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waellis
Level 1

transfer employee information

Is it possible to transfer employee information from one company to another?  I have a company that I'm working with that has formed a new corporation.  The business is the same along with employees.  I need to export the employee information (name, address, withholdings, etc.) from that company and import it into the new corporation.  Can this be done?

 

Wendy

Solved
Best answer January 07, 2020

Best Answers
Michael K
Moderator

transfer employee information

Thanks for updating me, @waellis.

 

If you have already entered the employees, it will duplicate them. I suggest removing the already entered employees and then doing the import to prevent the duplicates.

 

Thank you for bringing us your questions. I've got you covered should you have any other questions!

View solution in original post

38 Comments 38
Michael K
Moderator

transfer employee information

Hi there, @waellis.

 

I'm happy to help you with exporting the employee list to a new Company File. This is available in QuickBooks Desktop, and it's super easy and takes only a few moments. Take a look:

 

  1. Go to the File menu, then Utilities.
  2. Click Export, then Lists to IIF Files.
  3. Choose the list you want to export (in this case it's Employees), then select OK.
  4. Pick the location you want to save the file and hit Save.
  5. Sign in to the new Company FIle as Admin and make sure it's in Single-User Mode.
  6. Go to File, then Utilities.
  7. Pick Import, then IIF Files.
  8. Follow the prompts.

 

That's it! Please touch base with us here if there's anything else you need, I'm determined to ensure your success.

waellis
Level 1

transfer employee information

Thank you for your response.  When I originally created the new company I imported the vendors, chart of accounts and so forth.   If I do these steps you listed will it duplicate employees or just update them?

Michael K
Moderator

transfer employee information

Thanks for updating me, @waellis.

 

If you have already entered the employees, it will duplicate them. I suggest removing the already entered employees and then doing the import to prevent the duplicates.

 

Thank you for bringing us your questions. I've got you covered should you have any other questions!

Ap35
Level 1

transfer employee information

Does anyone know if it's possible to copy only part of your quickbooks file and move it to another company? For example, I want to only copy my vendors, general ledger history, etc but not anything to do with my payroll.

JoesemM
Moderator

transfer employee information

Hi Ap35.

 

I'm here to help share information on how to export list from Quickbooks company to another.

 

Once you export list from QuickBooks it will create an .IIF file that will open on notepad or excel. You can follow the steps below:

 

  1. Go to File menu, then select Utilities
  2. Select Export, then Lists to IIF Files.
  3. Choose the list you want to export, then select OK.
  4. Browse the location where you want to save your file and select Save.

Once done you can Import the list to another company. Here's how:

 

  1. Log in to your company file as Administrator.
  2. Switch to single user mode.
  3. Go to File menu, then select Utilities.
  4. Select Import, then IIF Files.
  5. Import the Chart of Accounts.
  6. Then import the list inorder.

For further guidance about the process , you can check out this article: Export lists from the old company file into a new data file.

 

Also you can visit our Help articles it provides tips and answer you questions in the future.

 

I'm just a post away if you need more help. Take care.

BWOKC
Level 1

transfer employee information

I followed directions to transfer employee information.  It tranfered the basic information, Name, Address but did not transfer tax WH information, direct deposit information, or Salary information

Can you transfer this type of information?

GlinetteC
Moderator

transfer employee information

Good work in following the above instructions on how to transfer your employee's information, BWOKC.

 

I'd like to provide you with some detailed information, just so you understand the capabilities and limitations of transferring data to another company or another version of QuickBooks. Some payroll info doesn't transfer because QuickBooks Desktop has more payroll features. Please take check this out on how your payroll data will convert:

 

  • Paychecks will transfer as regular checks. Once you set up your payroll in QuickBooks Online, you can create paychecks.
  • QuickBooks Online imports the current year's paycheck information as lump sums. If it doesn’t come over, you’ll need to enter past year-to-date payroll info for each employee.
  • Employee addresses transfer but may require fixing. Addresses for states outside supported states (such as PR, AS, VI) will be left blank.
  • Date of birth converts
  • Gender converts
  • Social Security Number converts
  • Direct deposit account numbers convert
  • Bank names will convert
  • Routing numbers convert
  • The Pay Period and Liability Period don't export.

You may enter historical tax payments for employees.

 

Please check out this article for more for the limitations for your more details.

 

Tag me in a comment if you need anything else.

dolsondlacpas
Level 1

transfer employee information

Is it possible to import employee informaiton from an excel template.  I need to import Peachtree employees to QuickBooks?

Ryan_M
Moderator

transfer employee information

Hi @dolsondlacpas,

 

I'm here to answer your question about an MS Excel import to QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT).

 

Though it's possible to import MS Excel files to QBDT, what's available for this option are customers, vendors, items, and the Chart of Accounts. For the process of importing your employees to QBDT, I suggest you follow the steps shared by my peer @Michael K above. It's the first answer on this thread, located just below the Best Answer post.

 

To learn more about the process of the import and export of data in QBDT, see this article: Import and export data in QuickBooks Desktop. It lists all options available for you in the way of data imports and exports.

 

Let me know if you have other questions about your QBDT company, and I'll get back to you.

dolsondlacpas
Level 1

transfer employee information

Thank you for the reply, but I am not trying to import employee information from QuickBooks to QuickBooks, but an employee list out of peach tree to import into QuickBooks, but it appears that this is not a possibility, correct?  What @MichaelK was talking about appeared to be importing .IIF files.  Please correct me if I am wrong.

Thanks again for the help

Kiala_S
QuickBooks Team

transfer employee information

Hello @dolsondlacpas! Thanks for joining the conversation here in the Community. 

 

Yes, you're right. MichaelK was talking about IIF files, which can be uploaded into QuickBooks desktop. What format is your employee list from Peach Tree in?

 

Feel free to respond to this post and we'll happily help. :)

dolsondlacpas
Level 1

transfer employee information

I don't have the list yet - not sure what we can get out of PeachTree, but I believe we can get excel.

JoesemM
Moderator

transfer employee information

Thanks for getting back to us, @dolsondlacpas.

 

Yes, you're right. You can export your files into Excel. This way, you can edit the information that you'll need and import it back to QuickBooks. Let me guide you how:

 

  1. Open the Customer/Vendor/Payroll center.
  2. Select Excel drop-down and choose:
    • Export Customer/Vendor/Employee list if you want to export customer/vendor/employee data such as name, balances, and contact information.
    • Export Transactions if you want to export transactions (either by name or transaction type).

    3 . In the Export window, choose whether to create a new worksheet or update an existing worksheet. 

    4. Select the Export button. QuickBooks opens MS Excel, and you can edit the information as needed.

 

Once done, you can now import the file, you can follow the steps shared by Michael K to accomplish this.

 

In case you encounter any issues upon exporting, check out this article on how to resolve it: Fix export to Excel issues in QuickBooks Desktop.

 

Also, you can check out these articles for tips that will make navigating around QuickBooks even easier: QuickBooks Desktop Help Articles.

 

Please know that I'm just a post away if you have additional concerns about exporting to excel or any other questions. Have a good one. 

dolsondlacpas
Level 1

transfer employee information

I guess somehow what I really need is lost.  but it leads me to blieve that I cannot import employee information into QuickBooks from Excel.   I am in QuickBooks Desktop

 

  I have a client moving from PeachTree to QuickBooks and would like to import the employee Names, addresses, SS#, status for withholding, if possible.  Can this be done with an excel sheet?

Jen_D
Moderator

transfer employee information

Good day, @dolsondlacpas,

 

Joining the thread to share some more information about importing employee information in QuickBooks Desktop.

 

You can import employees using an Excel file into QuickBooks Desktop. However, the import process is limited to lists, and not payroll transactions. If you need to move Peachtree (Sage50) transactions into the program, you can do it via journal entry.

 

To import files in QuickBooks Desktop, go to File > Utilities > Import.

 

To learn more about the items you can import and how to map the data, see these articles: 

However, you can also convert the entire Peachtree data and delete the information that you don't want afterwards. See this article for the complete steps of the conversion: Convert from Sage 50 (formerly Peachtree) to QuickBooks Desktop

 

Let me know if you have any questions with the steps. I'll be right here to help you transfer your Peachtree data into QuickBooks. Have a nice day!

dolsondlacpas
Level 1

transfer employee information

This is not something I do every day, or for that matter, not often at all.  Would it just be easier to manually enter the employees?  I am a bit lost, since each time I try to play with it in QuickBooks it takes me back to IIF import/export and I don't understand how to get excel to import, if I could get a good list from PeachTree.  I only need to bring over the employees, names, addresses, ss#, withholding status.  Does that make sense.  I don't suppose there is an easy way to get a template in excel and get that info over to my QuickBooks?  I use quickBooks (prior years) to manually enter totals each year from clients Peach Tree for tax, not payroll, they have done their own, but will start using out cloud system to do the payroll and data entry after 1/1/20.  Any help is appreiated.

katherinejoyceO
QuickBooks Team

transfer employee information

Thanks for actively responding, @dolsondlacpas. I'm here to help ensure you're able to bring over the employees' names, addresses, ss#, and withholding status to Quickbooks Desktop (QBDT). 

 

Yes, you have the option to enter them manually. Here are the steps: 

 

  1. Go to the Employees menu, then click Employee Center.
  2. Select New Employee and enter the employees' info in the required fields:
    • Personal - First and last name and social security number
    • Address and Contact - Home address and email address if you want to invite your employees to view their pay stubs and W-2s online.
    • Additional info - no required fields
    • Payroll info - Pay schedule or pay frequency, pay type and pay rate, Federal and state taxes. Add deductions, sick or vacation policies, and direct deposit if necessary.
    • Employment info - Hire date
    • Workers’ compensation (for QuickBooks Desktop Payroll Assisted and Enhanced Payroll only) - assign a workers compensation code if you want to track this through QuickBooks.
  1. Click Ok.

 

For additional reference, check out this resource: Add a new employee to your payroll.

 

Just in case, here's an article to help you get started with payroll in QuickBooks Desktop. 

 

I'm always around here to help if you need some more guidance about adding employees to Quickbooks. Take care. 

account-closed-ran
Level 1

transfer employee information

Is changing to multiple currencies truly irreversible, or, is there a work around?  Our data file is 12 years old.  It would be horrible to create a new company file where the multiple currencies is not activated.

SashaMC
Moderator

transfer employee information

Welcome to the QuickBooks Community, account-closed-ran. You are correct in saying that changing to multiple currencies is irreversible. You can refer to this article for more information on what happens once it turns on. Currently, there isn't a workaround for this. I will suggest this to our engineers to allow this option to be switched on and off for future development. I encourage you to follow our blog to stay updated with the latest news and features. If you have any other questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to let me know by commenting below. I will be around to help. Take care!

SunflowerBusiness
Level 1

transfer employee information

I have a client who started doing payroll using QBs Enhanced Payroll in their Quickbooks desktop sample file. He generated two payroll check periods in it. I connected through QBox, and learned that he was working in another file. We have transferred all of his transaction to the correct QBs file.  How do I transfer the enhanced payroll to the correct QBs Pro file from the file he was working with, as well?

Rasa-LilaM
QuickBooks Team

transfer employee information

Thanks for joining this thread, SunflowerBusiness.


We can either manually type in the employee lists or export them. Enter the remaining payroll data such as personal information, taxes, address, etc. Then, recreate the paychecks or enter them via prior payroll.


If you wish to export the list, I recommend following the steps by my peer @Michael K. Next, go to the Payroll Center to add your worker’s information. Let me help and guide you on how to perform this task.

 

  1. Press the Employees menu at the top menu to select the Payroll Center.
  2. Click the New Employee menu to view the worker’s profile.
  3. From there, navigate to the following tabs and complete all the fields: Personal, Address & Contact, Additional Info, Payroll Info, Employment Info, and Worker’s Comp.dt ee.png
  4. Hit the OK button.
  5. Perform the same procedure to set the next worker’s profile.

 

Let me share this guide for more insights into the process. Click the QuickBooks Desktop Payroll (all versions) link to view the information: Add a new employee to your payroll.


Additionally, this guide contains resources on how to easily perform any payroll tasks in QuickBooks Desktop: Payroll self-help articles.


Keep me posted if you need help when working in QuickBooks. I’ll jump right back in to assist further. Enjoy the rest of the day.

SunflowerBusiness
Level 1

transfer employee information

Thank you for the awesome feedback. I was stumped by this one, as it had not happened before.

Lisa galvin
Level 4

transfer employee information

Same here - I simply want to import the name, address and SSN for employees from an excel file.  I am not able to get an IFF file or any other file - just excel.  I have inherited 3 payroll clients with over 100 employees and would be great to be able get basic information to import. I have already done the chart of accounts.

Any help would be very appreciated.  All the replies seem to only address how to import IFF files.  I need to start payroll Jan 1, 2021

 

Thanks

 

Lisa galvin
Level 4

transfer employee information

I know how to add employees manually, just need to be able to import a list from excel - not IFF file!

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