Someone on a different forum is suggesting installing the software in a virtual environment with a system date that never  reaches 30/06/2023.  An interesting idea!  

Exactly - We were promised a read only access licence that would allow everything to stay in situ for us. Extraction via the internet will not be sufficient as it only gives reports that Intuit deems necessary not copy invoices or reports that we deem necessary for us or our clients. I and some of my clients have 23 plus years of data. I find I am constantly dipping into historical data for one client. As I persuaded them to move from Sage in 1999 I am finding myself in a very precarious position, lawyers have been mentioned. I am happy to say he is wealthy enough to take on Intuit if only I can persuade him to point his lawyers at them and not me! He owns his data not Intuit they only supplied a licence as a vehicle to record his data. 

We thought of that but I have been informed that as the licence is linked to Intuit's system as soon as that ceases the softare will effectively freeze. It's the licence that gives you access as soon as that gets to its last paid month that's it. 

If he does decide to take on Intuit I would definitely support a claim.  It looks like we are going to have to remain with QB having looked at all the other possible options.  The online version is substandard to to desktop system and the data we have migrated there is a real mess.  It is going to take us weeks, if not months,  to get things into a working order.  We will need to create a new file from scratch setting up our customers in a different way.  Having access to the old QBD programme meant we could schedule this work in chunks.  We now need to get all the data sorted to an arbitrary deadline.  

Hmmmm that's interesting information.... they really have got us totally stitched up!  And I cannot for the life of me understand why they are being so draconian with this action. Surely there is a better way to work with a previously loyal client base.

@RachelIllsley 

just as a heads up.

• Our copy of QB2020 desktop has always been in a Virtual Machine.
• our subscription is monthly on the 1st of the month and the last direct debit was taken 1st March
• on 15/02/2023 I blocked the VM from accessing the internet and the software continued to work.
• I have just cloned the VM and set QB to use a separate copy of the company file  
• In the cloned VM I have disabled date synchronisation and set the system date to 01/08/2023
• Running up QB2020 it picks up the date of 01/08 and appears to be working normally
• I then shut down QB, changed the system date to 01/04/2024 and again it appears to be working
• In both cases I've simply written a single cheque so not definitive

so my main question remains. How do they intend to disable software that is not accessible

Rod

Hello Rod,

This is really interesting, I do wonder though whether the subscription I assume you are still payimg has a hidden date. Have you tried to change the date to a past date and tried to see if you have read only access?

I have a client who can easily do what you have but am worried that on 01.07.23 we will have misjudged and lost the access. 

What we really need to know if anyone has done this, stopped paying the subscription and still have access! 

Hi Rod

This is fascinating.  I will pass this on to our IT guys to take a look.  Thank you!

Any more info yet on historical data access?

Our issue is we have to have a new company file every year or so because of the stupid limit on the customer names list.

Therefore we have about 3 company files covering the last 5 years.

We've moved to Sage50 anyway where there are no such limits on the Db size and support is more than just 'Move to online, our dumbed down replacement'.

When a customer requires a warranty replacement, we have to go back up to 5 years to extract the original purchase order number for our suppliers. Let alone HMRC requesting historical data.

Historical data access is only good if we can load the relevant company file for that year. Is that going to be possible? ie. more than ONE company file?

We are STILL waiting for more information and time is now getting VERY short..

Thanks for using QuickBooks in tracking your business transactions, Yahal. I know how important it is to view old data. I'm here to help you with that.

You can view old backup using the QuickBooks trial version. Before proceeding, make sure that the file is compatible and that your computer meets the system requirements. This helps avoid any issues and errors.

For complete instructions on how to download the trial version, I recommend contacting our QuickBooks Support Team. This way, they can provide the correct codes to use when installing the trial version. They can also guide you through the steps of installing QBDT.

Please click this link: QuickBooks Pro/Premier Chat. Our support is available Monday to Friday, from 6 am to 6 pm PT.

Once done, you can now restore the file. Here's how:

1. Open QuickBooks.
2. Select the File menu, then click Open or Restore Company.
3. Restore the file based on its file type.

For more details, please see this article: Restore your File.

Also, you can save your old file on a flash drive. Then, restore it on the program if you'd like to view the data.

Additionally, I encourage visiting our Help page to check guides and articles that'll help your navigation. From there, you'll find helpful resources and tutorials based on the topic you've searched. You can also bookmark them in your browser for easy access in the future.

Please fill me in if there's anything else I can do to help you access your backup file. You can click the Reply button below to add your response. Keep safe always!

I think you're missing the crucial point MaryLandT! This isn't a matter of not knowing how to access current data this is about Intuit stopping us access all of our historical and current data by ceasing QuickBooks Desktop 30.06.23 and not giving us the read only access we were promised. This means our accountants won't even be able to deal with our 31.03.23 year end accounts when they need to be filed later in the year. We will not be able to restore old backups, we will not be able to reprint invoices, we will not be able to answer customer queries, we will have nothing. 

Hi ell281, we're releasing a QuickBooks Desktop Export Tool which will allow you to display your historical accounting data, meaning you can review old notes and files for compliance purposes. The tool will be available to use for seven years. However, due to privacy concerns, we don't permanently store your data on the cloud. You have to re-upload the company file to access the data each time. We'll be releasing further information on this, including how to access and upload the file to users via email in the coming weeks. If you have any further questions, you can get back to us here. 

GeorgiaC, This proves my point that Intuit have reneged on the statement that we would have a read only access licence for our data. We have a desktop product, why on earth would we need - or want to - to access this via the cloud?? Brightpay payroll software is a desktop product, every new payroll year we have a new licence and software however, the previous years remain for our access for ever. I have twice spoken to an actual human at Intuit who ensured me that a read only licence would be available. We are happy to pay for this as a one off cost. I have been informed by a lawyer who has reiterated that there is no doubt that the software is supplied by the supplier but the data - all of it, every single bit of it, all of the 22+ years of it - belongs to the person who has been purchasing the licence. The point being we have been purchasing a licence not borrowing it. We have not been hiring equipment that gets returned, we have been paying for a licence. The software as it stands at a given point belongs to the person paying for the licence until that point. It is only continuing use that is under the control of the provider. We are not expecting continuing use we are expecting to have access to ALL of our data not the bit Intuit deems necessary for 5 years. We used to buy a disc, then when it went to subscription only I don't remember anyone highlighting that by doing so I lost all rights to my personal property i.e. my data. 

Perhaps you could let me have a copy of the full licence agreement highlighting the point that I gave away my rights to my data? Don't forget we are in the UK, commercial US laws may well be different. I suggest you get your legal team to look into this, now.

Hi ell281, we're sorry for any misinformation provided previously on the read-only solution - to request a copy of the license agreement for your product, please contact our UK Desktop team directly here or by calling 0808 168 9535 (free from UK mobile & landlines). 

Hello,

Any new yet on this QuickBooks Desktop Export Tool you promised?

We now only have about TWO MONTHS, you are leaving it a little last minute...

We have received it.  It basically uploads your data to read only accountants copy of QuickBooks Desktop that you can print reports from....  I need to investigate this further but I think you can see all your data and can print it but not export it it to Excel.  But I am not absolutely certain about this until I re-upload our data for another look.

Thanks for posting this. When I tried the link I got this message:

Hello Yosef Cowan, thanks for posting on this thread can you try this link see if that works for you.

Hi Folks

Here are our findings on a few matters to date:-

 The Data Export Only Tool 

• Need to wait for a session (2 -3 minutes) – I assume this is some sort VPN?
• Then upload your QuickBooks file.
• The file opens in QuickBooks Premier Accountant Edition 2021 (View Only Mode).
• All functionality is greyed out apart from Reports.
• You can export reports to a CSV file (painful!) and not Excel.
• You cannot print reports.
• You cannot print copy invoices.
• You cannot see historic VAT returns.

Basically, it’s the absolute minimum that QuickBooks could provide (to possibly avoid legal action?).  It’s hard to not take this business decision personally.  We will be continuing to look for a way to be able to access our 17 years of historic data in the format it is saved and so it can be easily printed and exported.

Our Migration Experience To Date

We are also in the process of migrating to QuickBooks online as we have so little time that moving to an alternative is not viable right now. 

We have, to date, found these issues:-

• The migration of the account balances generally appears to works fine.  We have around 20 minor errors to fix. 

BUT

• Customer jobs no longer work.  We are going to have to use Items rather than jobs going forward which is less than ideal for us and how all our other systems in the company are set up.
• There is no export function for customers details meaning we are forced to tidy all the incorrectly migrated data from customers/jobs manually.  Very time consuming and painful.  The migration has imported 6600 clients and projects.
• Item lists don’t export.  
• There are NO customer types (but there are in the American version).  Why oh why would you do this?! 

I am only a few hours into this but if people find it helpful, I will keep updating the list on here.

Thank you Rachel for your immensely useful post!!! That sort of information is so helpful. Its basically all the stuff i've been trying to get Intuit to reveal over the last year. Just goes to show how inadequate both the export tool and QBO are... please do update us with anything else you find if you get time away from banging your head against the wall!

Just had an hour and so rocking backwards and forward....  latest update below.  I have kept the earlier stuff for ease of reference.

Our Migration Experience To Date

We are also in the process of migrating to QuickBooks online as we have so little time that moving to an alternative is not viable right now. 

We have, to date, found these issues:-

• The migration of the account balances generally appears to works fine.  We have around 20 minor errors to fix. 

BUT

• Customer jobs no longer work.  We are going to have to use Items rather than jobs going forward which is less than ideal for us and how all our other systems in the company are set up.
• There is no export function for customers details meaning we are forced to tidy all the incorrectly migrated data from customers/jobs manually.  Very time consuming and painful.  The migration has imported 6600 clients and projects.
• Item lists don’t export.  
• There are NO customer types (but there are in the American version).  Why oh why would you do this?! 

I am only a few hours into this but if people find it helpful, I will keep updating the list on here.

Update re-data transfer

• If you have ever allocated invoices/credit notes against journals, these will need redoing.
• Several discounts (we don't often use this) have exported weirdly.

Update regarding our own journey

• We have 6005 customers and jobs (never realised we had so many!) which you can only view 300 lines at at time on QBO.  Marking the old jobs that we can no longer use "inactive" on QBO is sluggish and incredibly painful.  I managed around 1500 in well over an hour.
• Tried ringing QuickBooks support to see if there is an export/import tool I could use to do this.  There isn't.  Lovely lady but unfortunately no additional advice.  Interestingly (?!) she said each QB product is different in each country.  America, Canada, New Zealand etc. She doesn't know why.
• I am now in the process of marking all our customer base "inactive" on QB Desktop and then only marking the clients on the Aged Debtors report "active" with the intention or re-migrating and seeing where I get to.
• I am also planning to do a similar exercise for our chart of accounts, marking any old used accounts as inactive.
• Hopefully when I try migrating again everything will be more manageable.  If not I will need a large gin tonight.

Rachel

Does your QBD company file include multiple currencies? If so, does the file migrate to QBO?

Mike

Hi @Mike Petty 

Sorry I cannot help you with this one.  We don't use multiple currencies.

It appears that currently when you download and open it does it in the current licence and therefore all is still as was. I've tried to do this on a laptop with no QuickBooks software and it won't open. This means that we won't know exactly what it the data access tool will give us until after 30.06.23. Looks like I will be spending the next 3 months extracting reports and copy jnvoices.