Converting QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online: What to Check First
A practical walkthrough of moving from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online, including export limits, inventory, and what to verify before you commit.
Moving your books from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online is a one-way trip for the data that makes the jump, so the smart approach is to understand what converts, what does not, and what to verify before you start.
Start With the Export Tool
QuickBooks Desktop includes a built-in export to QuickBooks Online, found under the Company menu in most recent versions. You will need an QuickBooks Online subscription and administrator access to the Desktop company file. Run the export from the Desktop side, not by importing into Online, and plan to do it when no one else has the file open.
Know What Does Not Convert
The export has well-known gaps, and knowing them up front prevents surprises:
- Inventory: Desktop inventory items can convert as inventory or as aggregate journal entries depending on your setup, and inventory history often does not carry in full.
- Multicurrency: a Desktop file with multicurrency enabled can only convert to an Online company with multicurrency turned on, and it cannot be switched off later.
- Reports and custom templates: saved reports, customized invoices, and letter templates generally do not carry over.
- Reconciliation details: bank reconciliations may need to be redone or marked as complete manually in Online.
- Payroll and third-party add-on data: these typically require separate migration steps.
Check File Size and List Counts
Very large Desktop files can fail or stall during export. If your file has grown over the years, condensing it first improves the odds of a clean conversion. Our guide to condensing an oversized QuickBooks company file covers the options, including shrinking a file specifically to prepare it for an Online move.
Before You Export
- Run Verify on the Desktop file and fix any errors first; a damaged file converts badly or not at all.
- Reconcile all accounts up to the conversion date.
- Note your Desktop-only features (certain inventory costing methods, unit of measure, some class and job tools) and decide how you will replace them in Online.
- Make a full backup and keep it somewhere safe, because the Desktop file remains your fallback.
After the Export
Compare trial balance, customer and vendor balances, and inventory valuation between Desktop and Online for the conversion date. Spot-check open invoices and bills. If totals do not match, resolve the discrepancy before entering any new transactions in Online.
If the Conversion Goes Wrong
Failed or partial exports are common enough that repair services exist for exactly this scenario. If your file will not export cleanly, preparing the Desktop file for QuickBooks Online import can fix the underlying data issues first. And if you later decide Online is not the right fit, converting back is possible but not simple; see our explainer on converting QuickBooks Online back to Desktop for what that involves.
The most useful next step is a dry run: export a copy of your file to a trial QuickBooks Online company, compare the balances, and only convert your live file once the results check out.