Hello Wolfie,
Sometimes a fresh start with a new company file is the best move for your business. Since recreating all of your data would likely be unnecessary and time consuming, you'll be able to create a new QuickBooks Desktop company file that carries over existing accounts and lists like customers, suppliers, items, and more. Let me show you how you can do this.
Before proceeding with this decision, it's always wise to consult with your accountant first. They'll be able to ensure that this is the right decision for your business. If you're not working with one yet, check out our database of QuickBooks-certified ProAdvisors. An accountant might suggest that you try to Resolve QuickBooks Desktop performance issues prior to creating a new company file in case this might resolve the performance issues you're experiencing. You mentioned that you've already condensed the file a few times so feel free to proceed if you're confident that you're ready to move forward.
You can start by making a copy of your account balances - you'll use these later to enter your beginning balances in your new company file. Since you'd like to bring over data from 2018 onward, you'll be able to customize the reports that you download to include only the necessary data. Here's how:
Navigate to the Reports menu and select the report you want to keep a copy of. For account balances select Company & Financial, then Balance Sheet Detail. Customer balances can be found by selecting Customers & Receivables, then Customer Balance Detail. Finally, you'll find your supplier balances by choosing Suppliers & Payables, then Supplier Balance Detail.
On the report window, choose the drop-down menu for Print and choose between Print if you want a physical copy or Save as PDF if you'd like to save a digital copy.
Now you're ready to export your lists from the old company file and create your new company file. Here are the steps for creating a new company file:
Open QuickBooks Desktop.
In the window that reads No Company Open, choose to Create a new company.
Choose between two options: A. Hit Express Start or Start Setup to get started straight away and only enter basic details. B. Hit Detailed Start if you want to do a complete setup with all of your info from the start.
Follow the steps onscreen to finish setting up your new file. Since you have an existing one, you'll want to give the new one a unique name so that the old one remains in tact.
The next step is to import your lists and enter your beginning balances. Once complete you can finish by setting up online banking, payroll, and any other services that are applicable to your business. You won't have the option to create a new company based on all of the data you've entered from 2018 and onwards, but as I mentioned previously, you can select only the data you want to export via reports. If you'd like to leave some feedback on this for our product development team, simply select Help and then find the option for Feedback. This is where you can request new product features and upgrades.
Another option is to export your data via Intuit Interchange Format (IIF) files, manipulate the data to only include what you'd like in your new company file, then import it back into QuickBooks Desktop. This is a much more time-consuming option and Intuit doesn't offer assisted technical support for creating or importing IIFs so unless you're really familiar with the file type, I recommend following the steps I've shared above.
If you'd like to read more on what I've gone over, the article below will be a big help:
Let me know if I can provide any further assistance. It's what I'm here for!
