#AMA | Ask QuickBooks Experts About Migrating from Desktop to Online

We are looking to migrate from QB Enterprise solutions nonprofit edition 22.0 to QB online. In the process, we need to add classes and rework our chart of accounts to consolidate some of the items. This is a legacy system from several years ago. Do we need to start over, or can some/all of the information be imported from the old system to the new?

@MFS-LB

Good Morning! Classes will import to QBO as long as you are importing to a version of QBO which supports classes. Those versions are currently QuickBooks Online Plus and QuickBooks Online Advanced. All of your current information including Chart of Accounts, names lists, transactions should import. There are a few exceptions to what will not convert which you can review in this resource: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/import-export-data-files/expect-switc....

You can either rework your chart of accounts prior to conversion or after the conversion directly in the chart of accounts in QBO.

Which version of QBO do non-profits use? I am surprised that there is a version that does not support classes.

Sharing a common question we often see when considering a migration. I'd love to hear from the team!

"I'm using QuickBooks Desktop with a few add-on services like QB Time and Payroll. Will those services automatically be connected in QuickBooks Online after I migrate?"

Hi @Ami_D,

Great question! 

Unfortunately, they won't. For payroll, you'll have to do some setup including connecting your bank account for direct deposit and tax payments. You'll also need to review any paychecks and tax payments you 've already paid this year. In fact, review any info that flows over to make sure it's accurate. 

If you do find any inaccuracies, don't hesitate to reach out to payroll support. 

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@MFS-LB wrote:

Which version of QBO do non-profits use? I am surprised that there is a version that does not support classes.

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@MFS-LB 

QBO Plus or Advanced

https://www. techsoup.org/intuit

@MFS-LB 

All versions of QuickBooks Online support non-profit setup. These are the steps to configure an account for a nonprofit.

https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/customer-company-settings/configure-a....

This resource gives you comparisons on what each version of QBO offers: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/oa/get-quickbooks/?cid=ppc_G_e_US_.QBO_US_GGL_Brand_Other_Exact_Search...

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@MFS-LB wrote:

In the process, we need to add classes and rework our chart of accounts to consolidate some of the items. 

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@MFS-LB 

When you decide to rework/remap your CoA in QB Online, you should migrate data manually from QB Desktop. You can utilize a migration tool or consider purchasing a 3rd party conversion service.

Also, you'll have to reconnect QuickBooks Time under QuickBooks Online. But, I believe that the previous time does come over from QuickBooks Desktop. 

Here's some more info on how QuickBooks Time works with QuickBooks Online. If you run into any issues, don't hesitate to reach out to the QuickBooks Time Support Team. 

Bringing in another FAQ for the team! 

"I'm interested in moving to QuickBooks Online, but I've heard that some features and reports aren't the same between the two. What information will I lose if I move over?"

This is an awesome question that plenty of customers ask as this is vital to keeping their books. 

A good resource to see what type of info comes over is our Limitations Guide here. This will help you understand how your specific file will be impacted if at all.

Additionally, reports are different depending on the type of Quickbooks Online version you have. 
We have a side by side comparison of which reports are available here
This allows you to pick the product that best fits your business needs. 

Adding one more FAQ before we finish up! This one is a big one, since time is a precious resource for all of us. 

"I want to start using QuickBooks Online, but don't have time to worry about a full migration now. Can I import my data from Desktop later when I have more time?"

This is a really important question.

When completing a full migration from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online via our migration process, all data in QBO is overwritten. Unfortunately, there is no way to combine data entered in QuickBooks Online with Data imported from QuickBooks Desktop. It is very important not to begin using payroll in QBO if you plan on later importing from QuickBooks Desktop as this will create a blocker during the import process, which could include subscribing to a brand new QBO company. That error is detailed as the first error in this resource: Fix errors when you move from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online.

Additionally, there is a 60 day limit to convert your data once you subscribe or enroll in a trial version of QBO. You can review further information on that limit here: Move your QuickBooks Desktop file to QuickBooks Online

One more FAQ, as this covers two very important topics when making a move from QuickBooks Desktop to Online:

"Is there a limit on file size when converting to QBO and how is inventory handled during the migration?"

Another great question @Ami_D.

As an important note to Brendon's answer, the target limitations listed in the linked resource are specific for conversions from US versions of QuickBooks Desktop to US versions of QBO. When converting a Canada or UK Desktop files to Canada, UK, or South Africa versions of QBO, the target limits are as follows:

Canada: 350,000

UK/South Africa: 500,000

Unfortunately our Canada and UK versions of QuickBooks Desktop do not offer the condense functionality so if your file is over the target limit you can complete a lists and balances only conversion to QBO which is detailed in this resource: Move your lists to QuickBooks Online