There are some things you need to know when switching from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online. There might be missing transactions, or report formats may differ. You’ll learn how QuickBooks Online differs from data does not convert when you migrate from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online.
Know what data in your books convert from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online
Assemblies:
- In the Products and Services list, assemblies will become bundles for sales transactions.
- Purchase transactions apply to all assemblies’ components.
- Viewing the transactions reveals a detail line for each assembly item.
- At the end and the start of each group item are zero amount lines. The group items are visible.
- Above the group name is the group name. The bottom line displays the description of the group.
- The total for each group will appear in the Description field on the invoice.
Attachments:
- In QuickBooks Online, attachments from QuickBooks Desktop won’t be converted.
Audit trail:
- It is not possible to convert the audit trail in QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online.
- It has its own Audit log in QuickBooks Online. Each transaction is tracked as well as who opens your books.
Bills and bill payments:
- QuickBooks Online does not convert the “Bill received” preference.
- In QuickBooks Online, a bill discount is converted to a vendor credit.
- The Vendor address on your Vendor list replaces the address on bill payment checks.
Budgets:
- QuickBooks Online converts only Profit and Loss budget types.
- You can only create budgets in QuickBooks Online Plus and Advanced.
Chart of accounts:
- Numbers and notes from bank accounts won’t convert to QuickBooks Online.
- The Detail type is another level of account type available in QuickBooks Online.
- Accounts such as Undeposited Funds will be assigned a Detail type.
- There will be an automatic assignment of a generic detail type. This can be changed after conversion if you wish.
Closing date password:
- QuickBooks Desktop will convert the closing dates, but not the password.
Credit card charges:
- In QuickBooks Online, credit card charges are converted to Expenses.
- With QuickBooks Online, credit card payments become bill payments.
Custom fields on lists:
- QuickBooks Desktop custom fields do not convert to QuickBooks Online.
Customers and jobs:
- Jobs services convert to sub-customers.
- Leaving the City, State, Province, and ZIP code fields blank, the entire ship to address will be entered in the main address field.
Things that will convert & won’t convert to QuickBooks Online
Convert to QuickBooks Online | Won’t Convert to QuickBooks Online |
Customer | Inactive status |
Company Name | Contact |
Mr./Ms. | Alt. Contact |
First Name | Customer Type |
M.I. | Rep |
Last Name | Price Level |
Phone | Custom Fields |
FAX | Account |
Alt Ph. | Credit Limit |
Job Status | |
Terms | Start Date |
Bill to Address (except Note) | Projected End |
Ship To Address (except Note) | End Date |
Tax code/item | Job Description |
Preferred Payment Method | Job Type |
Note (up to 4000 characters) | Credit Card Information |
Discounts:
- Early payment discounts are applied as credit memos to a customer’s outstanding balance.
- As a vendor pays early, it is given discounts in the form of vendor credits.
Documents:
- QuickBooks Online does not convert documents and attachments.
Estimates:
- QuickBooks Desktop estimates will be converted to QuickBooks Online estimates.
- “Active” is the designation for estimates that have been closed.
- Estimates that are no longer active are labelled “Rejected.”
- Estimates for progress billing will not link to invoices created in Desktop.
Finance charges:
- QuickBooks Online converts your existing finance charge invoices into invoices.
- Run an open invoice report to find out which customers are overdue. Create a new invoice that contains finance charges as a manual addition.
Inactive items on lists:
- If a name has no balance associated with it, it will become inactive (deleted).
- Inactive accounts, customers, or vendors can be converted. They become active if they have an open balance. To convert inactive names, you’ll need QuickBooks Online Plus and Advanced.
Item receipts:
- Receipts become bills
Inventory:
- QuickBooks Online Plus and Advanced offer inventory. The accrual method is first-in-first-out (FIFO).
- It will ask you for a date when you import inventory into QuickBooks Online. The date is used to recalculate your inventory according to First-In, First-Out principles.
- Inventories are only available in QuickBooks Desktop. QuickBooks Online calls these Bundles. You can bundle products and services into a bundle to sell them together. If you don’t need to transfer and track the finished products before they are sold, you can use them.
- There are no units of measure available for inventory items in QuickBooks Online.
Invoices:
QuickBooks Online doesn’t offer some invoice features found in QuickBooks Desktop. The data from your invoice will be converted this way.
- Logos will convert.
- Custom Field 1 will be created from the PO No.
- A Custom Field will be created for the Sales Rep.
- Subtotals are contained in the Description column but do not convert.
- Progress Invoices (estimated invoices) and their additional data do not convert.
- Other and Other Custom Fields for Customers.
Journal entries:
- Statuses that are billable cannot be converted. Journal entries cannot be billed in QuickBooks Online.
- There is a possibility that check and invoice transactions will be converted as journal entries. When trying to recreate an original transaction, there are complications.
Layout customization (sales from templates):
- It will be easy for you to convert your logos.
- Templates for custom sales cannot be converted.
Memorized reports:
- Using QuickBooks Desktop to convert your memorized reports won’t work.
- You can memorize reports in QuickBooks Online. The reports will need to be recreated and memorized again, however.
Memorized transactions:
- Using QuickBooks Desktop, you cannot convert your memorized transactions.
Multi-currency:
- In QuickBooks Online, transactions with three different currency types will not convert.
- Preferences for multiple currencies will be imported into QuickBooks Online.
- Currently, QuickBooks Online Advanced and Plus support multi-currency only.
Online banking:
- You will lose access to the bank and credit card accounts set up in QuickBooks Desktop for Bank Feeds.
- A bank’s rules cannot be converted.
- If you want to download transactions, reconnect your credit card or bank accounts.
Online bill payments:
- From QuickBooks Desktop, “To Be Sent” checks will be converted. It is not possible to pay online.
- QuickBooks Online lets you pay bills electronically through online bill payments.
Payroll:
Because QuickBooks Desktop has more payroll features, some payroll information does not transfer. You will convert payroll data in this way.
- Checks will be transferred in the same manner as paychecks. QuickBooks Online allows you to create paychecks once your payroll is configured.
- QuickBooks Online imports salary data in lump sums. Your company may not get the employee payroll information, so you’ll have to enter it manually.
- It may be necessary to fix the employee’s address if it transfers. States that are not supported (like PR, AS, or VI) will not have addresses.
- Birth-date converts
- will convert Gender,
- Social Security Number converts
- Direct Deposit numbers will convert
- Bank names will convert
- Routing numbers convert
Payroll items:
- Accounts for transactions and payroll convert. In the process of converting the transactions, the underlying details aren’t converted.
- The breakdown of payroll items, for example, and employee numbers from year to date.
A liability refund, adjustment transaction, and balance opening transaction result in a journal entry.
QuickBooks Payments:
- In order to link your payment account to QuickBooks Online after converting, you’ll need to unlink it from your Desktop file.
Receive items:
- Bills are created in QuickBooks Desktop when items are received.
Reconcile:
- Your prior reconciliation reports are not converted by QuickBooks Online.
- In QuickBooks Online, all reconciled transactions in the register will have a “R” in the cleared column.
Recurring transactions:
- Simple Start does not support recurring transaction templates. If you plan to import to Simple Start from QuickBooks Desktop, you must delete all recurring transactions and templates.
- All three QuickBooks Online editions support recurring transactions.
- Templates for recurring transactions are not available in QuickBooks Online Simple Start. Prior to importing to Simple Start, make sure you delete any recurring transactions and templates from QuickBooks Desktop.
- Online Plus and Online Essentials both support recurring transactions.
Reimbursable expenses:
- Billable expenses will be automatically created in QuickBooks Online for reimbursable expenses and unbilled time.
- As in QuickBooks Desktop, QuickBooks Online has reimbursable expenses called “billable expenses.”
- If you create a purchase instead of an invoice, then you specify the markup percentage.
Reminders:
- QuickBooks Online does not convert reminders.
Reports:
- Reports in QuickBooks Online are different from those in QuickBooks Desktop.
- The QuickBooks Online reports are based on the same basis as those in QuickBooks Desktop. There may not be a match between cash and accruals-based reports.
Sales tax:
- Not all sales tax conversions will be possible. It is possible to import only the list of taxes and balances in some cases, or convert them into journal entries.
- There will at least be two sales tax payable accounts on the Chart of Accounts.
Shortcut list:
Sales tax
- In QuickBooks Online, your shortcut list and icon bar settings will not be migrated.
- There are keystroke shortcuts specific to QuickBooks Online. In any window, hold Ctrl+Alt+? (or Ctrl+Option+? on Mac) to see the shortcut menu.
Targets:
Each region has the following targets:
- The following figures apply to the US: 350,000
- Canada, 350,000
- And 500,000 for the UK and South Africa (ZA).
Terms:
- Jobs cannot have their own conditions in QuickBooks Desktop. As a child, it inherits its terms.
- Sub-customers (an equivalent to jobs) can have terms in QuickBooks Online. If the terms of the child differ from those of the parent, you can edit them later.
- Term features in QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop are very similar. Due dates are calculated automatically based on the date of the transaction.
- It is not possible to assess finance charges associated with the terms you assign in QuickBooks Online.
- Terms allow early payment discounts to be specified, but the discount amount is not automatically calculated.
Types: Customers, vendors, and jobs
- QuickBooks Desktop does not convert the list of types in the data file.
To do list:
- QuickBooks Online does not convert To Do notes.
- Tasks and To Dos can’t be defined in QuickBooks Online.
Users and permissions:
- Existing QuickBooks Online users do not automatically have access to QuickBooks Online. QuickBooks Online must invite them to access the system.
Vendors:
Table of things that will convert or won’t convert to QuickBooks Online
Convert to QuickBooks Online | Won’t Convert to QuickBooks Online |
Vendor | Contact |
Company Name | Alt. Contact |
Mr./Ms. | Note |
First Name | Status |
M.I. | Vendor Type |
Last Name | Credit Limit |
Phone | Custom Fields |
FAX | Alt. Contact |
Alt Ph. | |
Terms | |
Print on Check as | |
Address | |
AccountTax | |
1099 ID |
Write letters:
- Custom letters are not available in QuickBooks Online.