How to Send an Accountant's Copy in QuickBooks Desktop

Sharing your QuickBooks Desktop file with your accountant doesn't have to mean shutting down your bookkeeping. The Accountant's Copy feature is a purpose-built tool that allows for safe collaboration without halting your daily operations. This guide will provide a detailed walkthrough of how to create, send, and manage an Accountant's Copy, and what to do when your accountant sends their changes back.

What Exactly is an Accountant's Copy?

An Accountant’s Copy is a special version of your company data file designed specifically for you and your accountant to work on the books at the same time. Think of it as creating a temporary clone of your file up to a specific date. You give this clone to your accountant to make adjustments—like end-of-year journal entries or reclassifying expenses—while you continue to handle the day-to-day business transactions in your live file.

This avoids the major headaches of other methods. If you send your active company file (the .QBW file), you must stop working until your accountant is done. If you send a backup, any work you do in the meantime will be overwritten when you restore the accountant's version. The Accountant's Copy solves this by creating a clean separation of duties and time periods, allowing business operations and accounting work to happen in parallel.

In short, your accountant works on the past, while you continue to work on the present.

Before You Begin: Three Crucial Prep Steps

Taking a few moments to prepare your file before creating an Accountant's Copy will prevent errors and save both you and your accountant significant time. Don't skip these steps.

1. Talk to Your Accountant about the Dividing Date

The "dividing date" is the most important concept in this process. It acts as a line in the sand. Your accountant can work on any transaction dated on or before this date. You can only work on transactions dated after this date. Agree on this date before you do anything else. Typically, it’s the end of a financial period, such as the end of a month, quarter, or, most commonly, December 31st for year-end cleanup.

2. Reconcile Your Accounts

Your accountant needs a clean slate to work on from your files. Before sending the file, make sure that all your bank accounts, credit card accounts, and loan accounts have been fully reconciled up to the agreed-upon dividing date. Ignoring reconciliations can lead to your accountant spending expensive time finding tiny discrepancies that could have been fixed on your end.

3. Create a Local Backup

This is non-negotiable. Before you send any file or make major changes, you must back up your company file. This backup is your safety net in case anything goes wrong during the transfer or import process. It only takes a minute.

• Go to the File menu in QuickBooks Desktop.
• Select Back Up Company.
• Choose Create Local Backup.
• Follow the on-screen prompts to save the backup file (.QBB) to a secure location on your computer or an external drive. Give it a clear name like "[Your Company Name]_Backup_Before_Accountant_Copy_[Date].qbb".

Method 1: Creating & Sending an Accountant's Copy via Intuit's Service

The simplest and most secure way to send your file is using the integrated Accountant’s Copy File Transfer (ACFT) service. This web-based service is built directly into QuickBooks Desktop and handles the transfer for you.

Step 1: Start the Process
Navigate to File → Send Company File → Accountant’s Copy.

Step 2: Choose the Accountant's Copy Option
A new window will appear explaining the benefits. Read through it and click Next. It will then ask you to confirm that you want to create an Accountant's Copy. Select that option and click Next again.

Step 3: Set Your Dividing Date
This is the critical step you prepared for. Use the calendar to select the dividing date you discussed with your accountant. Double-check that the date is correct. Once set, click Next.

Step 4: Enter Email Information
QuickBooks will pre-fill your email information. You will need to enter your accountant's email address twice to confirm it. This ensures the transfer notification goes to the right person.

Step 5: Create a Secure File Password
Now, you will create a password for the file itself. This password is required for your accountant to open the Accountant's Copy. Choose a strong but memorable password. Very Important: You need to communicate this password to your accountant separately. For security reasons, do not send the password in the same email as the file notification. Call them on the phone or use a secure messaging app.

Step 6: Send the File
Once you have entered all the information and the password, click Send. QuickBooks will begin processing the file and uploading it to Intuit's secure server. This can take several minutes depending on your file size and internet speed. When it’s finished, your accountant will receive an email with a secure link to download the file (which will have a .QBX extension).

QuickBooks will automatically close and then reopen your file. You'll now see a note saying "(Accountant's Changes Pending)" in the title bar of your QuickBooks window. This is your visual reminder that an Accountant's Copy is outstanding.

Method 2: Creating a File Manually (for Manual Transfer)

If your file is extremely large (over 200MB, often the limit for the transfer service), or you prefer to use a private portal, you can create the Accountant's Copy file locally to transfer manually.

Step 1: Follow Steps 1-3 Above
The beginning of the process is the same. Navigate to File → Send Company File → Accountant’s Copy and set your dividing date.

Step 2: Choose to Save the File Locally
Instead of entering email information, the wizard will give you an option to save the file. The file it creates is an Accountant’s Transfer File with a .QBX extension.

Step 3: Save the .QBX File
QuickBooks will prompt you to save the .QBX file to your computer. We recommend saving it to your Desktop and giving it a descriptive name (e.g., "[YourCompanyName]_AC_12-31-2023.qbx"). Click Save

Step 4: Send the File Securely
Now that you have the .QBX file, you need to send it to your accountant. Do not send it as a regular email attachment. Company files contain sensitive financial information. Instead, use a secure method:

• A secure encrypted client portal (many accounting firms provide this).
• A secure file-sharing service like Dropbox or Google Drive.
• Deliver it physically on a password-protected USB flash drive.

Again, your QuickBooks will now indicate that "Accountant's Changes Pending".

Working While the Accountant's Copy is Out: What You Can and Can't Do

Once you send an Accountant's Copy in QuickBooks Desktop, your file operates under certain restrictions to prevent conflicts. It's important to understand these limits:

• You CAN work normally on transactions dated AFTER the dividing date. You can add new invoices, receive payments, pay bills, and make deposits as long as they are for the current period.
• You CANNOT edit or delete anything dated ON OR BEFORE the dividing date. The past is locked down for your accountant to work on.
• You CANNOT add new items to some lists if they affect past transactions (though you can add new customers, vendors, and employees). You also cannot merge list items.
• You CANNOT reconcile past periods. For example, if your dividing date is December 31st, you won't be able to reconcile your December bank statement until you import the accountant's changes.

Receiving and Importing the Accountant's Changes

After your accountant finishes their work, they will create an Accountant's Change File (with a .QBY extension) and send it back to you. Now it's time to import those adjustments into your main file.

First, back up your file one more time. This is just as important as the first backup. Create another local backup before importing changes.

Step 1: Save the .QBY File
Save the Accountant's Change File (.QBY) to an easy-to-find location like your Desktop.

Step 2: Start the Import Process
In QuickBooks Desktop, go to File → Send Company File → Accountant’s Copy → Import Accountant’s Changes.

Step 3: Locate the File
Browse your computer, find the .QBY file you just saved, and click Open.

Step 4: Review Your Changes
QuickBooks will display a summary of all journal entries and reclassifications your accountant made. This is a chance to review the changes.

Step 5: Incorporate Your Changes
After reviewing, click Incorporate to apply the changes to your main file. You'll get a confirmation message once it's done.

Final Thoughts

Creating an Accountant's Copy in QuickBooks Desktop is a powerful feature for seamless collaboration. By understanding the process—from setting the dividing date and creating the file to working with restrictions and importing the final adjustments—you can give your CPA the access they need without slowing down your business operations.

While the Accountant's Copy tool handles the logistics of securely sharing a file, your accountant's real value shines through when they analyze your financial data and offer strategic advice. We built Feather AI to support this process, giving accountants instant access to citation-backed answers for complex tax questions that come up during a client review. This means less time manually researching technical questions and more time focusing on the matters that are important to your business.