Have questions about the limits of what your QuickBooks Online account can handle? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions regarding technical limits, file sizes, transaction volumes, and data entry. QuickBooks Online file size and feature limits in 2020
Is there a limit to the amount of data I can have in QuickBooks Online?
No, there isn’t a file size limit in QuickBooks Online.
QuickBooks Online loads your data as needed, which means the overall size of the data file doesn’t substantially affect performance. In addition, QuickBooks Online uses a processing method where some of the processing is performed online and some is done locally using your device processor and memory. Lastly, the speed of your internet connection plays a big part. Meeting or exceeding the System Requirements for QuickBooks Online improves QuickBooks Online performance more than file size.
Are there limits on lists, such as accounts, customers or items/inventory?
Using the same “as needed” approach listed above, large lists don’t cause performance issues. You don’t have to worry about entering too many customers, accounts, or items.
There are no transaction limits. As far as performance is concerned, transaction complexity has more impact on performance than transaction volume. For instance, an invoice with a single item and no sales tax is less complex than one with multiple items and with sales tax applied. But unless you are processing a large volume of transactions that are also very complex, the effect on performance should be minimal.
While QuickBooks Online doesn’t have file size, list length, or transaction limits, there are a few practical limitations to be aware of such as character limits in fields, size limits when exporting a report to Excel, and technical issues that can slow your QuickBooks Online experience. QuickBooks Online file size and feature limits in 2020
There’s a maximum number of characters you can enter in each field. Below are some of the most commonly used fields in QuickBooks:
| Field |
Character limit |
| Account name |
100 |
| Account number |
7 |
| Amount (on all forms) |
11 |
| Customer, Vendor/Vendor, and Other Names |
100 |
| Custom field display name (on all forms) |
15 |
| Custom field (on all forms) |
30 |
| Description on Single Time Activity |
4000 |
| Employee name |
25 |
| Item description (on all forms) |
4000 |
| Item names |
100 |
| Memo |
4000 |
| Message displayed on invoice |
1000 |
| Message displayed on statement |
4000 |
| Notes in customer information |
4000 |
| Project name |
80 |
| Project notes |
1500 |
| Report company name |
100 |
| Report title |
192 |
| Transaction number (on all forms) |
21 |
There are various things you can do to make sure your QuickBooks is running at peak performance.
- Ensure your web browser is up to date.
- Check to see if there are critical performance updates for your operating system.
- Run an internet speed test. We recommend using Google Speed Test for checking connection bandwidth.