The decision to discontinue all QuickBooks Desktop services for our valued UK customers effective from June 30, 2023. This discontinuation applies to all QuickBooks Desktop Pro, Premier, and Enterprise versions. Migrating to QuickBooks Online offers numerous benefits and advantages, including enhanced flexibility, real-time collaboration, automatic software updates, and access to your financial data from anywhere, anytime. While we strive to make the conversion process as seamless as possible, it’s important to note that creating an exact copy of your data in a different accounting system is impossible. However, rest assured that your financial data will be accurately transferred overall.
- Causes of complications
- What data will be converted?
- What data won’t be converted?
- Transaction types we can’t convert.
- Steps of backing up your data
Causes of complication
- Foreign Currency: All the data that includes foreign currencies will be converted like other data. However, it’s crucial to note that the conversion result may not be completely accurate due to factors specific to QuickBooks (and QBO).
- Causes of Complications: Certain factors in your source software may lead to complications during the conversion process. These factors can include exceeding the following limits within the conversion period:
- 40,000 combined invoices, bills, and credits
- 40,000 bank transactions
- 2,500 credit notes allocated to invoices
- 10,000 contacts
- 600 chart of account codes
If journals are manually entered in Sage with the same “Ledger year-end” description as the system journals, we may be unable to convert these. Please note that fixing these differences isn’t included in our service unless they are straightforward. If your business operates under CIS, the conversion may unlikely to succeed. If you have converted to a Simple Start pricing plan, we regret to inform you that our fixing service is not available, as it’s not possible to invite users. Furthermore, utilize payment providers such as Stripe in Sage Business Cloud Accounting. There may be differences caused by Sage reporting Payouts as transactions, even if they were not recorded in the accounts.
What data will be converted?
- Data Transfer: During the migration process, we will transfer the following data from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online:
- Customer details
- Supplier details
- Chart of accounts
- Account balances
- Customer balances
- Supplier balances
- Departments information (optional)
- All individual transactions in the conversion period
What data won’t be converted?
Please note that Movemybooks cannot provide custom mappings for any fields.
- Sage archives or backup data that isn’t “open” or “live.”
- Sage Cloud (SageOne) Analysis Types, which are equivalent to departments in QuickBooks Online.
- Budgets.
- Stock/Inventory Items*.
- Product/Service/Sales Items*.
- Sales/Purchase Orders.
- Quotes/Drafts/Estimates/Unposted transactions.
- Memorized Transactions.
- Default nominal codes, payment terms, and templates like invoice templates.
- Timesheets/Time Records.
- Payroll and Employee Records*.
- Accounts that have never had any transactions.
- Deleted or canceled transactions.
- Custom VAT rates (workarounds may be available).
- Project data/Job costing*.
- File attachments (optional extra on specific conversions).
- Unpaid expense claims.
- CIS details (transactions may not convert correctly).
- Customers associated with recharge transactions.
- Charity fund codes.
- Custom fields (invoices/bill/contacts).
*Associated transactions will be converted, ie. For a stock item, the purchase payment would be reversed, but no stock information would be present.
Transaction types we can’t convert.
Unfortunately, there are certain transaction types that we are currently unable to convert to QuickBooks Online, such as bank transfers (fund transfers). In these cases, we utilize the Journal transaction or the most similar transaction type as a substitute.
Another example is Xero’s prepayment transaction type. We cannot replicate the representation of Xero prepayments precisely as they appear in Xero.
While we are improving this functionality, it is essential to note that there may be differences between Xero and QuickBooks Online as long as a prepayment remains unallocated. However, once the prepayment is allocated, the balances will be corrected from the allocation date.
We appreciate your understanding and patience as we strive to enhance the conversion process and provide the best possible experience for our users.
Step 1: Backup your desktop file
Before initiating the process, it’s crucial to secure a copy of your QuickBooks Desktop information. Taking this step to adequately back up all your files before migrating will aid in a smooth transition to QuickBooks Online for your enterprise.
Our data export tool simplifies this procedure by letting you effortlessly download all your desktop data. We suggest preserving any historical data that you might not require in QuickBooks Online, as you may need to reference it later.
Step 2: Get your QuickBooks Online company file ready
Next, synchronize your QuickBooks Online account information with the details from your Desktop company. Here’s how:
- Log into QuickBooks Online.
- Go to Account and Settings and verify the following:
- Review VAT settings – if VAT is activated in Desktop, but you’re not VAT registered, you can disable VAT in Desktop before migrating to QuickBooks Online.
- Confirm your company’s start and end date for the year.
- If Movemybooks has requested that you eliminate data from your company file, follow the necessary steps to remove the data and begin anew. This is required to avoid complications during the desktop data transfer.
Step 3: Move your QuickBooks Desktop file to QuickBooks Online
With all your data backed up on your computer, you are now ready to embark on the migration journey. This is where the online tool, Movemybooks, comes into play to facilitate data transfer.
Before getting started, ensure you:
- Register an account with Movemybooks if you haven’t already.
- Log into your QuickBooks Online company and keep it accessible in another window or tab.
- Have your desktop company file saved and ready on your computer.
- If you’re not using Windows 10, contact Movemybooks at support@movemybooks.co.uk.
- The Movemybooks data uploader, which facilitates the data transfer from desktop to cloud, necessitates a computer running Windows 10 or higher.
Once you’re set, proceed with the following steps.
- Log into your Movemybooks account.
- Choose New Conversion.
- Upload your QuickBooks Desktop data file as per the given instructions.
- Allow Movemybooks to link with QuickBooks Online.
- In QuickBooks Online, click on Authorise. The migration begins.
- Adhere to the instructions and utilize the uploader for a more efficient process.
- The entire procedure can take up to an hour, depending on the volume of data to be transferred. This duration could extend if your company file is more extensive. It’s imperative to meticulously follow all the instructions given by Movemybooks to ensure a successful conversion.
Step 4: Check your data
After the successful transformation of your data, it is crucial to review the converted data to detect any inconsistencies, inaccuracies, absent data, or wrongly mapped fields.
Please refer to this detailed guide to perform the verification of your data.
We strongly advise conducting these checks immediately after the transition and before initiating the use of QuickBooks Online. To expedite the process, leverage the complimentary service from Movemybooks to identify any discrepancies between the initial and newly transformed data.
If you come across any inconsistencies, stay calm and reach out to the customer support at Movemybooks; they are always ready to assist.
Step 5: Get ready to use QuickBooks Online
Your financial records will appear differently in QuickBooks Online compared to their presentation in Desktop. To assist you in understanding how your books will be presented in QuickBooks Online, we have elucidated the various sections here.
Note: If you need assistance in setting up your books, you can schedule a free, one-on-one guided session with our professionals.
Below is a series of detailed guides to help you get accustomed to QuickBooks Online:
- Linking a bank or credit card account
- VAT setup
- Creation and dispatch of invoices to a customer
- Customisation of invoices, estimates, and sales receipts
- Tracking bills and their payments Payroll setup. For those utilising Advanced Payroll, refer to this guide.
- Adding and managing users
- Transitioning your inventory.
