Migrating from QB Desktop to QB Online

Thank you for choosing QuickBooks as your accounting application. @troy1.

To start with, to move your merchant services account when migrating to QuickBooks Online (QBO), you’ll need to unlink your Payments account from your Desktop file and relink the account to QBO after the conversion.

Here’s how you can connect your payment account to QBO:

1. Log in to you QBO company file.
2. Go to the Gear icon, and select Account and Settings.
3. Choose the Products and services tab.
4. Under the Existing account section, click Connect or Link Merchant Service.
5. In the window, select the QuickBooks Payment account you want to connect. Then select Connect.
6. Review the account info and make sure it's accurate. If everything looks good, select Connect.
7. When the connection is finished, sign out and sign back into QuickBooks Online.

On the second part of your concern, you’re right that when the product is no longer serviced, you can’t use the merchant services for it. Nonetheless, you still have the option to upgrade your software.

You may check this article for further information about the QuickBooks Desktop service discontinuation policy. This article also contains the list of products affected by service discontinuation after May 31, 2022.

Lastly, regarding the transactions processed with QuickBooks Payments, you don’t need to put these into undeposited funds as this will automatically post to the account. Follow the instructions from this article: Deposit payments into the Undeposited Funds account in QuickBooks Online under Transactions processed with QuickBooks Payments if you need to combine payments made outside of QuickBooks Payments.

Furthermore, refer to the following article when categorizing your transactions and reconciling your account.

• Categorize and match online bank transactions in QuickBooks Online
• Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Online

Let me know if you need further assistance with linking your Merchant services account to QBO. I’ll make sure to address your concern as soon as I can. Stay safe!

Just to confirm - will merchant services through QB Desktop 2019 no longer work at all starting 05/31/2022? Meaning payments cannot be accepted?

If I connect the merchant account to QB Online, does it automatically disconnect it from QB Desktop?

How do the payments sync with the QBO general ledger? Is it through one batch? Does individual customer information sync with QBO?

If we want to speak with someone regarding this process, what is the best contact number?

Thank you for your prompt reply, @troy1. I appreciate you clarifying things from us concerning the discontinuation policy in QuickBooks Desktop.

Yes, the services for QuickBooks Desktop 2019 are scheduled to be discontinued this coming May 31, 2022. Rest assured that you can still use the program. However, you won’t be able to sign up for live technical support or any other Intuit services that work with this version. This includes your access to the security updates.

As mentioned by my colleague @RoseJillB, you’ll need to unlink your Payments account from the QBDT first and relink it to QBO.  To do so, you'll want to follow the steps she outlined above.

More details about the discontinuation policy and payroll can be found here: 

• QuickBooks Desktop service discontinuation policy and upgrade information.
• QuickBooks Desktop Discontinuation FAQ for Payroll

Otherwise, if you want to upgrade to a newer version of QuickBooks, this article will walk you through the process: Upgrade QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus, Premier Plus, or Enterprise.

To be in-line with your questions about the sync process, let’s ensure you’ve set up the correct default accounts for deposits and fees in QBO. This way, the system will automatically categorized the data with your ledger. As for the payments, they’ll be deposited by batch.

Furthermore, check out these articles to learn how you can take payments whenever you need and to check your customer’s deposits as well:

• Take and process payments in QuickBooks Online
• Find out when QuickBooks Payments deposits customer payments

Since we’re unable to give a contact number publicly, feel free to visit this reference: Contact Payments. On the same link, you’ll find the right one you can reach out to. Please take note that we’re available from Monday to Friday during 6 AM – 6 PM PT.

You can always reply or reach out to us again if you need anything else with QBDT. Let me know if you have other questions while working with our merchant services. I'm always here to help. Have a great day.

Got it - just to confirm, is there any possibility that my customers are charged twice since I migrated data from QB Desktop to QB Online? I want to ensure that the merchant information was not migrated as well.

Also, I want to ensure Merchant Services is not being shut off. I understand it is no longer being serviced, but I want to still be able to use it.

Finally, assuming I link merchant services to QB Online, what entries are posted after I link the proper chart of accounts? Is information posted at the customer level so that I can see the payments from each individual customer?

Hi troy1,

I'm happy to take your additional questions about charges after migration and about linking your customers' QB Payment (Merchant) service.

There’s no possibility that your customers will be charged twice because they’re now using QBO, so that’s the only subscription they have to pay for. Regarding QB Merchant, there is no subscription fee for it. They will only be charged when they process a payment or when their customers pay their invoices online.

QuickBooks Merchant is not included in the migration and won't work in QB Desktop after May 31. If your customers want to use the service, they have to connect their existing Merchant account to QuickBooks Online. Also, it will not be inactivated if they won't use it.

Assuming your customers connect their QB Payments to QBO, all future transactions will be synced just like how everything works in QuickBooks Desktop. And yes, the information is posted down to the customer level. More details can be found in this article: Connect your QuickBooks Payments account to QuickBooks Online.

Please feel free to comment again if you still have questions about QBO and QB Payments. I'm just around to help.

I want to ensure that my customers aren't going to be charged through merchant services from both QB Desktop and QB Online, if that makes sense.

Also, please confirm I can use merchant services through QB Desktop even though it is being shut off.

Hello @troy1,

I'm glad to see you proactively reaching out to us here in the Community. Allow me to chime in and provide additional information about your Merchant Services concern.

Users who sign up for QuickBooks Payments will have access to the Merchant Services Center. Clients only gets charged if they accept online payments for the invoices within QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Desktop.
 

You don't get charged with connecting QuickBooks Payments (merchant services) to QuickBooks. The basis for charging would be the transactions (invoices that customers can pay online) that include an online payment option for customers within our program. Check out our website for more details: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/payments/credit-card-processing/.

Also, access to add-on services will be discontinued for QuickBooks Desktop for Windows 2019. You can no longer use merchant services, Payroll Services, Live Support, Online Backup, Online Banking, and other services within the program.

No regular QuickBooks updates anymore. The program will work as an offline program you can use to navigate the product but can't access features that need an internet connection (like connecting to merchant services).

I recommend you visit this link for more details about the discontinuation policy regarding the 2019 version: QuickBooks Desktop service discontinuation policy.

With your QuickBooks Payments account, you can view your transactions and fees directly in the Merchant Services Center. I've attached an article you can use as a guide for the process: Find transactions, deposits, or fees in the Merchant Service Center.

Keep us posted if you need anything else regarding migrating QuickBooks and managing QuickBooks accounts. Have a great day.

These are conflicting responses.

The first person said merchant services would still be available, but no longer supported.

Now you are telling me there will be no access.

Please confirm.

If I cannot use merchant services through QB Desktop, how do I use it? Is my customer information being saved on the web?

Let me clear out some things for you, troy1.

For QuickBooks Desktop 2019, your client can use Intuit services until May 31, 2022. They can continue to work in the program after that date except for processing and accepting payments. To learn more, please see this article: Discontinuation Policy.

To continue using the service, I'd recommend connecting the payments account to QuickBooks Online. I've listed a few things to know before proceeding:

• They won't be able to refund transactions created before the date they connect the payments account.
• If they have recurring payments in Merchant Services, they need to delete them. 
• If they use a shopping cart, webstore, or third-party processing apps, they'll need to reconnect them.

Here's how to connect the payments account:

1. Go to the Gear icon and then choose Account and settings.
2. Select the Products and services tab.
3. In the Existing account section, select Connect or Link Merchant Service.
4. In the window, select the QuickBooks Payment account. Then, choose Connect.
5. Review the account info and make sure it's accurate. If everything looks good, click Connect.
6. Once done, sign out and sign back into QuickBooks Online.

For more details, you can check out this article: Connect your QuickBooks Payments Account to QuickBooks Online.

Also, rest assured that all the customers' information is still available in the Merchant Services account.

Additionally, I've added these articles that'll guide your client in accepting electronic customer payments for online invoices:

• Take and Process Payments in QuickBooks Online
• Process a Credit Card Payment in QuickBooks Online

Please come back and keep us posted if you have additional questions or concerns. It's always our pleasure to help you out again.

Not undermining your observation, but I have noticed the exact opposite. Many more firms I know are transferring everything to QBO due to the ease of use and multi-user access. Not saying it is the right move, but that is what I've noticed.

As for reasons people might migrate QBO to QBDT, I'd say the number one reason would be that QBDT is a workhorse that has the ability to handle complexities that QBO cannot or hasn't developed well. When you need more than a simple ledger with some easy to use automations, that is where QBDT comes in. myPennMedicine