How do I transfer online client to desktop?

It's good to see you here, @anchorman.

I'm here to help walk you through moving your client from QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Desktop.

For starters, there's no direct way to move your client's account from QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Desktop.

Here's how:

1. Login to your client's QuickBooks Online account.
2. Go to the Gear Icon.
3. Choose Export Data.
4. Enter your reason why you're exporting your client's data.
5. Click Continue.
6. Under Moving to QuickBooks Desktop?, select Learn more.
7. Under Download company data, choose Learn more.
8. Review your data from the export overview screen, then click Get Started.
9. In the Exporting from QuickBooks Online page, select Continue to Download.
10. Follow the rest of on-screen instruction to complete the exporting process.

For a more step-by step instruction, you may check out this article: Export data file from QuickBooks Online to Desktop.

Just a heads-up, there are some information that may not be included during the moving process. You may check out this article for additional insights about the exporting limitations - QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Desktop.

If you need further assistance with the process above, I'd suggest contacting our Customer Care Team. A specialist will be able to further help you via secured remote access session.

Here’s how to contact us:

1. Click the Help menu.
2. Choose Contact Us.
3. Under How can we help?, type in your “Import Customer’s List”.
4. Hit Continue.
5. Click Get our phone number to contact us.

Please don't hesitate to click the Reply button if you have other questions about changing your client's QuickBooks subscription. I'm always here to lend a hand.

Hello anchorman,

  To transfer your data from Online to Desktop you can also use one of the apps that are designed for this matter. You can get an application and export all the data you have got within your Online company using for example Business Importer app. And then import that data by using Business Importer for Desktop app. 

  That will be a very convenient solution, as both apps have an intuitve interface, lot of guides and support teams that will be glad to help you with the matter. However, the minus here is that most likely you will have to purchase both apps as in the free trial mode they can proceed only limited amount of lines.

  Still, if time is more precise here than a bunch of manual entries - those apps will do a great job.

Hello everyone,

I had a long conversation with support this week and was able to get this issue resolve and successfully transfer my data into QBD from QBO and I’ll share it here. Although I didn’t document every single word, I do have a good takeaway that should have most people succeed in this transfer.

A couple gotcha’s...

1). Basic cosmetic company info (name, address, ein, etc.) does not transfer - I had to go into QBD and fill it in manually.
2). If you download cleared transactions from your bank in QBO they will be in the register in QBD but will not show the bank downloaded icon so once you connect your bank and download, you’ll have a whole lot of transactions to go though and clear again.
3). All of my deposits came in with no name in the from field. All other transactions in the register seemed to be fine.
4). Previously I did not use invoking, time tracking or inventory so I can’t speak for that data.

Here are the basics:

1). I don’t care what everyone says here, you absolutely _must_ use Internet Explorer to make this transition. Nothing else will work. For me, I’m on Windows 10 and IE11. You must lower your security preferences, allow ActiveX and, add https://*.intuit.com to the trusted sites list and restart IE.
2). You absolutely _must_ have QDB open, with no company file loaded _before_ you start this process.
3). If you login to QDO and at https://qbo.intuit.com and the Settings icon disappears then remove /homepage from the URL and replace it with exportdata go to direct. This will, at some point, install an ActiveX component that does the transfer.
4). Walk though the QBO->QBD export process and at the end you’ll get a notice that your data is being exported and you need to wait for an email.
5). My data file wasn’t too big and this only took ~20 mins before I got the email. The email instructed me to go back to QBO->Tasks->Download.
6). There was no Tasks menu in my QBO at all so I pointed my browser back to the exportdata page and walked though the wizard again.
7). This time, at the end of the wizard it said a file was already waiting and I could start over or download the file; from here, download the file.
8). Make sure you download the file to whatever directory the ActiveX component chooses (for me it was \Users\brian\Documents) - this file location is prolly one of the most critical steps of the conversion, as there is no means to configure where the data importer looks for the QBXML file.
9). After the download you can start the import, which will prompt to you create a new QBD file. Again, you must create this file in the default location, don’t move it else the import will fail.
10). It is the ActiveX component in IE11 that does the import. It is very, very slow! My QBO file is 4 years worth of bank and credit card transactions and the import took just under an hour to complete. It is slow.
11). Once the import is done, run a P&L in QBO and QBD and make sure they match. If they do, you are golden.

Afterthoughts…

I did this whole thing on a sandbox computer because I just don’t trust IE and ActiveX anymore. When it was finished the very first thing I did was backup the QBD file, move it to my dedicated desktop and restore the backup of my data into a more suitable file location for my structure. All went well and all my data is present as far as I can tell. I should point out that I am by no means and accountant and have no idea how accounting works. My accountant is coming tomorrow to verify everything, reconcile 2019 and prepare my taxes. If we find any problems arising from the import/transfer then I will post back here in an effort to make everyone aware of what to expect.

Hope these suggest help someone else overcome their problems because it was sure a level 10 frustration for me, and still, I do not understand why QBO/QBD support could not post a complete and thorough writeup here rather than repetitively telling everyone to call support. It’s crazy!

-brian

I am assuming that you cannot export your client's data through the Accountants version.  I typically use Chrome, but logged in thru IE to do the transfer ... and none of my clients show up.  Why is that?  Help?

We've developed a tool to do this with a couple of clicks. Go to apps.intuit.com and search for ExportMyBooks.  Please leave a positive review if you find the service helpful. 

Has this ever worked for anyone?

Is there anyway to export company data on other browsers? I have a Mac and it's also not 1999. Internet explorer is dead.

Are you really part of the QB team?   What about the fact that you cant export unless you are using internet explorer.   AND, also I have been trying since Saturday to do this.  Finally today I reached QB by phone for support.   I have been through three different employees so far and now am waiting for a manager.  Nothing works.   No one has been able to log in and make it work.

You system is nonsense and you sell a product that does not have the functionality that you say it does and you dont know how to resolve it.

Despite that I pay fees for a number of your products and there is no consideration for the fact they dont work as advertised.

So there is a new QB app for this that I have tested on a simple client and it actually works and for a limited time it is FREE.  Going to test it on a client that has sales tax next.  FINGERS CROSSED.

It WON'T let you do it as an accountant user on your client's files.  So I made a new admin user, with another email address, logged in as that user, and was able to add the app that way. 

exportmybooks.com       for more info.

Hi 

We currently use QB Desktop but I'm looking at utilizing a 3rd party app that only allows downloading to QB Online.  Would it be fine to run both and just export my QB online file to my QB Desktop.