Migrating from Quickbooks Desktop to the online version

haydenkendler · ‎November 08, 2022

I have migrated desktop company files to Quickbooks Online in the days when you could do it directly via the option under the Company drop-down menu in desktop. It seemed to work fine every time and all historical data was migrated accurately. This pathway has now been blocked by Intuit and we are forced to use the "Move My Books" app. When I tried this I discovered the following shortcomings:

Only 2 years of historical data are uploaded.
Credit card accounts and converted to bank accounts.
Foreign currency bank accounts are converted to GBP bank accounts.
Customer and Supplier lists are not uploaded directly but the system tries to work out whether it is a customer or supplier by looking at transactions in the sales or purchase ledger. So if there is a supplier refund it thinks it is from a customer. Consequently the customer list now contains half the supplier list and vice versa.

In short, it is all a bit of a disaster and when I took this up with Move My Books they referred me to their list of "Restrictions on Imports" so that there are no workarounds.

Now Intuit must have been aware of this when they recommended Move My Books so I can't understand what they were thinking of. It's just another kick in the teeth for desktop users. First they discontinue a wonderful and much-loved product, then they force us to use a wholly inadequate migration path that is vastly inferior to how it worked in the past.

I can't believe that I am the only person to encounter these problems so what have other users found when trying to migrate via Move My Books?

Fiat Lux - ASIA · ‎November 08, 2022

MMB developed a tool to convert QB Desktop files without manual interventions. They focus on core data conversion and may suit most users. But in your case, you should consider purchasing another third party conversion service. Non-core transactions (eg multicurrency, attachments) must be handled manually and require effort to complete.

haydenkendler · ‎November 08, 2022

I hear what you are saying but in the days when the migration was carried out directly from within Quickbooks, ALL transactions were uploaded perfectly. So why can't this functionality be duplicated by 3rd party app developers?

Ashleigh1 · ‎November 08, 2022

Hello Haydenkendler,

Welcome to the Community page,

We fully appreciate this feedback you have left in regards to migrating from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks online version. You get two years free of historical data to migrate over, if you need more then you will have to pay the price for the added years of data you need and require. We are sorry to hear that the process of migrating has been a disaster for you and not a straight forward process for you. We will be sure to take all this feedback and pass it on to the relevant team.

Robbie Telfer · ‎April 19, 2023

I have had the exact same problem with using movemybooks. It essentially doesnt work. The unreconciled transactions came through in the 1000's and its impossible to reconcile that many transacitons manually. It said it would take across 2 years of data, but instead it took ALL the desktop data across dating back to 2011!! It left most of the transactions unreconciled so the whole thing is a mess and un-useable. Now panicking as the deadline for Intuit shutting down Desktop is fast approaching and as yet we have no workable migration to Quickbooks Online

JMBMichell · ‎May 18, 2023

Absolute disaster! why have Intuit blocked the integral tool?

JMBMichell · ‎May 18, 2023

Please reinitiate the integral 'Export Your Company File to Quickbooks Online' why has this been withdrawn so close to the deadline. Surely this would help thousands of businesses?

JMBMichell · ‎May 18, 2023

Exactly! A full blown disaster.

JMBMichell · ‎May 18, 2023

Download your QuickBooks Desktop data with the data export tool

This has been tried and does not work.

JMBMichell · ‎May 18, 2023

This current Handbook available through QB Online does not work. Why would this facility be withdrawn at such a critical time?

https://plugin.intuitcdn.net/qbo-importdata-ui/1.7.34/0fada40228e897c665525181cbb2e73c.pdf

LollyNino_C · ‎May 18, 2023

I know this hasn't been an easy process for you, @JMBMichell.

Let me make it up to you by ensuring you'll get a detailed explanation of this migration issue.

Have you read the Limitations when converting to QuickBooks Online on Movemybooks, all the answers are in all those articles for you.

We've had to temporarily hit the pause button on all QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online migrations. This means we won't be able to help you transfer your desktop data to the online versions. In the meantime, you can manually move your data across using the available balance method.

You can use the Movemybooks tool to successfully migrate your file. However, some data can't be converted during the process.

Also, I understand that you've contacted our support team, but If you need any help during a conversion, reach out to the Movemybooks support team or refer to their troubleshooting guide.

I can see how challenging it is for you and important to migrate the data according to your need. Let's go through the steps below and send feedback about the current design. You can input a few details that make them aware of the other features you're looking for.

Here's how:

Go to the Help menu in your company file.
Select Send Feedback Online and choose Product Suggestion.
Click the Type of Feedback drop-down arrow and select Product Suggestion.
Choose Reports in the Product Area.
You can then add brief information in the box.
Enter your name and e-mail address.
Then, click the Send Feedback button.

Additionally, I've added these articles that'll help you learn more about the QuickBooks Desktop service discontinuation:

I appreciate your understanding on this matter. Please know that we're determined to get this resolved.

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Migrating from Quickbooks Desktop to the online version