How to Cancel QuickBooks Online in 2026 (Export Data + Cheaper Alternatives)
Updated 2026-02-20 · 7 min read
📈 40% Price Increases in 2 Years
QuickBooks Online has raised prices multiple times since 2023. Simple Start went from $25/month to $35/month. Plus went from $50 to $69. Advanced from $180 to $235/month. That's $420-$2,820/year for bookkeeping software. Meanwhile, Wave Accounting is completely free and handles invoicing, expenses, and financial reports for most small businesses.
QuickBooks Online Pricing (2026)
Simple Start: $35/month — 1 user, basic invoicing and expenses
Essentials: $65/month — 3 users, bill management, time tracking
Real cost for a typical small business: QBO Plus + Payroll = $144-$224/month ($1,728-$2,688/year)
Step 1: Export All Your Data
This is critical — do this BEFORE canceling:
Reports: Reports → All Reports → run and export each to Excel/PDF (Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet, General Ledger, A/R, A/P)
Chart of Accounts: Settings → Chart of Accounts → Export to Excel
Customer list: Sales → Customers → Export
Vendor list: Expenses → Vendors → Export
Transaction list: Reports → Transaction List by Date → export full history
Invoices: Export/download individual invoices as PDFs
Receipts/Attachments: Download any uploaded receipts and documents
Tax info: Make sure you have all data needed for tax filing before leaving
⚠️ QuickBooks Holds Data Hostage
After canceling, you have 1 year of read-only access to your QBO data. After that, it's gone. There is no way to do a bulk export of all transactions in a format that another accounting tool can import cleanly. This is by design — it's Intuit's lock-in strategy. Export everything before you cancel.
Step 2: Cancel QuickBooks Online
Log into QBO → Settings (gear icon) → Account and Settings
Go to Billing & Subscription
Click Cancel subscription or Cancel trial
Intuit will offer discounts (often 50% off for 3 months) — decide if it's worth staying
Confirm cancellation
Also cancel any add-ons: Payroll, Payments, TSheets (time tracking)
Cheaper Alternatives
Wave Accounting (Free)
Free invoicing, expense tracking, financial reports, bank connections
Unlimited users, unlimited invoices
Revenue from optional payment processing (2.9% + $0.60) and payroll ($20/month base)
Best for: Freelancers, consultants, service businesses under $500K revenue
FreshBooks ($17/month)
Better invoicing than QBO, time tracking, project management
Unlimited users on all plans (QBO limits users per tier)
Best for: Businesses that want QBO-level features at lower cost
Spreadsheets (Free)
For very small businesses (under $100K revenue), a Google Sheets template works fine
Search "small business accounting spreadsheet template" — many free, excellent templates exist
Total cost: $0. Full control. No vendor lock-in.
💡 Talk to Your Accountant First
If you have an accountant or bookkeeper, discuss the switch before canceling. Many accountants prefer QBO (it's the industry standard), and some may charge extra to work with unfamiliar software. But a good accountant can work with exported data from any platform — don't let their preference trap you in expensive software.
🔍 Find All Your Business Subscriptions
QuickBooks is often just one of many SaaS tools draining your business account. Upload your bank statement to JustCancel to find every subscription — many businesses discover $200-500/month in unused software.