What is the QuickBooks Condense Data Utility? A Guide

The QuickBooks Condense Data utility can be used to shrink the size of your QB Desktop company file by removing old transactions and replacing them with summary entries, and removing inactive lists. It can improve performance for large files or those nearing list limits. However, it is irreversible, so it is advised to make a backup file before using the Condense Data Utility. Doing so can boost your workflow and have a positive impact on your business progress. The Condense Data utility can be found in the Utilities section of the File menu. In this blog, we’ll cover the steps you need to know to use the QuickBooks Desktop Condense Data Utility to change the size of your company file.

QuickBooks Condense Data Utility – A Quick View Table

Given in the table below is a concise summary of this blog on the topic of the condense data utility in QuickBooks Desktop:

Description	The QuickBooks Condense Data utility can be used to shrink the size of your QB Desktop company file by removing old transactions and replacing them with summary entries, and removing inactive lists. It can improve performance for large files or those nearing list limits. However, it is irreversible, so it is advised to make a backup file before using the Condense Data Utility. Doing so can boost your workflow and positively impact your business progress.
Things you need to know	1. The process isn’t reversible. 2. It might or might not affect the size of your company file 3. It might not fix file damage 4. It won’t remove certain transactions 5. It affects various reports, like account and item-based reports, cash basis reports, reports filtered by class, sales tax liability reports, sales and purchase detail reports, A/R collections reports, audit trail reports, and reconciliation
Condense data while keeping the transactions	1. Open the QB Desktop app 2. Navigate to the File menu 3. Click on Utilities 4. Select Condense Data 5. Press Keep all transactions, but remove audit trail info to date 6. Hit Next 7. Let the process complete 8. Click on Close
Condense data by removing transactions	1. Open the QB Desktop app 2. Navigate to the File menu 3. Click on Utilities 4. Select Condense Data 5. Choose Remove the transactions you select from your company file 6. Hit Next 7. Choose the transactions you wish to remove 8. Press Next 9. Choose how transactions would be summarized 10. Select Next 11. Choose how inventory should be condensed 12. Hit Next 13. Select recommended transactions you’d like to remove 14. Click on Next 15. Choose the List entries you’d like to remove 16. Hit Next 17. Click on the Begin Condense option 18. Wait for the process to complete 19. Lastly, click on Close

Now, let us see the steps to condense your data in QuickBooks Desktop.

Guided Steps to Condense Your Data in QuickBooks Desktop

Given below are the guided steps you can use to condense your data in QB Desktop using the QuickBooks Condense Data Utility:

Condense Data While Keeping All the Transactions

1. Open the QB Desktop app
2. Navigate to the File menu
3. Click on Utilities
4. Select Condense Data
5. Press Keep all transactions, but remove audit trail info to date
6. Hit Next
7. Let the process complete
8. Click on Close

Condense Data By Removing Selected Transactions

1. Open the QB Desktop app
2. Navigate to the File menu
3. Click on Utilities
4. Select Condense Data
5. Choose Remove the transactions you select from your company file
6. Hit Next
7. Choose the transactions you wish to remove
8. Press Next
9. Choose how transactions would be summarized
10. Select Next
11. Choose how inventory should be condensed
12. Hit Next
13. Select recommended transactions you’d like to remove
14. Click on Next
15. Choose the List entries you’d like to remove
16. Hit Next
17. Click on the Begin Condense option
18. Wait for the process to complete
19. Lastly, click on Close

This would condense your company file data.

Things You Need to Keep in Mind About the QuickBooks Enterprise Condense Data Utility

Given below are all the things you need to know about before you use the QB Condense Data Utility:

The Process Isn’t Reversible

Once you condense your company file, there’s no way to undo it. So, ensure to create a backup file before condensing it. You should only condense your company file for valid reasons, like:

1. You have a large data file
2. You’re nearing a list limit
3. You’ve upgraded your hardware

It Might or Might Not Affect Your Company File’s Size

1. It would reduce the size as it would remove the transaction details and list entries
2. The open transactions would not be condensed, and the file size would not be affected
3. Condense won’t be available if there’s no significant change to the file size

It Might Not Fix File Damage

Condensing your company file might not repair it if it’s damaged. If you have a damaged company file, you should try these instead:

1. Restore a backup copy of your company file
2. Use the QuickBooks File Doctor Tool
3. Use the Verify and Rebuild data utility
4. Create a new company file

It Doesn’t Remove Certain Transactions

Transactions It Won’t Remove	Reason
Payroll transactions	If an employee’s W-2 isn’t reviewed or if the condense date is before 12/31/2018
Invoices, payments, credit memos, and refund checks	If they aren’t linked to each other properly
Payments recorded to Undeposited Funds	If they haven’t been deposited into a bank account
Bills, bill credits, and bill payment checks	If they aren’t linked to each other properly
Estimates linked to invoices	Estimates can’t be condensed into journal entries as they are non-posting entries. Journal entries are posting transactions
Sales tax not paid in Pay Sales Tax	Paying sales tax with checks leaves invoices open, which are non-condensable
Transactions linked to a non-condensable transaction	Example: You entered an invoice on 12/15/2015 and the corresponding payment on 1/15/2016, then ran the Condense Data utility through 12/31/2015. Neither would be condensed. This is due to the invoice being linked to a payment made outside the period.

It Affects Various Reports

Using the QuickBooks Condense Data Utility can affect the following reports:

Account and Item-Based Reports

The Account-based reports would be accurate as the entries on accounts are not affected:

1. Profit and Loss (accrual)
2. Balance Sheet (accrual)
3. Statement of Cash Flows (accrual)
4. Trial Balance (accrual)

However, Item-based reports will be blank as all of the item data will be gone:

1. Sales and Purchase reports
2. Job Costing reports
3. Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable Aging Report

Cash Basis Reports

The Cash basis reports for the period you condensed your company file would be inaccurate. There are no links from cash in to income or from cash out to expenses.

Reports Filtered by Class

Any of the transactions summarized by the utility won’t have classes assigned. If you run a Profit and Loss by Class report, it would show all amounts in the unclassified column.

Sales Tax Liability Reports

The invoices with sales tax will no longer exist. A condensed journal entry has an amount credited to income accounts. QB Desktop won’t be able to detect what part of the income is taxable and which part is nontaxable. Additionally, the Tax Collected comes from the invoices will show zero as it no longer exists.

Sales and Purchase Detail Reports

These reports get their data from items on invoices and bills. Since the invoices and bills don’t exist anymore, there’ll be no more items, and the reports will be blank.

A/R Collections Reports

The A/R Collection report will show the condensed journal entries under No Name. The journal entries have A/R balances that aren’t linked to closing transactions and are considered open. The total would be zero as all the invoices in this file are paid. A/R Aging reports won’t display condensed journal entries because they default to the Names = All Customer: Jobs filter. You can remove the filter, and the condensed journal entries will be shown by the A/R Aging reports.

Audit Trail Reports

1. Only the voided, edited, and deleted transactions will be removed when you use the QuickBooks Condense Data Utility
2. The QB Condense Data utility doesn’t remove the audit trail report
3. The Audit Trail report will still show all ‌transaction activity after condensing your data
4. The Condense Audit Trail Info option will only be available if a company file has a significant amount of edited, voided, or deleted transactions

Reconciliation

1. The opening balances would be correct for your next reconciliation because condensed journal entries are cleared transactions
2. Your checks and deposits would no longer exist, hence your old reconciliation reports may be incorrect or gone
3. The statement might be incorrect because the last 

Conclusion

The QuickBooks Condense Data utility can be used to shrink the size of your QB Desktop company file by removing old transactions and replacing them with summary entries, and removing inactive lists. It can improve performance for large files or those nearing list limits. However, it is irreversible, so it is advised to make a backup file before using the Condense Data Utility. Doing so can boost your workflow and positively impact your business progress. We have covered the things you need to know about the QB Condense Data utility, along with the steps you need to know to use it, in this blog.

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