Move Your QuickBooks Data to the Cloud Without Losing Control of Your Books
Moving from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online can give your business easier access to financial data, better remote collaboration, automatic bank feeds, and a platform that continues to receive Intuit’s newest features and integrations.
But converting a QuickBooks company file is not always as simple as uploading your Desktop data and signing in.
QB-LA helps businesses make the transition from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online while protecting the integrity of their accounting data, identifying conversion issues, and configuring the new QuickBooks Online company for the way the business actually operates.
We can handle the conversion from beginning to end, including reviewing your existing Desktop file, preparing the data for migration, completing the conversion, checking the resulting financial reports, and helping your staff adjust to the new QuickBooks Online environment.
Is It Time to Move From QuickBooks Desktop to Online?
QuickBooks Desktop remains an important accounting platform for many established businesses, and existing subscribers to certain Desktop products can still renew their subscriptions. However, Intuit stopped selling new U.S. subscriptions to QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus, Premier Plus, Mac Plus, and Enhanced Payroll after September 30, 2024.
For many businesses, that makes QuickBooks Online the logical long-term direction.
QuickBooks Online provides cloud-based access to your accounting system without maintaining a local QuickBooks installation or company file. Bank and credit card activity can be connected directly to QuickBooks, employees and outside accountants can be given controlled access, and authorized users can work with current financial information from different locations.
The decision to convert, however, should be based on your business and accounting requirements rather than simply on software availability.
QB-LA can review your existing QuickBooks Desktop setup and help determine whether QuickBooks Online is the appropriate destination for your company.
A QuickBooks Conversion Is More Than Moving a File
Intuit provides tools for moving a QuickBooks Desktop company file into QuickBooks Online, but Desktop and Online are different accounting platforms.
Not every Desktop feature works exactly the same way in QuickBooks Online, and some information may be represented differently after conversion. Intuit specifically notes that some QuickBooks Desktop features are not available in QuickBooks Online.
That is why we treat a conversion as an accounting migration, not simply a software installation.
Before migrating, we can review the condition of the Desktop company file, identify unnecessary or problematic data, examine the chart of accounts, and look for issues that should be addressed before they are carried into the new system.
For large or complicated company files, preparation can also include reducing or condensing the existing file. Intuit recommends creating a full backup before this process so that an untouched historical copy of the original Desktop company file is retained.
Our QuickBooks Desktop to Online Conversion Process
Every conversion is different, but our goal is always the same: the numbers in the new QuickBooks Online company should make sense when compared with the books you were using before the move.
We begin by reviewing your existing QuickBooks Desktop company file and learning how your business uses QuickBooks. This is especially important for companies with years of transactions, inventory, payroll, job costing, multiple bank accounts, extensive customer lists, or unusual accounting workflows.
We then prepare the company file and create the appropriate backups before beginning the migration.
Once the data has been moved to QuickBooks Online, we do not assume that the job is finished.
QB-LA can compare key financial reports between the Desktop and Online companies, review account balances, inspect customer and vendor information, examine open receivables and payables, and identify items that did not convert as expected.
Intuit also recommends comparing financial reports following a Desktop-to-Online migration to confirm that the data transferred successfully.
Where adjustments are necessary, we can help clean up and configure the new file before your business begins relying on it for day-to-day accounting.
What Happens to Your QuickBooks Desktop Data?
Much of the information in a QuickBooks Desktop company file can be transferred to QuickBooks Online, including your accounting history and many of the lists and transactions needed to continue operating the business.
However, QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online do not share identical databases or features. Some information converts differently, some Desktop workflows have Online equivalents, and certain settings may require additional configuration after migration.
There is another important distinction businesses should understand: QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online do not remain synchronized after the conversion.
QuickBooks Online becomes a separate accounting system. Once your company has completed its migration and begins working in QuickBooks Online, new Desktop activity will not automatically appear in the Online company.
Choosing the right conversion date and coordinating the changeover with your bookkeeping staff can therefore be just as important as moving the data itself.
QuickBooks Conversion With Cleanup
A software migration can also be an excellent opportunity to clean up years of accumulated accounting clutter.
Older QuickBooks Desktop companies frequently contain duplicate customers, unused accounts, inactive vendors, outdated items, old transactions, inconsistent naming conventions, or accounting practices that made sense years ago but no longer match the business.
QB-LA can combine your QuickBooks Desktop to Online conversion with QuickBooks cleanup so that the new system starts with a more organized foundation.
Depending on the condition of your books, that may involve cleaning up the chart of accounts, correcting account classifications, reviewing outstanding balances, organizing customer and vendor records, reconciling accounts, or addressing historical bookkeeping problems before or after conversion.
Moving inaccurate books into a newer platform does not make them accurate. Our objective is to make the transition useful from an accounting standpoint as well as a technical one.
Payroll, Inventory, Jobs and More Complicated QuickBooks Files
Businesses using advanced QuickBooks Desktop features may require additional conversion planning.
Payroll is one example. Intuit recommends allowing time after the final Desktop payroll before migration and completing the conversion before the next payroll run.
Job tracking may also require decisions during the transition. Desktop jobs can be handled differently in QuickBooks Online depending on whether they are better represented as projects or sub-customers.
Inventory, custom reporting, third-party applications, memorized transactions, classes, sales tax, payroll, and other specialized workflows should be reviewed before migration rather than discovered after employees have already started working in the new system.
For more complicated companies, QB-LA can map out these requirements before the conversion begins.
Set Up QuickBooks Online for the Way You Work
A successful conversion should leave you with more than a functioning login.
QB-LA can help configure your new QuickBooks Online company for everyday use, including users and permissions, bank and credit card connections, account structure, invoicing, vendors, reporting, payroll considerations, integrations, and bookkeeping procedures.
We can also work with your existing staff so they understand what has changed and how common Desktop tasks are performed in QuickBooks Online.
If your company handles some accounting functions internally, we can continue providing only the bookkeeping, reconciliation, payroll, tax, cleanup, reporting, or accounting support you need.
QuickBooks Conversion Help for Los Angeles Businesses and Beyond
QB-LA has worked with QuickBooks company files and accounting data for businesses with very different needs, from straightforward bookkeeping companies to businesses with years of historical transactions and complicated accounting requirements.
Most of our work can be performed remotely, so your physical location does not have to complicate the conversion process.
Whether you have been using QuickBooks Desktop for five years or twenty years, we can help preserve the history that matters while building a cleaner path forward in QuickBooks Online.
Ready to Convert QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online?
If you are considering moving away from QuickBooks Desktop, talk with QB-LA before beginning the conversion.
We can review your existing company file, identify potential migration problems, determine what should be cleaned up beforehand, convert your QuickBooks data, verify the results, and help configure QuickBooks Online for your business.
Contact QB-LA to discuss your QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online conversion and find out what will be involved before making the switch.
Do what makes sense in-house, and let QB-LA handle the rest.
QB-LA will engage the person with the right skill sets to get it done fast and save you money.
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