How to Move a QuickBooks Desktop Company File to QuickBooks Online

This guide covers how the move works, not whether to make it. For that decision, see QuickBooks Desktop vs QuickBooks Online for manufacturers and distributors, and the alternatives to QuickBooks Desktop.

Before you start

• Sign up for QuickBooks Online first. It must be in the same country or region as your Desktop file.
• You need admin access to both the Desktop company file and the Online account.
• Mind the window: 90 calendar days from your Online sign-up, or 180 days if your accountant signed up for you.
• Moving into an Online company that already has data replaces that data. Intuit says you can't undo it.
• Intuit Enterprise Suite has its own route for moving Desktop data, separate from these steps.

Step 1: Prepare the company file

1. 1Update QuickBooks Desktop to the latest release: Help > Update QuickBooks Desktop, then the Update Now tab and Get Updates. Restart QuickBooks when it finishes.
2. 2Press F2 or Ctrl+1 to open Product Information. Check that Total Targets is below 4,000,000.
3. 3Close all open windows, then run File > Utilities > Verify Data. Rebuild the data if Verify finds problems.
4. 4Make sure the company file is on your computer's hard drive, not a server or cloud service. If a provider hosts it, ask them for a local copy.
5. 5Switch to single-user mode. If the File menu shows Switch to Multi-user Mode, you're already in it.

Step 2: Condense the file if Total Targets is too high

Intuit limits imports by target count, not file size. Above 4,000,000 targets, condense first. Intuit also warns that files over 750,000 targets can take longer and may show differences, especially in inventory.

1. 1Create a full local backup (.QBB) of the original file and keep it as your archive.
2. 2If you track inventory, pick a condense date at the end of a monthly reporting period. Intuit says this keeps average cost history accurate.
3. 3In single-user mode, go to File > Utilities > Condense Data.
4. 4Choose to remove the transactions you select, then select Transactions before a specific date and enter it.
5. 5Choose how QuickBooks summarizes the removed transactions. Help Me Choose explains the options.
6. 6Review the transactions and unused list entries marked for removal. Clear any you want to keep.
7. 7Select Begin Condense. QuickBooks saves an archive copy in the original folder first.
8. 8Press F2 again and confirm that Total Targets is now below 4,000,000.

These condense steps are for Pro or Premier 2012 and Enterprise 12.0 or newer.

Step 3: Run the export

In QuickBooks Desktop Pro or Premier

1. 1Open QuickBooks Desktop and sign in as the company admin.
2. 2Go to Company > Migrate this company file to QuickBooks Online, then select Export Your Company File to QuickBooks Online.
3. 3Select Get started. Work through the checklist of prep tasks, or select Complete All, then select Continue.
4. 4Select Bring all your company data. Or choose Bring only list and balances to move just customers, vendors, accounts, employees and items.
5. 5Select Yes, sign me in, and use the email and password from your Online sign-up.
6. 6Choose the Online company to receive the data. If it already holds data, confirm the replace or pick an empty company.
7. 7Select Export and wait for the progress bar to finish.

In QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise

1. 1Press Ctrl+1 to open Product Information.
2. 2Press Ctrl+B+Q together to open the export window, then select OK to close Product Information.
3. 3Select Get started, then Bring all your company data or Bring only list and balances.
4. 4Select Yes, sign me in, choose the Online company, and confirm any replace.
5. 5Select Export.

Step 4: Check the numbers after the move

1. 1Wait for Intuit's email saying the migration is complete, then sign in to QuickBooks Online.
2. 2Run Profit and Loss for this year to date in Desktop and in Online, with the same dates, and compare.
3. 3Do the same with the balance sheet and the A/R and A/P reports.
4. 4Compare on the accrual basis. Intuit says accrual basis reports will match, while cash basis reports may not.
5. 5Invite each user from QuickBooks Online. Desktop users and permissions don't carry over.
6. 6Bank connections don't move, so plan to connect your bank accounts again in Online.

If QuickBooks Desktop isn't installed

Intuit's online migration tool takes an uploaded file instead. It accepts a company file (.QBW), backup (.QBB) or portable file (.QBM) from version 2011 or later. Enterprise files use a separate link on the upload page. For a Mac file, save a backup copy for Windows first.

What doesn't move to QuickBooks Online

• Price levels, including the price level on each customer.
• Units of measure, and the manufacturer's part number on items.
• Assemblies as assemblies. They arrive as inventory items, with components on detail lines.
• Received quantities on open purchase orders, and the link between bills and purchase orders.
• Pending sales, and progress invoices built from estimates.
• Memorized reports, the audit trail and past reconciliation reports.
• Users and permissions, custom templates, and custom fields on items and employees.
• Customer credit limits, reps and types, and vendor types and credit limits.
• Bank connections and uncategorized bank feed data.

Other things change form. Group items become bundles, memorized transactions become recurring transactions, and item receipts become bills. Early-payment discounts become credit memos or vendor credits. Intuit also says migrated sales tax payments apply to the wrong filings in Online, so you delete them and enter them again there.

To keep a copy of what won't move, see how to export your QuickBooks Desktop data before a migration.

Edge cases

• Payroll: run your last Desktop payroll, then wait 2 to 3 business days before you migrate. Intuit asks you to finish at least 7 business days before the next payroll.
• Desktop access afterward: Intuit says you keep view-only access to your Desktop data for 12 months after you cancel your Desktop subscription.
• Hosted files: get a local copy from your hosting provider before Step 1.
• Older files: for a company file from 2010 or earlier, Intuit says to run QuickBooks File Doctor before using the online tool.

Where QuickBooks Desktop leaves the work to you

• Someone has to find what won't move, such as price levels, units of measure and assemblies, and decide how to handle each one.
• Intuit's migration notes don't cover apps connected to your Desktop file. List them and check each one.
• Checking the numbers after the move is manual: profit and loss, balance sheet, A/R and A/P, side by side.
• Memorized reports and custom templates don't move, so someone has to plan how to replace them.

How Logistify fits

Logistify doesn't migrate company files. Our post on the QuickBooks Desktop migration readiness audit covers what to check before you decide. If you stay on QuickBooks Desktop instead, the Sales Order Service enters customer orders into it as sales orders, with a person reviewing exceptions.