Connect to QuickBooks Online from Microsoft Office

Work with QuickBooks Online data from your Microsoft Office applications.

Download the QuickBooks Online ODBC driver. Then follow the instructions in this article to install and license the driver and set up the ODBC data source that enables you to connectOffice to QuickBooks online.

Connect Microsoft Access to QuickBooks Online

Microsoft Access uses an ODBC driver to interact with an external data source. ODBC is a data access technology, the Microsoft implementation of which is included with Windows. You can use the QuickBooks Online ODBC Driver to connect Microsoft Access to a QuickBooks Online Database, enabling you to retrieve and update QuickBooks Online data from a Microsoft Access front end.

  1. Open your Microsoft Access database.
  2. Do one of the following:
    • For Microsoft Access 2003 and earlier, on the File Menu, choose Get External Data > Link Tables.

      The Link dialog box is displayed.

    • For Microsoft Access 2007, on the External Data tab, choose More > ODBC Database.

      The Get External Data wizard starts.

    • For Microsoft Access 2010 and later, on the External Data tab, choose ODBC Database.

      The Get External Data wizard starts.

  3. Do one of the following:
    • For Microsoft Access 2003 and earlier, choose ODBC Databases from the Files of type list.
    • For Microsoft Access 2007 and later, choose Link to the data source by creating a linked table, and then choose OK.

    The Select Data Source dialog box is displayed.

  4. Choose your ODBC data source from the Machine Data Source list, and then choose OK.

    The Link Tables dialog box is displayed.

  5. Choose the table that you want to link and then choose OK.
  6. Choose the linked table in Microsoft Access, and then choose RETURN to work with the linked data.

Connecting Excel to QuickBooks

Follow these steps to return data from QuickBooks to Microsoft Excel by using Microsoft Query:

  1. Do one of the following:
    • For Excel 2007 and later, on the Data tab, choose Get External Data. In the From Other Sources group, choose From Microsoft Query.
    • For Excel 2003 and earlier, on the Data menu, choose Import External Data, and then choose New Database Query.

    The New Database Query command uses Microsoft Query to import data. Microsoft Query is an optional feature, which by default is not installed. If you do not have Microsoft Query installed, choosing New Database Query will prompt you to install it. To do this, in Control Panel, choose Programs and Features (or Add or Remove Programs). Choose Microsoft Office (if you installed Excel as part of Office) or Microsoft Excel, and then choose Change. Follow the instructions on screen. Select Choose advanced customization of applications during the Setup wizard if this option is present for your version of Office / Excel. Microsoft Query is located under Office Tools.

    When you have installed Microsoft Query, repeat step 1.

  2. In the Choose Data Source dialog box, choose your QuickBooks Online ODBC driver data source from the list, and then choose OK.
  3. In the Query Wizard, choose the columns that contain the data you want to retrieve, and then click Next.
  4. If you want to return a subset of the data, use the Filter Data screen to filter the results of your query (this is the equivalent of a SQL WHERE clause), and then click Next.
  5. If you want to change the sort order of your data, use the Sort Order screen to sort the results of your query (this is the equivalent of a SQL ORDER BY clause), and then click Next.
  6. On the File menu choose, Return data to Excel.
  7. Choose a location for the data on your worksheet when prompted.


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