File Extension Guide📖 What is a QBB File?
QBB files are the backups of QuickBooks Desktop. A .qbb is created when you back up a company, according to Intuit's File types and extensions used by QuickBooks Desktop. The backup holds a copy of the company and a few other files from the same folder. It is not the company you work in.
QuickBooks reads a .qbb only through its restore command. A restore turns the backup into a new .qbw company. Intuit explains it in Restore a backup of your company file. The same article tells you to restore into a separate folder, because a restore into the folder of your live company can overwrite your data.
One rule to remember
Keep the original backup untouched. Copy the .qbb to a local drive before you restore it or read it. A backup on a USB drive or a hosting service should move to your hard drive first, as Intuit advises.
🔎 Which Backup Do I Have?
Check the extension of your backup. The cards below separate the formats that look alike.
.qbb files
The QuickBooks Backup file. QuickBooks creates it when you back up a company.
YourCompany.QBB.qbw files
The live company that a restore creates. Read more in the QBW file guide.
YourCompany.QBW.qbm files
The QuickBooks Portable file. It is a compressed copy for email or moving, not a backup. Univik does not read this format.
YourCompany.QBM.qbx files
The Accountant's Review Copy / Transfer file. Intuit describes it as the backup you send to your accountant.
YourCompany.QBXA Mac backup is different again. Intuit names MAC.QBB as the backup that moves a Mac company to QuickBooks Desktop for Windows. Mac data is outside what Univik tested.
🧱 What is Inside a QBB File?
In the backups Univik checked, a .qbb is one container that holds several streams. The streams are compressed. The listing below shows what Univik software finds in it.
Compression_Header # plain text, names the compression
modulesInBackup # plain text, lists what the backup holds
file_COMPANY_FILE # the company, an exact .qbw
other streams # letter templates, print and spelling settings
The company stream is the same .qbw that QuickBooks wrote, stored whole. That is why a reader can take the books out of a backup without a restore. Each stream is packed with the deflate method and the container is a Microsoft compound document.
Size is no obstacle. Univik software read a generated 2.2 GB backup in 15 seconds with a peak of 87 MB of memory.
“A backup looks like a sealed box, but the company sits inside it whole. In the backup Univik tested, 13,474 records came out of it with every list and invoice. Keep the original backup and work on a copy.”
🔄 How Does QuickBooks Restore a QBB File?
In QuickBooks Desktop you open File > Open or Restore Company and choose Restore a backup copy. You then pick Local Backup, browse to the .qbb and choose a folder for the result. Intuit says the restore creates a new .qbw in that folder.
A restore needs QuickBooks on the PC. Intuit's article does not cover version rules or password rules, so check those before you rely on a restore of an old backup.
📂 How Can You Read a QBB File Without Restoring It?
Univik QBooks Recovery reads a .qbb directly. Use the Select QuickBooks File button on a copy of the backup. The lists, transactions and reports of the company load on screen, as shown in the QuickBooks file viewer guide. A Files in Backup group lists the other items stored in the backup.
Restore Backup Files writes the company and the other items to a new folder. It never overwrites anything. A backup that came from the internet keeps the Windows mark for downloaded files when it is restored this way.
🛠️ What if a QBB Is Damaged?
A backup is compressed, so damage in one stream hurts everything after it. Univik cut a test backup to 80 percent of its size and still read 9,096 of its 13,474 records, with every list and every invoice. The part after the cut was gone, because the rest of a damaged stream cannot be read.
Older backups made in a binary format also exist. Univik software does not read those. The QuickBooks data recovery software page lists the tested versions and the damage tests.
⚔️ How Do QuickBooks Backups Compare?
| Extension | Role | Created by | Univik software |
|---|---|---|---|
| .qbb | Backup of one company | Backup command | Reads it, no restore |
| .qbw | The company you work in | New company or restore | Reads it |
| .qbm | Compressed copy for transfer | Portable command | Does not read it |
| .qbx | Copy for your accountant | Accountant command | Not tested |
| MAC.QBB | Mac backup for Windows | QuickBooks for Mac | Not supported |
Source: Intuit's article on file types, checked 11 November 2026.
❓ QBB File Questions
It is a QuickBooks Desktop backup. Intuit calls it the QuickBooks Backup file. QuickBooks creates it when you back up a company. A restore turns it into a new .qbw.
Univik QBooks Recovery reads a .qbb on a Windows PC with no QuickBooks and does not change it. QuickBooks Desktop has its restore command under File > Open or Restore Company.
Yes. Software that understands the container can read the company inside. Univik QBooks Recovery loads the lists, transactions and reports of a backup right away. Give it a copy of the backup.
The .qbw is the company you work in. The .qbb is the backup that QuickBooks makes from it. Inside a backup Univik found the company stored as an exact .qbw.
A .qbb is a backup. A .qbm is the QuickBooks Portable file, a compressed copy for email or moving. Intuit lists them as two separate file types. Univik software reads .qbb and does not read .qbm.
Not directly. A .qbb is a compressed container and Excel has no reader for it. Read it with data software first, then save the lists as a workbook.
It can. Intuit warns that a restore into the folder of your live company may overwrite your data. Restore into a separate folder or rename the existing company first.
Intuit advises moving a backup from a USB drive or a hosting service to your local hard drive before you restore it.
Yes. The QuickBooks data converter writes the lists and transactions of a backup as Excel, CSV or HTML. The import format .iif is a fourth choice. The trial caps each list at 25 items.
Intuit names MAC.QBB as the backup that moves a Mac company to QuickBooks Desktop for Windows. Univik software does not support Mac data.
📝 QBB Files in Summary
- .qbb is the QuickBooks Desktop backup
- A restore turns a .qbb into a new .qbw
- The container holds the company and other items
- .qbm is a portable copy, not a backup
- Keep the original backup untouched
- Restore into a separate folder
- Move a backup off USB before a restore
- A damaged backup loses the rest of its stream
Read a QBB file without restoring it: Univik QBooks Recovery →
Guide review: Nick Rogers Univik founder
Checked 11 Nov 2026
Nick Rogers read this guide and approved it on 11 November 2026. Each Intuit statement links to the help article it comes from. The structure facts and counts are Univik's own, taken from QuickBooks Desktop backups.
QuickBooks and Intuit are trademarks of Intuit Inc. Univik has no tie to Intuit.