CopyMyBooks
The walkthrough
How to copy a QuickBooks Online company into a sandbox
Intuit's sandbox FAQ says you can't import or export data, and that's true of files: there's no way to upload a company into a sandbox. CopyMyBooks copies it another way. It reads the real company through the QuickBooks Online API and writes each list and transaction into your sandbox, in order, the way any QuickBooks app adds records. Then it checks the copy against the real company's reports.
- The sandbox is free from Intuit, and CopyMyBooks is currently free.
- No coding, and no second QuickBooks subscription.
- The real company is only read. Nothing in the sandbox ever reaches it.
- We don't keep the books: they're deleted 60 minutes after a copy, never more than 24 hours. Database backups expire on their own later.
What you need
- A QuickBooks Online company in the US, in US dollars, without multicurrency.
- Its admin's approval. If you're an admin of it, that's you. If not, the owner or a bookkeeper with admin rights approves on Intuit's own screen. Nobody shares a password.
- A free Intuit sandbox. No sandbox yet? Create one in about ten minutes.
Step by step
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Sign in to CopyMyBooks
At app.copymybooks.com, with Google, GitHub or Intuit.
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Connect your sandbox
On the home page select Connect sandbox, sign in at Intuit with the account that owns your sandbox, and choose the sandbox company.
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Connect the real company
Open Real company. Then either:
- You're its admin: select Connect and choose the real company on Intuit's screen.
- Someone else is: send them a connect link, by email or copied. They open it, choose what every copy must hide, and approve at Intuit. They don't need an account. The page to send them first.
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Choose what to copy
Next to the company, select Copy into a sandbox. Choose the sandbox, the dates (all dates, a period such as last year, or a custom range of up to 10 years) and which kinds of records. Options:
- Starting balances give the sandbox the real company's balances on the day before your first date, so you don't have to copy the whole history.
- Disguise names, emails and amounts for a copy other people will see.
- Attachments, if you need the files too.
Before anything is written you see what will be copied, the time it should take and anything to know, such as payments that apply to invoices outside your dates.
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Confirm, and copy
Type the sandbox's name to confirm it will be cleared. CopyMyBooks removes what's in the sandbox, then writes the books in order at about 450 records a minute. You can close the page: a long copy emails you when it's done.
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Check the result
CopyMyBooks checks that every record it wrote is in the sandbox, and compares the sandbox's profit and loss, balance sheet and trial balance with the real company's for the same dates (with amounts disguised, it checks the record counts only). Anything QuickBooks refused is listed with its reason. Then open the sandbox in QuickBooks and get to work.
What comes over, and what doesn't
| Copied | Accounts, customers, vendors, employees, products and services, classes, locations, terms and payment methods. Estimates, invoices, sales receipts, payments, credit memos, refunds, purchase orders, bills, bill payments, vendor credits, expenses, checks, deposits, transfers, journal entries, time activity, recurring transactions, inventory adjustments and, if you choose, attachments. |
|---|---|
| Not copied | Preferences, sales tax setup, users, bank connections, payroll, bank feeds and rules, reconciliation history, the audit log and budgets. |
| Limits | Up to 25,000 records per copy: choose a shorter date range for bigger books. With inventory, QuickBooks locks inventory for about 30 minutes after the sandbox is cleared, and the copy waits it out. |
Weighing other options, such as Intuit's own Copy company in QuickBooks Online Advanced? Every way to copy, compared.
Questions
How long does it take?
About ten minutes to create the sandbox, once. A copy runs at about 450 records a minute, plus the time to clear the sandbox: a few thousand records take about ten minutes, and the 25,000-record maximum about an hour.
Can I copy again later?
Yes, as often as you like while the company stays connected. Each copy clears the sandbox and starts from the real books again.
Does it work for QuickBooks Desktop?
No, QuickBooks Online only. Move a Desktop company to QuickBooks Online first with Intuit's own tools.
Where does my data go?
The copy goes into your sandbox, at Intuit. CopyMyBooks keeps the books it read encrypted and deletes them 60 minutes after they're read or copied, never more than 24 hours. Database backups expire on their own later. A copy's history keeps its record counts, the records QuickBooks refused and, unless amounts were disguised, the real company's report totals.