Should I move clients from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online?

Learn if QuickBooks Online is a good fit for your QuickBooks Desktop clients.

Each client has specific accounting needs. Talk with them to see what features are essential so you can plan for their long-term business growth. 

If your clients want to do their accounting online, check out how to set up your clients for success with their move to QuickBooks Online.

If you're considering moving a client from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online, here are a few things to keep in mind.

Ask why they're using their current version of QuickBooks

It's all about finding the right accounting tools for the job.

If your client is using QuickBooks Desktop Pro, Premier, or Mac 2014 and later , QuickBooks Online may be a good option. This lets them do their accounting online, rather than on a dedicated computer.

Also ask what features they use the most and if they absolutely need them. QuickBooks Online has many of the same features, but some tools are quite different. Learn more about what tools are available in QuickBooks Online.

However, if your client uses QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise, QuickBooks Online may not be a good fit. QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise already has some online features. It can handle much larger company files, inventories, and more company data. There are also key inventory features you can't get in QuickBooks Online.

Ask if they need features that are unique to QuickBooks Desktop

If your client uses any of these features, they may want to keep using with QuickBooks Desktop:

• Inventory assemblies (not a default feature in QuickBooks Online, requires a third-party app).
• IIF import files (not a default feature in QuickBooks Online, requires a third-party app).
• Custom fields on invoices and bills. You can customize some fields, but not as extensively as QuickBooks Desktop.

Features like basic progress invoicing and job costing are in QuickBooks Online, but they're different from the QuickBooks Desktop version. Ask your client if the advantages of QuickBooks Online are worth switching over.

Set expectations

Converting an existing QuickBooks Desktop company file to QuickBooks Online can be a large task. Some data doesn't import perfectly. For example, if you currently use QuickBooks Desktop Payroll, employee information imports, but you need may need to reenter your payroll history.

Learn more about what to expect from the export and what doesn't convert from QuickBooks Desktop.