# How to Use Advanced Reporting in QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise > Install QuickBooks Advanced Reporting in Desktop Enterprise 2018 or later, refresh its data, start from starter reports and build your own reports. - URL: https://logistify.ai/guides/quickbooks-desktop/advanced-reporting-enterprise/ - Section: QuickBooks Desktop Guides, Setup, users & reports - Applies to: QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise - Steps checked against: Intuit's QuickBooks Desktop help articles, updated May, August and September 2026 - Updated: 2026-10-21 **Short answer:** To use Advanced Reporting in QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise, update Enterprise to the latest release and sync your license under Help > Manage My License. Then go to Reports > Advanced Reporting to install it and extract your data. Intuit says it needs Enterprise 2018 or later and an active Enterprise subscription. Start from a starter report, or build your own from the Library. ## What QuickBooks Advanced Reporting is QuickBooks Advanced Reporting, or QBAR, is an Enterprise feature for building your own interactive reports from your company data. Intuit built it with a business intelligence partner. You build reports from Library objects such as tables, charts and list boxes, and change them through each object's properties. ## Before you start - Check your version. Intuit says Advanced Reporting works in QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise 2018 and later. Press F2 to open the Product Information window and see your version. - Check your subscription. Intuit's FAQ says Advanced Reporting is for users with an active QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise subscription, and to contact Intuit to sign up. - Check the user mode. Intuit's table of single-user and multi-user mode features lists Advanced reporting (US only) as No in single-user mode and Yes in multi-user mode. You switch modes from the File menu. - Sign in to QuickBooks as the admin, or have the admin give your role access. Step 4 shows how. - If QuickBooks is installed on your own computers, sign in to Windows as an admin before you update, as Intuit asks. - If a third party hosts your QuickBooks Enterprise, Intuit says to ask the hosting service to do these steps for you. - We suggest starting at a quiet time. Intuit says the data update can take from a few seconds to a few hours. On Pro or Premier? Intuit's report articles say those users get advanced reporting by upgrading to Enterprise. Until then, Reports > Custom Reports > Summary or Transaction Detail lets you build custom reports. To weigh the move, see [Pro vs Premier vs Enterprise](https://logistify.ai/compare/quickbooks-desktop-pro-vs-premier-vs-enterprise/) and how to [upgrade Pro or Premier to Enterprise](https://logistify.ai/guides/quickbooks-desktop/upgrade-pro-premier-to-enterprise/). ## Step 1: Update QuickBooks Enterprise to the latest release 1. Go to Intuit's Downloads & Updates page. 2. From the Select Product dropdown, choose QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise. 3. From the Select Version dropdown, choose the Enterprise version or year you use. 4. Select Search, then Get the latest updates, and save the file. 5. When the download finishes, double-click the file to install the update. Windows may need a restart afterward. For updating from inside QuickBooks, and on every workstation, see how to [update QuickBooks Desktop to the latest release](https://logistify.ai/guides/quickbooks-desktop/update-quickbooks-desktop/). ## Step 2: Sync your license data 1. In QuickBooks, go to the Help menu and select Manage My License. 2. Select Sync License Data Online. That's the label in Intuit's license article. The Advanced Reporting article prints it as Sync Data License Online. ## Step 3: Install Advanced Reporting and extract your data 1. Go to Reports > Advanced Reporting. This starts the install. 2. Let Advanced Reporting finish installing and extracting your company data for its reports. ## Step 4: Give other users access If Advanced Reporting won't open for a user, Intuit says to sign in as the admin or give that user's role access. To add it to a role: 1. Sign in to QuickBooks as the admin. 2. Go to Company > Users > Set Up Users and Roles. 3. Select an existing role and choose Edit, or choose New to create one. 4. In the Area and Activities list, select File, then QuickBooks Advanced Reporting. 5. Select OK. For roles in general, see how to [set up users, roles and permissions in QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise](https://logistify.ai/guides/quickbooks-desktop/users-roles-permissions-enterprise/). ## Step 5: Refresh the data each time you open it Each time you open Advanced Reporting, it asks to refresh its data so your reports reflect the current company file. Intuit says a refresh can be quick or run for hours, depending on file size and computer speed. We suggest letting the update finish before you read any numbers. On a large file, opening Advanced Reporting early in the day leaves room for a long update. ## Step 6: Start from a starter report or template Intuit's articles name two starting points. Starter reports look like reports you already know from QuickBooks. Intuit also mentions report templates you can download as a starting point. Its FAQ links to training videos, a user guide and a data dictionary for more help. Intuit's help articles don't list which templates exist or walk through loading one. We suggest opening a starter report close to what you need and changing it, rather than starting from a blank page. ## Step 7: Build or change a report 1. Open a starter report, or start your own. 2. From the Library, add the objects you need. Intuit names tables, charts, and text & utility objects among them. 3. Add list boxes from the Library to filter the data the report uses. 4. Right-click any object and select Properties to change it. 5. To group and subtotal the data, open the Dimensions tab and add a dimension. 6. To add a column, open the Expressions tab and add an expression. 7. When you add a dimension or expression, you'll see Tables and Fields options. For transactions, choose the Transactions table. Choosing a table shortens the list of fields you see, which helps once you know the kind of field you're after. Intuit's advice is to pick the table that matches what the report should show. ## Sharing or exporting a report Intuit's two Advanced Reporting help articles don't explain how to print, export or share a finished report. For more than the basics, the FAQ points to Intuit's training videos and user guide. For standard QuickBooks reports, Intuit says any report can be exported to Excel from the report's Excel dropdown. To save and send standard reports on a schedule, see how to [customize, memorize and schedule reports](https://logistify.ai/guides/quickbooks-desktop/create-memorize-custom-reports/). To analyze an exported report with an AI assistant, see how to [export QuickBooks Desktop reports and analyze them in ChatGPT or Claude](https://logistify.ai/guides/quickbooks-desktop/send-quickbooks-desktop-reports-to-chatgpt-claude/). ## If Advanced Reporting won't open or update - It won't open: sign in as the QuickBooks admin, or ask the admin to add Advanced Reporting to your role, as in Step 4. - You see "Sorry! Advanced Reporting couldn't update your report. Please try again.": Intuit's first fix is to update QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise to the latest version. - Still failing: remove parentheses, brackets and apostrophes from the company file name and its folder names. Reopen the file and run Advanced Reporting again. - Intuit also says to change the date to the standard MM/DD/YYYY format. - Check that your antivirus program isn't blocking QVConnect32.exe, the connector file Advanced Reporting uses. If it is, add an exception in the program's real-time scan. - On Windows 10 and newer, Intuit says that file sits in a QVConnect folder under AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\INetCache in your Windows user folder. - If the error continues after all of this, Intuit says to contact QuickBooks Support. ## When a standard report is enough Before you build something new, we suggest checking whether a standard report already answers the question. For stock on hand and inventory value, see [which inventory reports to run in QuickBooks Desktop](https://logistify.ai/guides/quickbooks-desktop/inventory-reports/). For profit by item, see the [Item Profitability report](https://logistify.ai/guides/quickbooks-desktop/item-profitability-report/) in QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise. ## Where QuickBooks Desktop leaves the work to you - Building the report is up to you. Intuit's FAQ says Support makes sure the data you need is available. - For paid help, Intuit's FAQ points to members of its QuickBooks Solution Provider program. Look under Specialized Services for Customized Reporting. - Finding the right table and field takes work. Intuit says the amount of data can make this hard, and points to its training guide and data dictionary. - Each time you open Advanced Reporting, it asks to update the data first, which Intuit says can take hours. - Intuit's help articles don't cover exporting, sharing or scheduling Advanced Reporting reports. Getting results to the right people is your process. - Hosted setups depend on the hosting service for the install and updates. Antivirus exceptions fall to whoever runs your IT. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is QuickBooks Advanced Reporting? It's a QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise feature for building custom, interactive reports from your company data. It comes with starter reports that look like standard QuickBooks reports. ### Is Advanced Reporting included with QuickBooks Enterprise? Intuit says it's for users with an active QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise subscription, on Enterprise 2018 or later. Its FAQ says to contact Intuit to sign up. ### Does QuickBooks Pro or Premier have Advanced Reporting? No. Intuit describes Advanced Reporting for Desktop Enterprise, and its report articles say Pro and Premier users get advanced reporting by upgrading. ### Why does Advanced Reporting update my data every time I open it? Intuit says the update keeps your reports in line with the current company file. It can take seconds or hours, depending on file size and computer speed. ### Why won't QuickBooks Advanced Reporting open? Intuit says to sign in as the admin, or have the admin give your role access. The setting is File > QuickBooks Advanced Reporting in the role's Area and Activities list. ### Will Intuit build a custom report for me? Intuit's FAQ says Support makes sure the data you need is available. For customized reporting, it points to members of its QuickBooks Solution Provider program, who charge a fee. ## Sources - [Intuit: QuickBooks Advanced Reporting (QBAR) FAQ](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/customize-reports/quickbooks-advanced-reporting-qbar-faq/L4NAC5uuO_US_en_US) - [Intuit: Install and use QuickBooks Advanced Reporting](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/customize-reports/install-use-quickbooks-advanced-reporting/L3VlKzgV2_US_en_US) - [Intuit: Features available and tasks you can perform in single or multi-user mode in QuickBooks Desktop](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/small-business-processes/features-available-tasks-perform-single-multi-user/L2OQW4SYg_US_en_US) - [Intuit: Add a user license to your QuickBooks software in QuickBooks Desktop](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/accounting-bookkeeping/add-user-license-quickbooks-software/L8uRFMlj4_US_en_US) - [Intuit: Update QuickBooks Desktop to the latest release](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/update-products/update-quickbooks-desktop-latest-release/L7qUzlW1k_US_en_US) - [Intuit: Customize reports in QuickBooks Desktop](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/report-management/customize-reports-quickbooks-desktop/L1xfYg7Bv_US_en_US) - [Intuit: Understand reports](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/memorize-reports/understand-reports/L6mJBjn2h_US_en_US) - [Intuit: Export reports as Excel workbooks in QuickBooks Desktop](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/export-reports/export-reports-excel-workbooks-quickbooks-desktop/L4cLJEeXt_US_en_US)