How can I open my QBB file or IIF file in Quickbooks 2019 trial - please help - I'm desperate!

[ajmetalfabs]

My company has been using Quickbooks 5.0 forever. They have to transfer to Quickbooks Online which they have purchased. I have their files from Quickbooks 5.0 saved as .IFF and .QBB types. Opening .QBB on the Desktop 2019 trial says they file is too old. Trying to import the .IIF on the Desktop 2019 trial says that there are errors in line 22 and it can't complete. I am completely stumped. Can anybody help - I am desperate!

[TaliaI]

Hello ajmetalfabs,

Welcome to the Community - thank you for your question!

Does it tell you what the errors on line 22 are?

Thanks,

Talia

[Rustler]

---

@ajmetalfabs wrote:

My company has been using Quickbooks 5.0 forever. They have to transfer to Quickbooks Online which they have purchased. I have their files from Quickbooks 5.0 saved as .IFF and .QBB types. Opening .QBB on the Desktop 2019 trial says they file is too old. Trying to import the .IIF on the Desktop 2019 trial says that there are errors in line 22 and it can't complete. I am completely stumped. Can anybody help - I am desperate!

---

an iif file is for import only but it requires that there be a company file open.

QB5.0 is so old that there is NO way to use it today, even the operating system that it worked on is obsolete.

About all you can do is call intuit and see if their data services department can update the file to the current format so it will load in QBDT

[ajmetalfabs]

I did wonder whether I could do incremental upgrades? There is another question on this forum about upgrading from QB6 - they have been advised to install QB2006 and then QB2015 and then finally to QB2019 and then to online. I know it's long winded but if it gets the data across I'm willing to try anything! Thanks for your reply by the way...

[Rustler]

If you can find someone with QB installed for intervening years, yes you can step it up

Typically it will reliably load (use restore for the back up file, .qbb)  in a newer year version that is 3-4 years newer.  Then you make a back up, and restore that back up in yet a newer version.  Rinse and repeat for each newer version until you get current.

You can try restoring the present back up in a version newer than 3-4 years, but I would not hold up much hope on making a jump in years more than 3-4/