquisition continuity.