A portable company file provides a compact, efficient copy of only your financial data. It is often used to send your financial data by email or portable media such as a flash drive.
Unlike a backup file, it does not include letters, logos, images, and templates. It also doesn't contain a transaction log (.tlg file), which can be used to restore transaction data with the help of a technical support agent.
Because QuickBooks also re-indexes your file when restoring a portable company file, it can also be an effective tool for resolving data problems when other methods such as verify and rebuild are not enough to fix the damage. For more details, refer to the Portable company files overview.
WARNING: When you restore a portable company, always rename the original. Never overwrite an existing data file.
Detailed Instructions
Instructions for creating or restoring portable files vary depending on the version of QuickBooks you use. You must be logged into the Company File as Admin in all versions.
Note: If you are attempting to resolve data problems you must ensure not to overwrite the original file when restoring.
QuickBooks 2011 and later
Create a portable company file
- Choose File > Create Copy.
- Select Portable company file and click Next.
- Click the Save in drop-down arrow and select Desktop.
- Click Save and OK twice.
Restore a portable company file
- Choose File > Open or Restore Company.
- Select Restore a portable file and click Next.
- Click the [company name].qbm file saved to the desktop and click Open.
Note: If you saved the .qbm file to another location, go to that location to restore.
- In the Where do you want to restore the file window, read the message.
Important: If you don't want to overwrite your existing company file, rename the file in the next window. For example, you may want to add a date or version number such as mycompanyname-jan2007.qbw or mycompanyname-v2.qbw.
- Click Next.
- Click the Save in drop-down arrow and select your save location.
- Change the file name as necessary.
- Click Save.
QuickBooks 2007-2010
Create a portable company file
- Choose File > Save Copy or Backup.
- Select Portable company file and click Next.
- Click the Save in drop-down arrow and select Desktop.
- Click Save and OK twice.
Restore a portable company file
- Choose File > Open or Restore Company.
- Select Restore a portable file and click Next.
- Click the [company name].qbm file you saved to the desktop and click Open.
- In the Where do you want to restore the file window, read the message.
Important: If you don't want to overwrite your existing company file, rename the file in the next window. For example, you may want to add a date or version number such as mycompanyname-jan2007.qbw or mycompanyname-v2.qbw.
- Click Next.
- Click the Save in drop-down arrow and select your save location.
- Change the file name as necessary.
- Click Save.
QuickBooks 2006
Create a portable company file
- Choose File > Portable Company File > Create File.
- Click OK.
- Click Browse.
- Click the Save in drop-down arrow and select Desktop.
- Click Save and click Save again.
- Click OK.
Restore a portable company file
- Chose File > Portable Company File > Open File.
- Click Browse.
- Click the Look in drop-down arrow and select Desktop.
- Click the [company name].qbm file you saved to the desktop and click Open.
- Change the [company name].qbw in the Filename window so as not to overwrite the existing [company name].qbw file.
- Click Browse.
- Click the Save in drop-down arrow and select the save location.
- Click Save and click Open.
- Click OK twice.
If this solution does not resolve the issue, you can read discussions and post messages and questions relating to your issue on the Intuit QuickBooks Community site for free, or you can contact a technical support agent for additional guidance. Fees may apply.