I have the same issue.  QB's desktop is now forcing me to go online (i already have online payroll) but after i ened up with 2 online accounts then they say my two accounts cant be merged.  There solution is to manually renter all the payroll info myself! what!?  And then i spent 2 days in chats and online sharing my screen with them - and talked to SIX different people only to start over every single time because they dont have the ability to see what the previous person already said and did in thier chat -  only to have them tell me that they cant fix it.  So why force us into a worse situation if they dont have it all worked out first?  so frustrating!

Totally just had the same experience. I then spent 2 days on the phone with them and screen sharing for them to tell me that its not possible to merge them or upload the company info into the payroll info so I need to have 2 online versions and import my payroll into it every week.  Seems pretty insane!  They concluded the only way around it is to manually reenter all my payroll into the new online version after trying several things which they were clearing just reading from this same blog.

To make matters worse since I talked with SIX different people over 2 days and had to start over going over it all again with them every time they ended up messing it up even more by cancelling the subscription and then trying to start the process again, trying to create a 2nd company etc.  AND They ALMOST overwrote my payroll info with blank info even though I pointed that out first.  Luckily they got an error on that. And WHY do they not have a way to see eachothers chats and issues that were already tried so we dont have to start over from scratch everytime they pass us on to a different department - which happened over and over.

Dont force people to change if you dont already have your ducks in a row.  Now i am paying 2 subscriptions instead of the bundle deal and have to pay a quickbooks "expert" to manually enter my data so i can get to one file.  And i have no confidence it any of it because my phone version and computer versions come up differently.  Boooooo on you Intuit!

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@Elyizer wrote:

QB's desktop is now forcing me to go online (i already have online payroll) but after i ened up with 2 online accounts then they say my two accounts cant be merged.  There solution is to manually renter all the payroll info myself

 

@Elyizer 

Consider to purchase a 3rd party merging service.

Wow. I just had to change to QB online as well. I also already had a Quickbooks Online Payroll account that was required in 2021. I am now on the chat line waiting for counsel. I am so glad I found these comments first--I am very concerned about the lack of an export/import feature! Thank you for keeping me posted since I am just now at the beginning of this journey.

Warning - I spent 2 days on the phone with QB's - getting passed back from payroll dept to online to desktop depts.  It was a waste of time.  They were essentially going through all the online help forums as well only to come to the conclusion that they couldnt merge them. I ended up paying a Quickbooks book keeper to re-set it all up and manually and add what needed to be combined.  Total pain.  if they werent ready for this stuff they shouldnt have forced us to change over.  so frustrating.

I'm having the same issue.  Hours on the phone with help and no resolution.  It is unacceptable.

Hi Fiat Lux

Thanks for you help.  I was able to export 2022desktop file to online account, then export the online account to my desktop 2020.  However, there is no payroll history or paychecks at at.  Is it because I do not have payroll online.  I am already signed up for payroll online core and will continue to use that.  However, I still want to get all my payroll history and reports back to my desktop 2020.  My subscription for desktop 2022 will expire in 2 months so I wont be able to view payroll history anymore.  How do I get the payroll information transferred from 2022 desktop to 2020 desktop? 

I do not mind if payroll part it is going  be separated from my accounting part or 2 different company files.  I just need to have it available to view in the future. Could you please help me how to do that please?

Thank you

Hi Renjoylync

I was using quickbook pro plus 2022 for both accounting and payroll.  However, I do not want to keep on paying for new subscription every year.  I have professional desktop pro 2020. I signed up for quickbook online.  I exported my file from 2022 to online, then export file from quick online to quickbook pro 2020.  Everything looks good now.  However, the payroll part did not get transferred at all.  I lost all my payroll history, paychecks and report.  Is it because I did not have quickbook online payroll.  I already signed up the stand alone core payroll and will be continue to use it since quickbooks will not prove payroll service for quickbook pro 2020 desktop anymore.  

My subscription for proplus2022 is going to expired in March and I will not be able to view my payroll information for the last 6 years..  I want to transfer my payroll information for 2016 to 2022 to my desktop pro 2020.  I do not mind if payroll part it is going  be separated from my accounting part or 2 different company files.  I just need to have it available to view in the future. Could you please help me how to do that please?

Thanks

Let me guide you in getting your payroll data from QBO to QBDT, @ginanguyen77.

Since you're using QB Payroll Core accounting turned on, that means you're using the standalone payroll. You'll want to export your payroll transactions to your QuickBooks Desktop company file using Intuit Interchange Format (IIF). 

I'll show you how:

1. Log in to your Core payroll account, then go to the Settings ​​⚙ menu.
2. Hover over to the Payroll settings., then select Edit in the Export option.
3. Choose QuickBooks Desktop for Windows, then click Continue.
4. QuickBooks will create default accounts for your wages, expenses, and liabilities. Click Edit (pencil icon) to modify these accounts as it appears on your QuickBooks chart of accounts.
5. Select Done twice when completed.

After that, follow the detailed guide in Step 2: Export your payroll transactions down to Step 3: QuickBooks Desktop only: Import .IIF into QuickBooks Desktop outlined in this help article: Export your payroll data into QuickBooks.

I'll be here to help you again if you need more guidance in moving your payroll data to QBDT. Take care!

Thank you Katherin

Can you show me the step to export my payroll data from pro plus dekstop  2022 to the quickbook online core payroll first?

Thank you

Joining this thread, ginanguyen. 

I've got your back to help you export your payroll data from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online. 

There are multiple ways to export your payroll transactions. You'll have the option to export the transactions from the most recent payroll run. If you need to export all payroll-related transactions including tax ‌and contractor payments at once, you can follow these steps:

1. Go to the Payroll menu.
2. Select the Overview tab.
3. From the Shortcuts menu, choose Export.
4. Use the filters to find the transactions you need to export.
5. Select the transactions you want to export, then click Export.

If you only need to export the individual check, you pull up the Paycheck list report and filter it. This way, you'll be able to view and export all the paychecks for the month. Here's how:

1. Go to the Payroll menu.
2. Go to the Employees tab.
3. Select the Paycheck list.
4. Adjust the filters to find the paychecks you need to export.
5. Select the transactions you want to export, then choose Export to account.

To learn more about this process, you can read this article: Export your payroll data into QuickBooks.

In addition, you can review this resource for more insights: Limitations when you convert from QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Desktop. This contains a list of sections you have within QuickBooks Online and has a short description of how they convert to QBDT.

Let me know if you need additional information about exporting payroll data. I'll be right here if you have follow-up questions about the process.

Thank you for replying.  I was asking on how to export my payroll data from desktop to online.

Thank you for the clarification, @ginanguyen77.

I understand how you wanted to export your payroll data from QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) and import this to QuickBooks Online (QBO). However, the option to import payroll data into QBO is unavailable.

As of the moment, this is the information that you can import:

• Bank data
• Customers
• Suppliers
• Chart of accounts
• Products and Services
• Invoices
• Bills. 

In this case, if you don’t want to avail of any QuickBooks Online Payroll subscription, you’ll want to consider manually importing the paychecks you created using a Journal Entry (JE). Please refer to the steps below to do so:

1. Click the + New button in the left navigation menu.
2. Select Journal entry. 
3. Fill out the fields to create your journal entry.
4. Pick Save and new or Save and close.

I also advise you to refer to an accountant if you have one. It guides you further with the process and ensures you enter the information into the correct fields.

Otherwise, if you decide to get a payroll subscription, you can check out this article and refer to the step-by-step process of adding them manually: Add pay history to QuickBooks Online Payroll.

Let me know if you have more questions about migrating payroll data. The Community always has your back. Have a good one!

Thanks for this information!  i've been on several calls for hours with "experts".  No one was able to simply tell me I needed to change the export setting to go to QB on line.  It was still set for my old QB Desktop.

I have one account and trying to add a new employer and cannot do this, I have tried every which way.

Welcome to the QuickBooks Community, @chefjanalee.

Let me share two scenarios and help you with your concern about adding a new employer.

Are you referring to adding a new employer to your QuickBooks Workforce account? If so, you can coordinate with your employer and ask them to invite you to view your pay stubs in QuickBooks Workforce. 

You can share this article with your employer to guide them on how to invite employees to QuickBooks Workforce: Invite your employees to QuickBooks Workforce to see pay stubs, W-2s, and more if you use QuickBooks....

However, if you're referring to adding a new user to your QuickBooks Online (QBO) account, you can follow the steps below for detailed steps:

1. Sign in to your QBO account.
2. Click the Gear icon, then select Manage user.
3. Select Add user.
4. Choose a user type, then select Next. More options will appear on the next screen depending on the user type you select.
5. Select the access rights for the user.
6. Choose the user settings, then select Next.
7. Enter the user’s name and email address, then select Save.

I'm adding this article for more guidance: Add and manage users in QuickBooks Online.

Come back to this post if you have other concerns or follow-up questions about this. I'll be around to provide further assistance.

FUMMING MAD!  In the beginning of November, I was basically forced to get QBO (I was using QB MAC).  When I purchased the QBO I was told that "customer service" would be able to help me merge QBO with my QBO payroll.  I waited until after the first of the 2024 to merge.  I am being told they CANNOT MERGE.  Do I really have to enter all this in to QBO manually????  Once again, I am so very mad and disappointed in QB.  Any help from ANYONE would be greatly appreciated.  

Thanks for taking the time to share your concerns here in the Community, @Jess H1.

Upon reading your post, it seems like you're using a separate account for standalone payroll and another one for QuickBooks Online (QBO). If you want to have them both in one place, you'll need to avail one of the payroll plans with QBO. You can check out the pricing here: QuickBooks Payroll.

After subscribing to one of the payroll plans, you'll need to manually set up payroll and add historical paychecks. Alternatively, you can consider using third-party applications to help you import your details to your QBO account with payroll. 

Here's how to find apps in QBO:

1. On the left navigation panel, click Apps.
2. Under the Find Apps tab, enter a keyword, or use the Browse categories dropdown to locate an app.
    

   

    

Once you've found an app that best suits your needs, click on it to explore the reviews and pricing details. Then, go ahead and start the signup and installation process. Additionally, ensure you authorize QuickBooks to share your data with the selected app. Feel free to customize your preferences as well.

You might want to run reports to view useful info about your business and employees. Here's an article about it: Run payroll reports.
 

Please feel free to reach out if you have any other questions about running payroll in QuickBooks. I want to ensure you're taken care of. Keep safe.

@Jess H1 

You should switching back to QB Desktop.