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Nonprofit24
December 5, 2019
Question

Quickbooks Desktop error when exporting to Excel not coherent

  • December 5, 2019
  • 2 replies
  • 0 views

Hello

 

We just recently installed the newest version of Intuit Quickbooks. Upon attempting to export (a report) to excel we get the following error (also attached):

"Excel allows 256 columns in a worksheet.
This report has 7 columns (6 row title columns + 1 data columns)

Use "Customize" to change the number of columns in this report."

This does not seem coherent to me, but I might be misunderstanding it?

 

Any answers would be appreciated.

Thank you

 

 

    2 replies

    Kristine Mae
    Kristine Mae
    December 5, 2019

    This can be puzzling, Nonprofit24. This message appears if the exported report has more than 256 columns. Your report shows 7 columns only.

     

    Although, the spaces between columns can be a factor why you encounter it. I'll help you remove them. 

     

    Here's how:

    1. Click Excel, then select Create New Worksheet.
    2. In the Send Report to Excel window, click Advanced.
    3. Uncheck the Space between columns box.
    4. Click OK.
    5. Select Create new worksheet, then click in a new workbook.
    6. Click Export. 

    You can refer to my screenshot below. 

    You can also save the report as a CSV file instead. This will provide you more columns. Here's how:

    1. Click Excel, then select Create New Worksheet.
    2. Select Create a comma separated values (.csv) file.
    3. Click Export. 

    I'll add the article about exporting reports as Excel workbooks in QuickBooks Desktop for better guidance. 

     

    If there's anything else that I can do for you, just tag me and I'll personally get back to you. 

    D
    dmilner59
    March 3, 2020

    I am getting this error when trying to export any report to Excel.  I am using MS Excel 2007.  I recently upgraded my computer to Windows 10 and Quickbooks 2020.  Where I was able to export without problem in Quickbooks 2019, it no longer works in 2020.

     

    I don't want to export every report into a .csv file as it will lose the formatting.  I don't allow extra spaces between the columns.  I would say there is something different in 2020 that is not working with older versions of Excel.

      katherinejoyceO
      katherinejoyceO
      March 3, 2020

      Welcome to this conversation, @dmilner59. I appreciate you for sharing more detailed information about your concern. 

       

      To clarify, QuickBooks 2020 only supports the following Microsoft Office: 

       

      • Office 2019 (Compatible with R3 and later)
      • Office 2016 (including Outlook 2016) both on 32 and 64-bit.
      • Office 2010 SP2, Office 2013 and 365 (including Outlook 2010 and Outlook 2013) both on 32 and 64 bit.Note: Office 365 is only supported when it is locally installed, not the web version.

       

      In your case, I'd suggest you upgrade your Microsoft Office to any of the criteria listed above. Check out this article for more information: System requirements for QuickBooks 2020 and Enterprise Solutions 20.0.

       

      For future reference, read through this topic: Release notes for QuickBooks Desktop 2020. It helps you learn about the latest updates and improvements in QuickBooks. 

       

      Feel free to message again if you have any more questions. We're always here to assist you further.

       

       

      S
      Scott191
      August 31, 2023

      Hopefully my reply posts, quickbooks forums dont seem to allow any correct answers to be posted.  Excel has very minor bug where you cant open another excel file unles you clock on a cell in an excel file you already have open.  You can sit thre for 5min and nothing will open, but when you click in a cell of an open worksheet, the one you want to open will open up like clockwork.

       

      I had your same issue, even a report I just pulled, it wouldnt let me open again.  I clicked on a cell in the report I had open, went back to QB to pull the failed reports, and finally I could pull a report with no errors.

        J
        jj46627
        February 18, 2025

        Scott191,

        Thank you so much for this post!  It works!

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