Spreadsheet Sync Report Building in QuickBooks Online Advanced
A guide to creating and customizing reports through Spreadsheet Sync in QuickBooks Online Advanced and Accountant, covering templates, categories, and available data.
QuickBooks Online Advanced and Accountant users looking to push live company data into Excel have a purpose-built tool for the job. Spreadsheet Sync bridges the two applications, letting you build, customize, and refresh financial reports without manual data export. The feature supports two distinct workflows: running pre-formatted advanced templates with built-in pivot tables, and pulling raw transaction or account data into a standard spreadsheet grid.
Advanced Templates vs. Standard Reports
Spreadsheet Sync offers two tiers of output. The first centers on advanced templates — formatted spreadsheets pre-built with pivot tables that automatically populate with QuickBooks Online data and can drive charts and graphs. Two packaged templates are available: the Simple Management Report and the Smart Profit & Loss report.
The Simple Management Report bundles three core financial statements: a Trial Balance, a Balance Sheet, and a standard Profit & Loss statement. The Smart Profit & Loss template, by contrast, drills into income and expense data in finer detail, giving you a single formatted sheet designed for deeper margin analysis.
The second tier covers standard QuickBooks Online reports. These can be created and customized directly through Spreadsheet Sync, but they do not include pivot tables. For users who need raw figures rather than formatted statements, the add-in can also download transaction-level or account-level data into a plain data table — useful when you want to build your own formulas or external dashboards from scratch.
Access and Permissions
Because QuickBooks Online Accountant users hold Company Admin-level access inside a client’s file, any accountant logged into a client’s Advanced subscription should be able to open and use Spreadsheet Sync without additional permission changes. Standard company admins on Advanced files have the same access.
To launch the tool, sign in to QuickBooks Online and open the Reports menu, then select Spreadsheet Sync. The add-in loads in a side panel within Excel once authenticated.
Running a Report
From the Spreadsheet Sync homepage, select the option to run a report. You will be prompted to choose the target company from a dropdown — essential for accountants who manage multiple client files. Once the company is selected, open the report dropdown and search by name or scroll through the available options.
After selecting a report or template, apply any filters you need. Spreadsheet Sync lets you set the date granularity — weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly — along with specific start and end dates. The data pulls into the spreadsheet on demand and can be refreshed as new transactions post to the books.
Report Categories
Available reports and data tables are organized into categories mirroring the standard QuickBooks Online reports navigation:
Business Overview — High-level financial statements including the Statement of Cash Flows, Balance Sheet, Inventory Valuation Summary, Profit & Loss, Trial Balance, and budget reports.
For My Accountant — Reports commonly used for year-end preparation and tax filings.
What You Owe — Accounts payable detail, vendor balances, and outstanding bill information.
Who Owes You — Receivables management reports, including the A/R Aging Summary, Collections Report, and Open Invoices.
Expenses and Vendors — Purchase detail, including purchase order reports and vendor purchasing information.
Sales and Customers — Revenue and customer activity, covering product and service sales as well as customer-level purchasing detail.
Bank Transactions — Payment and transfer activity tied to connected bank and credit card accounts.
Employees — Time tracking data entered through QuickBooks.
Practical Notes
The distinction between advanced templates and standard reports matters when planning a workflow. If the goal is a polished, presentation-ready financial packet, the Management Report template handles the formatting automatically. If the goal is ad-hoc analysis — say, building a custom KPI tracker or exporting a large transaction set for external use — pulling a standard report or raw data table gives you the flexibility to structure the output yourself.
For broader help with QuickBooks Online reporting and troubleshooting, our QBO support desk covers common issues and how-tos across the platform.