Question

how do I setup quickbooks accountant online and migrate a Quickbooks for Windows client?

Forum|Forum|4 months ago
March 12, 2026
9 replies
26 views

I have just purchased an Accountant Online account. I need to set this up. How do I go about this?

QuickBooks Online - International

QuickBooks Team

Hello there, Derek. I can see that you’re already have QuickBooks Online Accountant (QBOA). To make sure the migration go smoothly, could you clarify which specific regions your accounting firm and your client's QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) are registered in? This is a vital first step because QuickBooks Desktop is exclusive to the US, UK, and Canada, and company files can only be migrated to a QuickBooks Online (QBO) account within that same geographic region.

For the data transfer to work, your client will have to ensure their new QBO subscription matches their current QBDT version exactly. The link I've added is dedicated for US since migration isn't available for Global community.

It is also important to keep in mind that QBOA does not support managing clients across different different global regions from a single dashboard. If your firm and the client are not in the same regions, you would need to create a separate QBOA specifically for them.

Alternatively, you can always have them invite you to their company as a company admin. This allows you to access their data without needing a region-specific account.

If you have additional questions, feel free to revisit this thread.

D

Derek-D-CostaAuthor

Hi Louise and SIAB
We are using QB Windows. and have subscribed to QBOA
I am migrating Desktop version to QBOA.
I need to migrate all the data, COA transactions etc.. from QBDesktop to QBOA "Your Practice"
I will then migrate client files once this is complete.
My challenge is migrating all the data. I expect this is using csv export but I need to know what will not be transferred or
is there a migration tool.

N

NerbynMaeI

QuickBooks Team

This whole thing is becoming more of a mission than it's worth.
It costs at every turn to set this up.
The Desktop versions ... work.
Another option, as I see, it is maintain the Desktop version just for our own accounting purposes and deploy the client licenses on the QBOA for clients that opt to migrate or start fresh. We can still manage their books and audits.
Clients that invite us to be Accountant can then also be maintained within QBOA with their own licenses.
Is this reasoning valid?

I appreciate you getting back on this thread, Derek. You can maintain your QuickBooks Desktop 2017 United Kingdom for your own firm's internal accounts.

However, since this version has been discontinued, you'll not be able to receive live updates. But it will continue to function as a standalone offline ledger.

You can also add an accounting firm to your QuickBooks Online Accountant account for free. While multiple client invites can sometimes result in separate practice companies, they all share the same login. No worries, you'll need to click the Switch Company button to move between them.

If you transition fully to QuickBooks Online Accountant, you can run the entire firm from a single, unified dashboard with one login. You can easily switch between the firm's books and your client's books without needing to log in and out. Adding team members is also streamlined through this process.

Lastly, when migrating data, you can manually import these transactions via a CSV file. You can also consider the SIAB suggestion.