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DJMangen
December 14, 2020
Solved

QuickBooks Mac Conversion to Windows

  • December 14, 2020
  • 1 reply
  • 24 views

With the upgrade of the Mac OS to Big Sur, I have lost our ability to access the QuickBooks 2015 accounting file for my wife’s business.  I understand that as an out of support product Intuit has no intention of making modifications to the program so that it will work with the Big Sur OS.  That leaves us with a problem.

 

We are in the process of closing this business.  I would like to know if anybody has figured out a way to convert the 2015 file from the Mac version to a Windows-supported version?  I am running QuickBooks 2020 for my business.  I could import a converted file in to run reports, etc., as we prepare to shut down my wife’s business.  Does the Intuit file conversion service provide this option?  Hopefully they do.

 

Thank you in advance for any help you can provide.

Best answer by IamjuViel

This is not the service we want you to experience, @DJMangen.

 

Making sure you're able to convert your QuickBooks company file is my priority. Let me walk you through doing so.

  1. Update both of your QuickBooks Mac 2015 and QuickBooks Desktop for Windows 2020 to the latest version.

  2. Remove any memos longer than 50 characters or contain special characters like !@#$%^&*.

  3. Open your QuickBooks Mac 2015 company file as the admin.

  4. Go to the File menu and select Export.

  5. Select To QuickBooks for Windows.

  6. Name the file and choose the folder to save it in. Then, select Save.

  7. Enter and confirm your password and select OK.
  8. Select OK on the confirmation window.
  9. Move the file to your Windows computer.
  10. Restore the file in QuickBooks for Windows.

You can read through this article for the step-by-step instructions: Convert a QuickBooks for Mac file to QuickBooks for Windows.

 

If you encounter any errors during the conversion process, you can use this article as a reference to resolve it: Error: QuickBooks is not able to convert your Mac file to a Windows file.

 

On the other hand, yes, the Intuit file conversion service can further assist you with the process. You can check this article to learn how to send your file to our Data Services team: QuickBooks Data Services FAQ.

 

Get back to us here if you have other questions or concerns about managing your company file. I'm always here to help.

1 reply

IamjuViel
IamjuVielAnswer
Level 8
December 14, 2020

This is not the service we want you to experience, @DJMangen.

 

Making sure you're able to convert your QuickBooks company file is my priority. Let me walk you through doing so.

  1. Update both of your QuickBooks Mac 2015 and QuickBooks Desktop for Windows 2020 to the latest version.

  2. Remove any memos longer than 50 characters or contain special characters like !@#$%^&*.

  3. Open your QuickBooks Mac 2015 company file as the admin.

  4. Go to the File menu and select Export.

  5. Select To QuickBooks for Windows.

  6. Name the file and choose the folder to save it in. Then, select Save.

  7. Enter and confirm your password and select OK.
  8. Select OK on the confirmation window.
  9. Move the file to your Windows computer.
  10. Restore the file in QuickBooks for Windows.

You can read through this article for the step-by-step instructions: Convert a QuickBooks for Mac file to QuickBooks for Windows.

 

If you encounter any errors during the conversion process, you can use this article as a reference to resolve it: Error: QuickBooks is not able to convert your Mac file to a Windows file.

 

On the other hand, yes, the Intuit file conversion service can further assist you with the process. You can check this article to learn how to send your file to our Data Services team: QuickBooks Data Services FAQ.

 

Get back to us here if you have other questions or concerns about managing your company file. I'm always here to help.

J
jojoma
January 27, 2022

Thank you for your help. I have attempted several exports from my Mac OS Big Sur version 11.6.2 to a Windows file without success. My accountant is unable to recover the file. My QB 18.0.13.3468 R14 is up to date. Verify failed after backup. Reloaded and rebuilt the file. Verify Data detected errors, so I'm contacting Intuit Technical Support and hoping you can help. I have the QuickBooks log of both Verify attempts. Please let me know how to provide a useable Windows QB.

On the messages, it says to eliminate any "MEMO" over 100 characters, which is difficult given that the descriptions on my invoices show up as "MEMO" when following the recommended protocol to eliminate this problem. Many descriptions are above 100 characters. To follow this suggested solution descriptions going back many years would need to be redone. Not an effective solution. In prior years, this was never a problem. 

Thank you for any help you can provide.

L
LollyNino_CQuickBooks Team
QuickBooks Team
May 25, 2022

we are preparing to convert from Quickbokks for Mac to Quickbooks Desktop for Windows. Changing the special character/longer than 100 character memos is not practical for us. Is there a workaround? Or will i really be unable to convert the data file?


Thanks for joining this thread, @M Simon. 

 

I'm here to share some details about accessing QuickBooks for Windows on a Mac computer. Aside from checking the integrity of the file, we can edit the length of entries in the memo field. Here's how: 

  1. Open the company file in QuickBooks for Mac.
  2. Generate a Transaction detail by Date report for all dates:
  3. Go to Reports, then select Transaction detail by Date.
  4. From the Dates drop-down, choose All Dates.
  5. Review the Memo column (the Item Description field on forms) for any text longer than the maximum 100 characters.
  6. Double-click the transactions with large memos or descriptions, then either delete or shorten those memos to less than 99 characters.
  7. Create a new backup file for your QuickBooks for Windows file, then do the conversion again. Also, you may utilize this resource for your reference: Convert a QuickBooks for Mac file to QuickBooks for Windows.

If the same thing happens, I recommend contacting our QuickBooks Support Team to ensure the setup is correct.

 

  1. Go to this link: Contact Us.
  2. Choose QuickBooks Mac Desktop.
  3. Click on the Company File menu.
  4. Scroll down and click either Get Phone Number. 

You can get additional information about fixing the error after QuickBooks for Mac to Windows company file conversion: Error: QuickBooks is not able to convert your Mac file to a Windows file. 

 

Should you need any further assistance with converting your file, let me know in the comments section. I'd be happy to help you in any way that I can. Have a great day! 

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