download QBO Essentials to Quickbooks Desktop for mac

Hi @misha6,

I'm here to share some insights as to how you can successfully convert your QuickBooks Online (QBO) company to QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) for Mac.

The first thing to note is that you'll have to convert the QBO company file to a QBDT for Windows file. You can view this article to download the trial versions of different QBDT versions, including one for QBDT Mac 2020: Download a trial of QuickBooks Desktop. I suggest going with the Pro 2020 version, then convert it to QBDT Mac 2020. 

At that point, follow these steps to convert the QBDT for Windows file to QBDT for Mac: 

1. Open the company file in QBDT for Windows.
2. Re-sort lists.
3. Rebuild and verify your data file.
4. Go to the File menu, then select Utilities, and then Copy Company File for QuickBooks Desktop for Mac.
5. Save the file in your desired location. This creates a file with the extension MAC.qbb.
6. Copy the file to a DVD, external hard drive, flash drive, or FTP web site.
7. Restore the file in QuickBooks Desktop for Mac.
   1. In the No Company Open window, select Browse, then locate the file you want to restore. Note: If your QuickBooks Windows file is on an external drive, save it locally by dragging it to the desired location before restoring it to avoid data corruption.
   2. Select OK when you get the prompt asking if you want to restore a QuickBooks Desktop for Windows file.
   3. Enter a name for the restored file then select Save.

To understand what can or can't be done during the conversion process, take a look at this article: Limitations when you convert from QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Desktop. There's a list of reminders, as well as a section of what happens to portions of your company file during the process, such as the Audit log, Chart of Accounts, and so on. 

If ever your customer decides to go back to QBO, it's possible as well. View this article for the steps: Converting a Desktop for Mac file to Online.

Feel free to post a comment below, in case you have other questions. I'll be sure to get back to you. 

In step #6 of your answer you say to save a copy of the file to a DVD, external hard drive, etc.   Is that just to have an external copy of the file as a backup? Because in step #7 you say to Browse and locate the file you want to restore. That would be the file that I originally saved on my computer, right?

Hi misha6. Thanks for responding. To help clarify the instructions a bit I'll start from the top.

In order to perform the process as stated above the file needs to be exported from QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Desktop for Windows and then convert the file to QuickBooks for Mac.

The reason for this is because Mac computers do not support the installation of Internet Explorer, which is required for the export process due to the ActiveX controller. 

All the steps from 1-6 will be performed on the Windows PC version of QuickBooks. Once you have the file on the external storage device of your choosing, you will move the file to the Mac to be used inside of QuickBooks for Mac.

If you have any more questions, just leave a reply and I'll be sure to respond as soon as possible. 

@misha6 

Utilize this free conversion app

https://www.exportmybooks.com/

Hope it helps.