What is the first step to exporting financial reports as backups in QuickBooks Online?

To begin exporting financial reports as backups in QuickBooks Online, the correct initial action involves navigating to the Reports menu. This menu provides a comprehensive list of all available financial reports, such as Profit and Loss statements, Balance Sheets, and other essential financial documentation. By starting here, you gain access to the specific reports you wish to back up, enabling you to efficiently select and export them as needed.

Accessing the Gear icon generally leads to settings and configurations, rather than directly taking you to the reports needed for exporting. Similarly, navigating to the Dashboard will not provide you with the specific options for financial reports; instead, it offers an overview of your business's performance. The Timesheets option is unrelated to financial reports and focuses more on tracking employee hours, which does not pertain to exporting financial data. Thus, the Reports menu is the most logical starting point for this action.