How to Migrate from QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Desktop

You can migrate from QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Desktop in order to avail access to a wide range of industry-specific features that can be helpful in boosting your workflow and have a positive impact on your business progress. However, it can be a challenging task to migrate from QBO to QB Desktop all by yourself. That’s precisely why we have made this blog; we’d help you migrate from QuickBooks Online to QBDT in no time!

Migrate from QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Desktop – A Quick View Table

In the table below is given a concise summary of this blog on the topic of migrating from QB Online to QB Desktop:

Description	You can convert from QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Desktop in order to access a wide variety of features not present in QBO. This can boost your workflow and important business processes.
What moves & what doesn’t	You need to know what moves and what doesn’t move from QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Desktop before you proceed with the steps to convert your data. This would ensure that you back up the necessary things, and no data is lost.
Steps to move from QBO to QBDT	First, you have to download the migration tool in QuickBooks Online, then export the Quickbooks Online Data, Next run the QuickBooks Desktop migration tool, and lastly, check if the exported data matches the original data in QuickBooks online.

Learn What Data Moves from QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Desktop

To learn what data moves from QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Desktop, see the table below:

What Moves to QuickBooks Desktop	What Doesn’t Move to QuickBooks Desktop
	Multi-currency
	Payroll
Reconcile 1. In QuickBooks Desktop, all the reconciled transactions would have a bold checkmark in the cleared column. 2. In QuickBooks Desktop, all the cleared transactions would have a light checkmark in the Cleared column.
Sales Tax 1. In QB Desktop, the sales tax would be listed as line items. 2. The rates and items of sales tax move as service items.	The adjustments and payments of sales tax won’t move.
Projects The projects are moved as customer jobs in QB Desktop.
Chart of Accounts 1. Account detail types do not move to QB Desktop. 2. Account numbers would appear after turning on the account number preference. 3. Deleted accounts move without account numbers as inactive accounts.	The inventory shrinkage account won’t move to QBDT.
Class List Classes that have been deleted would move as inactive classes in QBDT.
Customers Deleted customers would move as inactive customers in QBDT.	The following customer information won’t move to QBTD: 1. Due to PCI compliance, your customers’ credit card info doesn’t move 2. Customer notes 3. Preferred delivery method 4. Mobile and/or pager number 5. Is Taxable
Vendors Deleted Vendors would move as inactive vendors in QB Desktop.	1. Vendor notes 2. Mobile and/or pager number
Employees Deleted employees would move as inactive employees in QB Desktop.
	Other lists The following lists don’t move from QB Online to Desktop: 1. Customer type 2. Vendor type 3. Job type 4. Memorized reports 5. Other names 6. Payroll item 7. Price level 8. Sales rep 9. Ship via 10. Templates 11. To do
Payment Method List
	Terms
	Bundles
Inventory 1. Inventory asset account 2. Cost of goods sold account 3. Purchase account 4. Sales account 5. Quantity (QTY) on hand 6. Asset values
Categories 1. Categories move as Parent items in QuickBooks Desktop. 2. Categories will become the same item type as the Products and Services listed under them in QuickBooks Online.
	Company info
	User preferences
	Location lists
	Audit log reports
	Reconciliation reports
	Memorized reports
Cash purchases Cash purchases would move as checks in QB Desktop	1. Estimates 2. Purchase orders 3. Recurring transactions
Time tracking	Physical timesheets would not move to QB Desktop
Checks
Credit memos
Sales receipts
Received payments
Bills
Bill payments
Invoices
Refund receipts
General journal entries Transactions that have multiple accounts receivable or accounts payable lines move to journal entries in QB Desktop
Deposits	The billable status won’t show up in QB Desktop from QB Online.
Transfer funds These transactions move as journal entries in QB Desktop
Paychecks Paychecks would move as checks in QBDT.
Liability adjustments
	Inventory adjustments
	Credit card payments

Now that we know what moves and what doesn’t move from QuickBooks Online to Desktop, let’s see the steps to convert your QBO data to QBDT.

Guided Steps to Convert from QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Desktop

You can convert from QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Desktop with the help of the steps given below:

Step 1: Download the Migration Tool in QBO

1. Sign in to QuickBooks Online
2. Navigate to the Expert Overview page
3. Click on Get Started
4. Select the Download tool
5. Then, install the migration tool
6. Hit Next
7. Read and accept the terms of the license agreement
8. Press Next
9. Click on Install
10. Hit Finish

Step 2: Export the QuickBooks Online Data

1. Hit Continue on the Step 1: Prepare to export page
2. Choose the QuickBooks Online data you wish to export
3. Select Continue
4. Press Continue on Step 3: Request your data page
5. Feed in the Name and Email address fields
6. Hit Continue
7. Click on Close
8. Navigate to the Export Overview page
9. Follow the instructions for online migration on the Step 1: Prepare to export page
10. Select Continue
11. Click on Continue to Download in the Exporting from QuickBooks Online page
12. Select Download QBXML file
13. Save the file on your desktop
14. Hit Continue

Step 3: Run the QB Desktop Migration Tool

1. Open the QB Desktop app
2. Stay on the No Company Open screen
3. Then, open the QuickBooks Desktop migration tool
4. Click on Browse
5. Go to the QBXML file you downloaded
6. Select the QBXML file
7. Hit Open
8. Press Import
9. Feed in the Name
10. Then, save your file
11. Choose a save option
12. Give the file a name
13. Click on Save
14. A Certificate window would pop up
15. This would allow you to grant permissions for the migration
16. Select Yes, Always
17. Mark the checkbox to Allow the application to access personal data
18. Hit Continue
19. Press Confirm
20. A window would appear with a percentage meter to show the import process
21. Hit Done when the migration is complete

Step 4: Check if the Data You Exported Matches

After you export the data, run the profit and loss report in QuickBooks Online and Desktop to compare your books. If the reports don’t match, follow the steps given below:

1. Open the QB Desktop app
2. Click on the File menu
3. Click on Close company
4. Then, repeat Step 3 to import the file again
5. Run the profit and loss reports again

This would help you migrate from QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Desktop.

Conclusion

You have the option to migrate from QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Desktop in order to avail a wide variety of industry-specific features that can be accessed to boost your productivity and have a positive impact on your business progress. We have covered the things that move and that don’t move from QB Online to QB Desktop, along with the steps you need to perform to move your data from QBO to QB Desktop.

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