How to convert a QuickBooks Desktop file to another accounting program

Why there is no simple converter

A QuickBooks Desktop company file (.QBW) is a proprietary database that only QuickBooks can open. Intuit does not publish its format, so no other program can read it directly. Every "conversion" works the same way underneath: QuickBooks runs, something reads the data out of it, and the new program rebuilds the books from what was read.

That has two consequences. You need a working, licensed copy of QuickBooks while you convert. And nothing transfers perfectly, because no two programs store a business the same way. A good conversion is one where the totals agree, not one where every field came across.

The ways data leaves QuickBooks

Two limits worth knowing: Intuit's help pages say IIF files move between editions of the same country only, and IIF list export does not include your transactions. For the SDK, QuickBooks asks you to approve the program the first time it connects; you manage that under Edit → Preferences → Integrated Applications.

What transfers and what does not

Intuit's own guide to moving from Desktop to Online is a useful benchmark, because even Intuit's tool, moving between Intuit products, leaves things behind. It lists bank connections, payroll item breakdowns and employee year-to-date detail, the audit trail, memorised reports, budgets, purchase orders and sales orders among the things that do not carry over.

Moving to any other program, expect roughly this:

• Usually transfers: chart of accounts, customers, vendors, employees, items, classes, terms, account balances, open invoices and unpaid bills.
• Sometimes transfers: paid transaction history, depending on the tool. Some bring every transaction; many bring balances and open items only.
• Rarely or never transfers: payroll history line by line, attachments, memorised reports, custom form templates, the audit trail, bank feed connections and user passwords.

Whatever does not transfer, save it from QuickBooks before you leave: our export checklist lists the reports to keep.

Fresh start or full history?

Most accountants recommend converting at a clean break, the end of a month, quarter or year, and bringing:

1. all lists,
2. account balances as of the cut-over date (or a trial balance entered as an opening journal entry),
3. each open invoice and unpaid bill, so receivables and payables age correctly,
4. payroll year-to-date totals per employee, if you convert mid-year.

The old years stay in QuickBooks, plus exported reports, for lookup. This is faster and cleaner than forcing ten years of history into a new program, and you can still answer any question about the past. Keep those records for as long as the IRS or CRA requires: generally three years for the IRS, longer in some cases, and generally six years for the CRA.

Then check the conversion the same way every time: run the trial balance in both programs as of the cut-over date. Every account must agree to the cent. Then compare receivables and payables ageing, bank balances, inventory value and sales tax payable.

Converting to AcboBooks

AcboBooks has two ways in, under File → Import from QuickBooks:

• From an IIF file, any edition, any year: lists and account balances. IIF has no open invoices or bills, and AcboBooks warns you if QuickBooks shows receivables or payables that the file did not bring.
• Pull from QuickBooks on the same PC, through Intuit's SDK: lists with balances, open invoices, unpaid bills and credit memos.

Bank history you want searchable comes in from your bank's statement files (OFX, QFX or CSV). AcboBooks takes a backup before importing, never writes to your QuickBooks file, and re-running the import updates what it brought rather than duplicating it. Payroll history comes across as year-to-date opening balances; you run new payroll in AcboBooks from the cut-over date.

The migration page walks through each step, and the 15-day free trial is enough to run the import against your real file and check the trial balance yourself.

QuickBooks® is a registered trademark of Intuit Inc. AcboBooks is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Intuit.